Las Posadas

We had an excelente time last weekend as we celebrated the Mexican Christmas tradition of Las Posadas with our new friends the Robledos and some great friends from our neighborhood. Here's a recap:

The main idea of Las Posadas is to reenact the struggles of Joseph and Mary trying to find a place to stay that first Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. As a group, we traveled to various houses asking (through simple Spanish song) for lodging. We were denied each time (by those inside singing back to us) as we approached the house.
It's hard to believe, but even these stout singers were denied entrance to the "inn."
The kids, who weren't reading the Spanish songs from the sheet, added in some beautiful "oooooohs" throughout the singing. To see what we sang, click here.



A video sample of the angelic voices and strong Spanish accents exhibited during the evening.

After being denied lodging three times, the weary travelers were finally welcomed into the inn, and the festivities began in earnest.

A highlight of the night was some marvelous ponche brewed up by Yadira. It is a sweet Mexican version of apple cider, with the added bonus of fruit pieces! We all had multiple servings because it was so delicioso!



Wil loved the ponche so much he wanted to marry it.


No Las Posadas celebration would be complete without a star-shaped pinata. Maisy donned her official pinata-whacking outfit in order to receive extra swinging strength. It didn't work.



We loved our Las Posadas celebration, and are grateful to our friends the Robledos for teaching us this beautiful tradition. !Feliz Navidad!

Bring on the Bowls!

Please pick your favorite bowl from the following choices:

Choice A:


Choice B:


Choice C:

Choice D:


If you picked bowl "B," you must be hungry. If you picked bowl "D," you must be a college football fan! Whether you picked the correct bowl or not, we would like to invite you to be part of our 2nd annual College Bowl Mania Challenge! (Go Cougars!)



We have a group that will be picking the winners of all the college bowl games coming up over the next few weeks. We are doing the challenge through ESPN.com. If you'd like to participate, all you have to do is follow these simple steps: (Go Cougars!)



1. Go to ESPN.com
2. Find the "Fantasy" tab, then click on "College Bowl Mania" found on that tab
3. If you don't already have one, sign up for a free espn.com account.
4. Follow the directions to create your entry
5. Join the group! The group name is Gus2008, and the password is gus2008.

Once you join, all you have to do is pick which team you think will win each bowl game, and how confident you are in your choices. It's fun, and you don't have to know a ton about college football to do well!

So, sign up yourself and your spouse, and get to pickin, and good luck, and did I mention, GO COUGARS!

Choppin' the Tree

The Gustaveson family has a very memorable and jovial tradition. Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, we go out and cut down Christmas trees on Buckskin Mountain, halfway in between Page, AZ and Kanab, UT. (Check out the embedded map if you're interested.)


View Larger Map


Chopping down the trees, however, is only half the fun. Actually, I (Brett) think the tree finding and chopping is perhaps only, like, 3% of the fun. I like to let most of the others go locate and kill the poor little trees, while I help man the fire (and the hot dogs).

My brother-in-law Todd (pictured above in his EVIL University of Utah hat) is an expert tree wrangler. He found his family's tree, slaughtered it, and had it back to camp in about 8 minutes. That's got to be some kind of record.

Before the find n' chop, all tree hunters receive whistles and compasses in case they get lost. We did get a little bit lost one year, prompting the current safety precautions. The "getting lost" story is a blog post for another day. Remind me at this time next year, and I'll be sure to tell you.

Oh, and a shout out to Aunt Di for the awesome hats. We will wear ours for years with fond memories.


Meanwhile, back at camp, Wil and cousin Megan demonstrate their dog eating skills. Nothin' better than firing up the weiners and marshmallows!



Ace had a great time crawling around and getting messy. He got his first taste of dirt, and he was impressed!

I believe the ring around Maisy's face says it all. The annual Gustaveson tree chop is a fabulously fantastic time, especially for those that stay away from the tree chopping part!