Backwards, Forwards, and Upwards!

Well hello there, welcome to 2026.

I will just say at the start that I have been horrified by the brutal ICE/Gestapo actions against US citizens in Minnesota and at the senseless murder of Renee Good and I am so proud of how Minnesotans have responded and stood up for their neighbors and I don't know how to dive into a recap without acknowledging the thing that has dominated my mind and heart so much so far this year.

Living in a dystopian universe is weird and hard and draining, even when things in your tiny part of it are quite good. I'm just in my office answering 600 emails a day while my tax dollars pay for masked and armed incels to tear apart a midwestern city and beat its people. Yeah. So.

I guess let's settle in and go back to December.

As has become our tradition, we scheduled a Festive Forced Family Fun Time lock-in to do all of our beloved Christmas traditions. Thanks to Landon's national meet, we weren't able to do our lock-in until the kids got out of school, basically minutes before the holidays would actually descend up on us.

On Saturday, December 20th I made two double batches of my great grandma's sugar cookies (one with gluten-free flour, definitely not part of the Swedish farm life tradition!), we cleaned the house to get ready for our guests, I rolled, cut, and baked about 8 dozen cookies, we ate chili for dinner, we went to the Arboretum 12 Days of Christmas exhibit, and then we came home and decorated cookies!

It was quite a day. And I'm delighted to report that the gluten-free version of the cookies was very good! Maybe a tiny bit grainier feeling in the mouth than the traditional white flour, but still - very, very good. It was a true relief to me as I don't think Christmas can happen without me eating a dozen sugar cookies at once after work while standing over the sink.

And then, once I ate too many cookies, and worked about 12 hours on Monday, December 22nd, Christmas was here!

My whole family arrived on Tuesday the 23rd. My parents, brother, sister-in-law, their 4-year-old twins, my sister, brother-in-law, and their 3 girls (ages 9, 6, and 4), plus my regular crew of 5, would be Christmassing it up in our house for 3 days!

It was THE BEST. Every adult couple had a room with a queen bed and their own full bathroom and we all took responsibility for a meal. We took the first one after everyone arrived and had our favorite family-owned Mexican restaurant cater fajitas. It was delicious and the Coloradans were very excited about the queso.

It was obnoxiously warm out, but it did make it easy to eat outside, heat the pool a bit, and let the kids swim!

My brother and sister-in-law handled breakfast on the 24th, making a ton of delicious food that we somehow entirely consumed over the next 2 days. I had purchased the coolest coloring page tablecloth from Target and that was a hit for a while. We walked to the park and the lake, played basketball on the church lot next door, and swam a LOT. Even I swam! A Christmas miracle.

The last time we hosted I collected the kids phones and devices and hid them in a bin in the garage for the three days my family was here. This year I told them we'd be doing that again, but they promised they would only use them at night when the cousins (and grandparents!) were in bed. And they did! I never once saw a phone out when the sun was up or people were around and it's almost depressing how much of a difference it makes for ALL of us in how much we interact. It's the downtime. The quiet moments between events or meals when you're just hanging around each other. Instead of retreating to our individual cells (literally), there's little conversations that happen. More laughter. More card games. More stories. It's remarkable and it's the best Christmas gift.

As longtime readers know, Christmas Eve is our big event - it's our big meal and it's when we open all the presents. We don't do church anymore, but my sister and I wanted to build some new traditions, so we decided we'd dress up, do a fancy meal, and carol. I told my family this a couple weeks beforehand and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Guess what guys! We're going to dress up for Christmas Eve dinner this year!
Claire: Um, okay.
Landon; Ugh, how much?
Me: And we're going to go caroling!
Claire: Oh my god, OUTSIDE?!
Landon: I would literally rather die.

I ordered a Christmas song book on Etsy and printed out lots of copies. We joked to Landon throughout the day that he needed to get ready for our caroling outside. I set the table with our wedding china and crystal (Can you believe we registered for and received 12, 4-piece settings of crystal glasses for our wedding when we were babies in 2005 and we took them all to our tiny 1.5 bedroom Chicago apartment? This was the first time I ever used them!) and place cards.

We got dressed and began to gather. My sister pulled me aside and said, "Billy and I were talking... we're not sure if we want to go door to door?" "What?!!" I exclaimed, "we're just singing in the house!" "Ohhhh," my sister said. "When Billy and I were talking earlier he was like, 'I don't really want to go door to door, but I guess if that's what Rebecca says we're doing, we will?...'" He'd heard us joking with Landon and thought we were serious. I was dying laughing and love them both very much.

We sang cheerfully and entirely in our living room, and then sat down for a delicious meal prepared by my parents.

Everyone helped clean up dinner and we all got dressed in our pj's and cozy clothes- it was time for presents!

We go in order of age, youngest to oldest (Wade was born a couple minutes after Zoe, so he starts!), and it was so fun. Everyone got good and thoughtful things, including, oh yes, the PHOTO BOOKS! I got them done again this year and it always feels like a miracle.

The night ended with putting cookies our for Santa, and then the adults all becoming Santa and pulling gifts out of secret boxes left in the cars/sleighs that brought them here. Christmas morning was a bleary delight. Happy cousins, mild chaos, and a delicious brunch prepared by my sister. James gave Claire a budget for my stocking and she picked out some great stuff, and somehow almost everyone got Legos and there was a lot of Lego-maniac'ing at the kitchen table.

There was more swimming, we went to the park, the men all went fishing (Landon got a new pole and some fishing stuff for Christmas) at the lake... my parents and brother and family headed home in the afternoon and then my sister and family stayed for more swimming, a movie, and a lot of leftovers before heading back to Colorado the next morning.

I woke up to a house that felt very empty with only five of us and took 2 naps that day. It was honestly the very best Christmas. I just can't imagine a better 2.5 days and I'm so glad we can comfortably fit everyone and we can all be together, especially for Landon's senior year.

Speaking of babies and memories and special things, at the start of their stay, my parents presented me with this very special gift!

Not everyone will get it, but it made me tear up. My mom always talks about the happiest memories from when we lived in Los Angeles and we listened to the Sesame Street Christmas album (the record!) over and over and OVER again. I was Big Bird for Halloween. I drove my Big Bird bigwheel down the sidewalks of our Lakewood LA neighborhood like I owned the place.

My Big Bird will be treasured for years to come.

We put Christmas away on the 28th. I love love love our Christmas house, but I also love when our regular house is back. I got myself this lamp as a Christmas gift. She sits on my desk in my home office and I love it so much. Reminds me of my Grandma Jo.

Claire got this jellycat turtle because he makes the exact frowny face she does.

Cora got a built-in desk for her room and she LOVES it. There's room for all her tiny treasures and will grow with her through middle and high school.

Landon continues to help me work anytime I'm working from home at night.

He's currently in Santa Barbara on a recruiting trip for UCSB and he's very very happy.

Meanwhile our Life360 family circle looks like this and I don't like it at all.

But let's go back to December. On the 30th I got my real present-- a breast lift!

My sister had a breast reduction in November and it has changed her life. She went from about a K to a D and she could not be happier. At a DD, I didn't feel like I needed a reduction (though I'm no longer sure I wouldn't have thought that was worth it), but I did hate that I always had to wear a fairly industrial bra. This was especially annoying in summer when it's one million degrees out and I want to wear something open-back or with thin straps and I can't because my reactive skin can't handle any type of strapless bra situation (and my chest is too big/heavy anyway). My sister mentioned a lift is a thing and I immediately got to googling! I consulted with an amazing surgeon in Dallas and she told me that with a lift I'd go down about a half size, which I thought sounded perfect. She could also even me out while she lifted me up.

In my consult she showed me where my breasts would be post-surgery and commented how much the change seemed to narrow my waist and you guys, she was so right. It was like magic. I always thought I was short-waisted, but turns out, I was just long-boobed! I had kids pretty young and I just don't think I ever really knew what my adult proportions could be.

The surgery went well- I love anesthesia, and I was home in the afternoon on the 30th (I did have a bad reaction to the pain medicine and got super dizzy; James had to carry me upstairs). I napped and took slow walks that evening, slept surprisingly well, and only took Tylenol starting that next morning. I took a lot of walks and did lymphatic massage at the suggestion of my surgeon and I think it helped tremendously with my bruising and recovery. The cats also helped.

I was back at work on Monday January 5th. I was stil pretty swollen in this picture, but I do think you can already see my new proportions and I LOVE THEM. Merry Christmas to me!

Work has been crazy busy since I returned, which is honestly really wonderful. I still have to wear my zip-front sports bra, so I've been all about the sweater, and James got me these beautiful earrings for Christmas.

I also got myself this pair of sneakers on the right below and Claire was horrified when I opened them but I love them and got so many compliments at work the next when I wore them!

And that's where we're at! I'm feeling good. Landon is still in Santa Barbara, Claire is at a Swet 16 party for a friend, and Cora is here with James and me watching a movie together on the couch.

I'm going to sleep better tonight knowing I finally got a blog post out - I do miss doing it, and hearing from you all, when I don't write. Funny enough, it was this blog coming up on a work call this week that had me finally sitting down with my laptop and my photos and my stories.

I was on a call with a group of lawyers I'd never met from an AmLaw20 firm. They are representing an auditor in an SEC investigation where I'm repping the company. At the start of the call we were making introductions and one of the partners says, "Oh! You're the one who has the travel blog?" "What?" I said, "No I don't." And he said, "yeah! We did your trip to Arches National Park a few years ago. A bunch of people from our firm have taken your trips!"

I guess my links got passed around a couple years ago and many people took inspiration. I was cracking up. If getting people to plan great vacations and take their kids with them is my legacy, I'll take it. Who knew a non-sponsored, very clunky old school intermittent blog could have such power. I am truly honored. Now I really need to go finish those South Africa posts before we head somewhere new!

I'm not proofreading this, so I make no promises about coherence, but we have a lot to catch up on

I wish I knew a more efficient way to blog. Or that I still uploaded my pictures regularly to my computer so I could more easily put them in posts. Or that Picasa still existed in supported form. Or that I knew how to work this new Mac laptop I bought two months ago and have yet to do more than open and use Safari. Or that I didn't feel a deep need to have exactly the right picture after each bit of text.

But I don't know how to do any of those things, so here we are, reading the blog post that probably took me 3 weeks to finally write. But updating you all genuinely makes me happy and hearing from you makes me even happier, so let's do this.

Let's see, we left off at the end of November.On December 1st I left for DC where I was supposed to attend the annual Women in White Collar Defense Association gala, but I ended up with an amazing pitch opportunity that took over my DC trip instead. I still had time to meet my dear friend Brooke (who lives in Dallas, but know when two working moms have more time to see each other? when they're both out of town) for drinks at my hotel Monday night before going back to my room to work on my pitch deck.

On Tuesday I worked basically non-stop in our DC office with back-to-back-to-back video calls from 9-5. Thank goodness that office provides snacks, because I lived on those and the gluten-free protein bar I threw in my bag before I left until I headed to a happy hour event and then a separate client dinner. People kept stopping by my temporary office to introduce themselves and I'd just wave from above my giant computer screen, unable to move, while pantomining "email me!" to various degrees of success.

My office managing partner flew in to join my pitch and it went great. I was able to jump on an early flight home (I literally changed my flight as I was pulling up to DCA as my new flight was already halfway through boarding) but I made it and those 3 extra hours in Dallas truly felt like I'd found a way to create a longer day.

On Thursday I had all the work in my own office this time (without the snacks, but with the mini fridge I put under my desk and filled with yogurts and fizzy waters) and then our women's initiative holiday lunch! Where I was announced as the new lead in Dallas!

I'm so excited. So excited to be head of a women's initiative actually in Dallas (rather than being flown to DC) and with a firm and partnership structure I believe in so strongly. We have six female partners in Dallas, in an office of only 39 attorneys, and on my floor with five partners, four are women and this just delights me. I can't wait for 2026!

That night my mom arrived in Dallas to hang out with me for a day. My dad was in Cabo on a golf trip, so as is tradition, my mom came here so we could do a little holiday shopping girl time. We started at 9:30 am Friday morning after dropping Cora's forgotten lunchbox off at her school downtown and we SHOPPED.

Actually we mostly did some returns and perusing in the beginning - Homegoods, Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx... we were picky and selective and still had so much fun. My coworker had told me about another consignment store, so we decided to head there. Well, first it was lunch- a seriously fantastic little family-owned Greek restaurant, and THEN it was consignment shopping.

And oh my gosh did we find the best things. Clotheshorse Anonymous has such a good buyer and the clothes were all beautiful, unique, and in great condition (I think everything I got still had tags on it).

She picked me out some fun things for my Christmas present, like this awesome Shoshana black dress that looks like separates and a navy Ramy Brook sweater dress that is so beautiful and flattering.

Then we drove over to our first favorite consignment store in Dallas, Clothes Circuit, and it remained incredible.

We'd been out for 7 hours but still somehow barely made it to pick Cora up at the bus stop at 4:30 pm. We got home, admired our treasures, enjoyed a glass of wine, and watched The Santa Clause with the girls before ordering Door Dash because we simply couldn't do anything else.

(This is one of blouses I got, it's Coach, which I didn't even realize makes clothes, but it is perfect and beautiful and I love it.)

On Saturday morning, my mom left for Houston at 5 a.m. because she wanted to make it back in time for my tiny niece's holiday dance performance. I was up at 6 a.m. because Cora had a soccer tournament in Plano (about 45 mins away), Landon had a meet in Mansfield (about 45 mins away in the opposite direction), James had a meet in Garland (about 35 mins away in yet another opposite direction), and Claire had swim practice in Addison (about 30 mins in, you guessed it, another direction).

It was very cold, very wet, and very foggy. Everything you want in a 8 a.m. soccer game.

This was a big meet for Landon - it would be his last chance to qualify for Junior Nationals, which is now almost essential to being recruited for the schools he wants to go to. I went to multiple Juniors back in the day - and turns out James and I were both at the same one in St. Louis in 2000 (and swimming the same event!), but it has gotten SO much faster. Juniors used to be a step to Seniors, now it's just a true Nationals meet but you have to be 18 or under to compete. There isn't a seniors in Winter, you either go to US Open (fun fact, James and I also went to the same US Open in 1999; we didn't actually meet until 2001!) or Juniors. And if you're 18 or under, Juniors is where you want to be.

Every Division I coach Landon has reached out to over the last year has said "we'll be at Juniors, hope to see you there!". He needed to drop 0.07 in the 100 fly to make it and he absolutely believed he would. After Cora's first soccer game, James met me in Plano to watch her 2nd and I drove over to Mansfield (an hour from Plano!) to watch Landon. (Claire was able to get rides to/from her swim practice. She turns 16 in 6 months and none of us can wait.)

It was the first time I've ever really seen Landon nervous... but he had his team and he was smiling on deck and seemed so confident. And then... he added 0.15. But he made finals! So he'd have another chance. And then he went his EXACT same fastest time in his 100 fly, so he was still 0.07 off.

Devastating. It's part of being an athlete, and success measured in hundreths of a second is definitely part of being a swimmer, but man. It hurt.

While Landon stayed with his team, I had a hair appointment I had forgotten I scheduled in the design district by downtown Dallas at 3 pm. It was too late to cancel and I knew I'd never get in before January, so I decided to make it. And stopped at Costco and Trader Joe's on the way. Because oh yes, I was hosting my much-anticipated Favorite Things party at my house on Sunday!

Meanwhile, James and Cora were still in Plano (they tied game 1, won game 2, and had a hard blow of a loss in game 3) and got home at 5:30, exhausted, cold, and in tears (well, just Cora). I gave lots of hugs and started a warm bath for our littlest one and then I forced myself to get dressed because in a final chapter of this insane day, I had a work party!

A holiday party at your managing partner's house and it promised to be fabulous. Plus I promised some of my new partner friends I would go (plus I love our OMP).

I'm so glad I did, but I left pretty early at 9:30 and was in bed by 10.

On Sunday I was up at 6 again because I was thinking about all the party prep I needed to do! Like make a list of things for party prep!

I had spiced candied pecans baking in the oven by 7 am.

Landon went back to his meet. He just had the 50 free, which is a good event for him, but not his best, and he was a full half second off the Juniors cut which is FOREVER in an event that is less than 21 seconds long. We'd had a good talk the evening before, and reaffirmed that he had some good leads at great schools he would love, even if they weren't Top 25 (swim) programs. James and Cora had eaten pasta for dinner and watched a Disney movie. Claire babysat and made all the dollars. Everyone was feeling pretty good.

My party started at 3 pm and somehow I was busy right up until then, getting dressed in a monochrome outfit I put together all by myself at the last second.

That's partly because I had two urgent work calls and a bunch of emails to deal with between 11-1, and I hadn't really been in my house in a week, so there was a decent amount of tidying up of things that apparently only I can see. I also baked my mom's chicken cheesecake dip that is such a delicious throwback of a classic appetizer. And a boursin cranberry pistachio dip that was delicious and my famous fiesta ranch that is literally a Fiesta Ranch seasoning packet + sour cream and many other things.

I have wanted to host this party for YEARS, but moving as an adult is hard and it took a while to make friends in a new city, especially while working, traveling a ton, and supporting three children and three different schools with very different parent groups who all seem to have known each other their whole lives. So I was so, so excited to send out my invitations to 16 women who are all badass level AMAZING and even more excited when every single one said yes! A few had to cancel at the last minute (illness, life, etc), but still, it was such a fabulous collection of humans.

I could not be more proud to be connected to each of them, and they all put so much thought and care into picking their favorite things!! It was a really, really special afternoon.

And then -- AND THEN -- Landon had finals in his 50 free (he dropped 0.06 to go a new best time in the morning, a 20.69, but was still 0.31 off the cut, which is SO MUCH in a 50) and James went to go watch and I had just said goodbye to my remaining guests when Landon's time popped up on my phone's Meet Mobile app and HE WENT A 20.37!! The cut was 20.39. He made it!!

I immediately started crying and yelling. The girls ran downstairs to hear what happened and then they were yelling. And then I called him and he was so excited. And my parents called and were so happy and James called and was so happy and oh my god Landon would now need to leave for Juniors in Austin on Tuesday and one of us had to go with him and stay through Saturday and we were not really prepared for that?

Enter Monday! I am at work very early because all the things that popped up on Sunday have remained up. James and I are trying to make a hotel reservation and figure out how to make the week work. Landon is getting showered in free things through his club's Arena sponshorship and is SO delighted and texting me pictures and updates. He's heard from at least 6 colleges in the Top 20, none of which have contacted him before. Duke (Duke!!) can't wait to meet him. He is on Cloud 9. I book him a hotel and he gets a ride to the meet the next day with a teammate. James will leave on Wednesday to meet him (his first race was Wednesday night for the 200 medley relay).

On Tuesday I have a breakfast meeting with the Texas Women's Foundation because a good friend is on their executive leadership council and I'm thinking of joining. We currently donate financially to a lot of causes and will continue to do so, but as my kids get older and I have more time (well, not yet, but soonish! maybe?) I'm looking for a cause I can also give time and energy to. And "transforming Texas for women and girls by advancing their economic security and leadership through research, advocacy, grants and programs" sounds like something I can absolutely give my all.

I had much work, did my usual protein bar at my desk for lunch, and then ran out early for a meeting of women who are all engaged in private equity and finance. That was excellent and THEN I went to our office holiday party where I enjoyed two "Mrs. Kringle Cranberry Spritzes" and fajita buffet.

On Wednesday James left for Austin to meet Landon. I got the girls to school and had every intention of going to the office, but then I didn't because pickup felt too soon and all my calls were video and my house has cats and a bulldog. I had a different work party that night, but I decided I knew enough people and opted for pajamas at home with the girls watching The Princess Switch on Netflix and addressing our family holiday cards. No regrets.

On Thursday I had more work, which I once again did from home because girls/carpool/pets/etc. Landon swam his 50 free and added a tiny bit from his qualifying time, but still went his 2nd best.

On Friday he swam his 100 fly, where he was ALSO just off his best (once you make a qualifying time, there are "bonus" qualifying times that can get you into other events; he qualified in 50 free and had bonus cuts in the 100 free and 100 fly). That night he had a 4x50 free relay where he went a 20.06 which is SO GREAT and they got SECOND which is way better than they were seeded.

I spend the day working, dropping off and picking up girl children, dropping off our Women's Initiative Angel Tree gifts that had filled the entire back of my car so I felt like I was driving Santa's Sleigh, and then attended my firm's corporate section dinner and watched his swim on my phone at the table. My associate was sitting next to me and she swam at TCU and was cheering (quietly) alongside me. James video'd the awards ceremony so I could watch. It was awesome.

My dinner was lovely. I work with our corporate group every day and because my group (Global Regulatory Enforcement) only has two people in Dallas - me and my associate - we were invited to join in the corporate dinner, which was so nice.

I wore The Shoes, which are really only meant for occasions where you are sitting.

We went to a club afterward (a club! at my age! I was carded; it was an honor) where I had to stand for all of 20 minutes and then I Ubered home where I apparently took off my shoes the second I came inside and left them so it looked like I'd been raptured when I came downstairs and found them in the morning.

On Saturday the girls had a swim meet in Rockwall, so I got to drive them there very early in the morning and sit on a hard stand bench for nearly 8 hours while they swam for a total of 3 minutes each. I know I was a swimmer, and I love it, and they did GREAT, and I was very excited for them, but man... swim meets are maybe not my favorite way to spend a Saturday?

That night Claire was babysitting, so Cora and I watched The Princess Switch 2 and 3 (I love them; I'm not ashamed) and then cheered on Landon's relay on TV where they did SO awesome.

He went his fastest split ever in the 100 free - 44.69 - and they got 3rd! So they got another medal ceremony! I got to watch that live on TV too. Then they drove home, arriving at midnight.

And then we had Sunday! Which involved Day 2 of the girls' swim meet, high school swim parties for both Claire and Landon at different places at the same time, and Cora, James, and me on the couch watching Elf. I read five years worth of 10-Ks for a new client, wondered when I'll make our Christmas cookies, and spent an hour helping Landon clean his room while he provided nonstop verbal commentary on the archeological dig that was his dresser drawers.

Today is Monday, I'm finally (I think?) finishing this blog post, the kids all have finals this week, I have so so much work to wrap up, and my whole family is coming to stay with us for Christmas in 8 days. I can't wait for the latter and we'll all survive the former.

Happy Holidays everyone!