December 27, 2009

Location: Blackfoot, Idaho

Today we got up early and all went to church with Dad, Grandma & Great Aunt Elvira. Our kids were at their absolute finest during the meeting (SARCASM!). Jeremy finally took Taylee out in the hall. That allowed our row to have a little bit of peace. After awhile I heard distant painful crying and knew it was Taylee. So I rushed out to check on her. She had ran into a door or wall or chair or...well Jer wasn't quite sure. Her forehead was already swollen, on top of a previous bruise/scrape. Bring on Bruise #38! Needless to say, Jer took the kids home after the first hour while the rest of us stayed to listen to Dad teach his Sunday School lesson. He's awesome!

After Dad's class, we hurried home to get ready and head to West Yellowstone. The Hone Family was there for the week and we decided to crash their party! We were all ecstatic to play in lots of snow again! I think Jer was the most excited seeing as he had almost everything packed & in the car by the time we got home from church!

Location: West Yellowstone, Montana

Arrival: 2:00pm

As soon as we unloaded, Me/Jer, Lynds/Aaron, Mason/Anna took off on a snowmobile ride. The rest of the fam volunteered to watch our kids! WOOHOO! Anden had been asking, "Where are my cousins Max and Isaac?" for the past week since we arrived in Idaho. So he was stoked to finally be with the boys!! While we were gone, the kids went sledding! Looks like they had an awesome time! (Thanks for the pics Lacie!)

We rode from West up to Two Top. It's the very peak of the mountain and it's frigid up there! We lucked out and it was a beautiful clear (but don't be fooled it was FREEZING) day where you could see the whole valley. This was nice for a change since all I saw was the back of Jer's helmet the whole way. At least that was better than Lyndsay. She couldn't see anything since her helmet face mask froze over 2 mins into the 2 hr ride! lol

Well the ride up was fun and I stayed relatively warm hiding behind Jer. The ride back down however was a much different story! The sun was starting to set while we were on top and I swear the temp dropped 20 degrees...which is a big deal when you started out at 20 degrees! So the entire ride home I sang songs to myself to keep from slipping into hypothermic slumber. Then I would alternate with pep talks to my toes and fingers to continue wiggling for survival. When we finally arrived back to the condos, I immediately jumped off the sled. Well in my mind I did. The rest of my body sat there frozen and had to be pushed off. We stumbled back into the warmth and winced with pain while our fingers defrosted. I now remember why I live in Arizona.

We all laughed, ate, played and laughed some more. Eventually we finally got all the kids to bed. This meant it was time for the adults to stay up all night playing cards. The Hones are pros and they really preyed upon our weaknesses. So much for beginners mercy. I was "SCUM" half the game. lol

December 26, 2009

Location: Blackfoot, Idaho

For most, the day after Christmas is usually a bit somber. But not for us! We're always off to the next activity. We spend the morning playing with toys and recovering from our previous marathon day.

Then we all headed up to Idaho Falls to watch Luke's High School alumni basketball tournament. The kids had a blast running around the gym, up/down the bleachers and scaling the walls all day. The parents, not so much. Luke's team made their way to the championship game and then proceeded to win the whole tourney!! I'm so glad that I was there 4 hours to witness 5 mins of intense basketball action! ;-) Great job Lukey!

December 25, 2009

Location: Blackfoot, Idaho

Finally the most anticipated day of the year was here! MERRY CHRISTMAS! We spent the very early morning containing the kids upstairs until Papa Nolie gave us the "GO!" signal. Seems like not so long ago I was waiting in the exact same spot with the same anticipation!

Do you see me?

1, 2, 3 OPEN

Sheer Delight

Big Thank You Hugs!

New Six Shooters!

Presents, Presents

Helping Papa

Hhmm do we think alike?

Merry Christmas!

Horsey Rides

Nope, I didn't eat ALL the M&Ms!

Sitting in the comfy trash

Anden tried to convince us he didn't eat 5 donuts for breakfast. Somehow we didn't believe him.

We always spend Christmas day up at my Mom's house in Idaho Falls. This year, we had a heartfelt change of plans at the last minute. We decided to all travel 2 hours to Utah instead to visit Grandma Hunsaker. She's recovering in a rehabilitation center and longed for our family craziness to fulfill her day.

Location: Blackfoot, Idaho - 12:oopm
Estimated Arrival: Brigham City, Utah - 2:00pm

Mom had these adorable "presents" for the kids to wear when we walked into Grandma's room! Even Anden participated with good cheer...for 2 minutes!

Our Bingham relatives, from Salt Lake, revamped their plans for the day and met us there too! It was great catching up with everyone! They're a hilarious bunch. The volume decibels really sky rocket when we all get together! The boys loved that there was a big screen and Wii! We stayed there for a couple of hours there and then hit the road again.

While we were caravaning home we decided to go ahead and do our usual hang out/gift exchange in Idaho Falls anyway (since the kids were finally napping!!) We figured we might as well get every last second squeezed out of the 24 hrs of Christmas!

Location: Brigham City, Utah - 4:30pm
Estimated Arrival: Idaho Falls - 7:00pm (with a pit stop in Blackfoot to gather gifts)

Mel & Brooke

Nate & Lynds

Gift Chaos

Guilty Chocolate Stealers

Mel: the source of the chocolate!

Lynds, Brylee & Barbie

Story time with Uncle Lukey

Noah

Getting Jordan's autograph

More Books!

So...Christmas was definitely a LONG day but worth it!! I have to admit that by the time we left Idaho Falls the hidden Grinch in me had vetoed saying "Merry Christmas" anymore. I'll safely bet that I used that phrase 5816 times that day throughout all our journeys. 5817 times would have sent me and my children spiraling into a Christmas meltdown.

FINAL Location: Blackfoot, Idaho
Arrival: 10:00pm

Is it still Christmas??!

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas filled with family, friends, love and happiness!

December 24, 2009

Location: Blackfoot, Idaho

Christmas Eve was finally here! The morning was spent performing last minute errands. My fave of which was cutting down a tree to take some fire logs to the elderly neighbor lady. Isn't that on your list of To Do's?? Gotta love the country!

Then Jeremy took Anden "sledding" on the half inch of crusty snow. Hhmm that's probably how Bruise #8 occurred.

It was finally time for Christmas Eve Festivities! All of the Blackfoot family came over for the evening! While the adults prepared dinner, the kids played.

Teaching Taylee how to slide down the railing

Who ME? It wasn't my fault she fell

Light Saber Time

The Little Kid Table

The Big Kid Table

Quality time with Great Grandma Norma

Reinacting the Christmas Story

Mary & Joseph & Camera & Swinging Baby Jesus

Mary caressing her swaddled sippy cup

Papa Nolie reading The Night Before Christmas

Blankie Gift Time (from Grandma Norma & Aunt Elvira)

LOVING their new blankies!

More New Jammies!

Matching PJs (girls made them pose! lol)

WAIT!! Santa I have one more last minute request. If I PROMISE to be extra nice to my sister, will you please bring me back my sense of balance and depth perception. I seem to have lost it. My Mommy would really like me to have a bruise and scrape free head for Christmas. Thanks!