Family

This holiday break has been really nice because Brad has had so much time off from work so we've been able to spend a lot of time with our families. We really enjoyed spending time at my parents house and I was sad to leave. They always spoil us and I love being with them so much. They're the best.
It made it a little bit easier to leave knowing we were on our way to Bear Lake for more family time with the Hobson side of the family for a New Years get together.
The drive wasn't too long which was nice and the kids were busy playing with cousins the second we walked in the door. I think it will be a fun weekend!

Visits

We started the day off with an outing for lunch at another yummy Utah restaurant. They have so many yummy bakeries and soup/sandwich places here. I love it. Jason was nice enough to take us out as a thank you to Brad for helping him move.
After lunch we went and saw my grandparents who now live in a retirement home. I was so glad to see them, but it was also difficult to see the way their health has declined. I'm so grateful for them and the example they've been to me throughout my whole life.
This evening we were able to visit with Brad's cousin Spencer, his wife Kristen, and their adorable little girl Amelia. We haven't seen them in a really long time so it was so nice to visit with them and catch up. They had a beautiful dog that Tenley fell in love with and Kade and Tenley both had fun playing games with Kristen.
Our kids could have been bored and whiny with all the visiting we did with people they don't really know, but they weren't. They were so good! And they enjoyed the visits too. I love them!

Snow

I guess you could say I'm both grateful and ungrateful for snow today. Grateful because the kids and I had a lot of fun playing in the snow this morning and building a 'snowman head', as Kade called it. The snow was pretty fluffy so Kade had the idea to just make a head like the snowman was peeking his head out of a hole in the ground. It was creative. The craziest part was when he pulled two round chocolates and a shriveled up carrot out of his coat pocket. I had no idea where they came from! Brad later told me that he had helped Kade get those the last time he played in the snow with him a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure when Kade went back inside, he took the chocolates and the shriveled up carrot and put it back in his coat pocket for the next time we build a snowman. He makes me laugh!
We also played freeze tag and Simon Says. Kade is really good at playing Simon Says! He legitimately tricked me two times! I was impressed.
I was ungrateful for the snow because the crazy amount of snow my parents received on Christmas Eve caused 9 of their trees in their backyard to fall over and be uprooted. So half of the day today my dad, Brad, Danny and I cut the trees down and made a huge pile of debris. We're all feeling pretty sore and tired now. It's sad to see the yard without those trees now, but I'm grateful we were here to help them get it somewhat taken care of. And my Mom was really sweet and bought us all In-N-Out burger after we had finished! So it really wasn't too bad of a day :)

Skiing

This past February after we took Kade and Tenley skiing for their first time they told my Dad about it and we made a plan to have them go skiing with Grandpa over Christmas break. Today we finally cashed in on that plan! My Dad, Brad, Kade, Tenley, Calli, Lexi, Junior, and I all went skiing today at Alta.  We ended up staying on the bunny hill all day because Kade and Tenley still have a lot to learn and it was Calli's, Lexi's, and Junior's first time ever skiing. It was really crowded, but we still had a lot of fun. Kade and Tenley improved a lot. And I'm now craving a fun ski trip with Brad! I love being up in the mountains and the snow just makes it a fun winter wonderland. It was so pretty.

Shopping

We had a fun filled day of shopping today! My mom was a trooper too even though she wasn't feeling well. The kids and boys came with us as well and were really patient with us. We spent a little bit of time at Target and most of our time at IKEA. Oh man that store is fun! Kade and Tenley actually wanted to play at the play place and they had a lot of fun there. I found some great storage bins, kitchen dishes, and home decor. I wasn't able to get it all though because we don't have a lot of room going home. But it was still a lot of fun to brainstorm for future home design ideas.
When we came home Kade and Tenley played in the snow while Ryder napped. It's been so much fun being here!

A White Christmas

It was raining last night when we went to bed, but this morning we woke up to inches and inches of snow! It was beautiful. Although, it did make it hard to drive to church, and it did ruin some trees in my parents backyard. That was not fun. But the snow was beautiful. My mom and dad were probably the first ones up in the house. Not because they we were excited about opening presents though, but because my dad needed to shovel his house and then shovel the church sidewalks. And my mom wanted to get breakfast going. Kade and Tenley woke up around 7 and waited and waited until we finally decided to wake up Ryder so we could see what Santa brought. The kids were excited to run downstairs to see their presents and they seemed extremely happy with what they got!
We had a delicious breakfast of sweet orange rolls, omelet, and fruit cocktail. And then we headed to church. The meeting was all Christmas music and the Bishop had some nice words to say at the end. I really love when Christmas is on a Sunday and we're able to go to church to really be able to focus on the reason we celebrate. I love this quote by President Thomas S. Monson:

"Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence.

Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or distress, wherever they may be.

Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because he came.

Because He came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life."

When we got home from church Tracie and her family arrived. We had lunch and opened more gifts. Then their family and Jason's family had to leave and the rest of us relaxed here. It was a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve

I love Christmas Eve and I'm especially grateful to be in Utah this year carrying on traditions that I remember doing growing up. It's fun to have so many great memories and to now be able to share that all with my husband and children. We went out to dinner all together to a yummy BBQ restaurant. It was so delicious. Then we drove downtown to Temple Square to walk around and see the Christmas lights. It was really rainy, but it wasn't too cold so it was still a nice evening. We all came back to my parents house for hot chocolate and cookies. The kids were able to open up new pajamas, write a letter to Santa, and set out some cookies and carrots. Kade was anxious to get to bed because he knew Santa would be coming soon. He'd been tracking Santa all night and even got a call from him where he told him he'd be here at midnight! It's fun to see their excitement!

Earlier today we carried on Brad's family tradition of making fruit cocktail. I'm excited for breakfast in the morning! It fun to mash mine and Brad's family's traditions together. :) Fruit cocktail, Christmas omelets, and sweet orange rolls. Yum...

Headphones

We made it to my parents house today in good time and with great weather! It was a really enjoyable drive. We've been trying to figure out all the new gadgets that come with our new car and we discovered how to have the kids watch a movie with headphones while we are able to still listen to podcasts. It made for the quietest road trip that we've had since we started having kids!
I'm so glad to be here with family for the holidays for such a long time. When Brad was a student he'd get three weeks off which was really nice, but I feel spoiled with him even having one whole week off. It's going to be a great week celebrating Christmas with family!