Christmas Picture Overload

We went home to Utah for Christmas again this year.  We always pack a lot in while we're there and it's always lots of fun!  After 3 weeks of visiting we were really sad to go, but it was nice to get the kids back to their regular schedules and get that dreaded flight alone with the kids over with.

I flew there and back alone with the kids and they did great.  Besides a drunk man on the first flight who thought Sammi was adorable, the flights were pretty uneventful.  The male flight attendant, who was batting for the other team I'm pretty sure, was super helpful when I had to change both kids' diapers and he kept raving about Emerson's "Amazing eyelashes!".  He was great. :)

We hit the "musts" when we're in Utah such as Cafe Rio, Tio's, and Nielsen's Frozen Custard, then we also ate at Hires Big H, Robintino's, Bella Citta, Zupas, and The Art Garden.  We may have also had Red Mango and dropped by Sweet Tooth Fairy once or twice.

Before Christmas, I hung out with my fam and just enjoyed relaxing before the craziness of Christmas started.  I went to lunch with my mom and sister while my other two siblings were in school.  We all headed to breakfast at Kneader's for french toast which was DIVINE.  

I love all the help I get with my kids when I go home.  E can usually convince someone to play trains and Sammi always has a handler ready to step in and hold her. :)  I also made a trip to Costco with my dad.  We are dangerous when we get together.  In fact, when we had been there for a half hour or so we looked at each other and said "Wait, what did we come here for again?  Oh yeah, we're figuring out dinner for everyone."  We ended up with a lot more in our cart than just the stuff to make fajitas.  So wonder no more where my love of buying in bulk comes from.

 On the 19th I flew solo at Ben's family's Christmas party.  They do homemade gifts every year and exchange with the extended family.  It was lots of fun seeing what everyone made for their secret person.  Ben and I both made ties for two of Ben's younger brothers.  I received a handbag and Ben got a tackle box complete with trains inside to entertain E.

When Scott and Ashley flew out from Pennsylvania on the 20th, the boys went to the U of U bowl game since my brother Brad will be leaving on his mission next summer and it will be the last one before then.  That meant the girls got to hang out and make a gingerbread choo-choo with E.  We also stayed up late watching "Meet Me in St. Louis" after making a few delicious treats.  (There were way too many treats around...but that's what Christmas is all about!)

Ben joined me on the 23rd and we headed to the temple that night to do Sealings with his family.  It's always a neat experience, but I also have this nagging fear that I'm going to pass out.  I almost did once or twice when I was pregnant, but I was A-okay this time.

We went to the Christensens' Christmas pageant Christmas Eve morning and did my family's traditional movie and Chinese food for Christmas Eve.  We saw Tangled and loved it and went to Ocean City for dinner.  Then we exchanged sibling gifts and put the very tired kids to bed.

We switched things up Christmas Day and did the morning with my family and the afternoon with Ben's.  The kids got absolutely spoiled by Santa, Grandma and Grandpa, and us.  Luckily we got everything home to Columbus.  E was excited but quickly got overwhelmed with how many fun things there were to play with and was mad we were trying to get him to open more things when he already had some amazing things to play with.  So we let him drift between opening and playing while the rest of us took turns.

 We headed over to the Christensens for Christmas afternoon.  We were able to talk to his brother, Michael, who is on a mission in Mozambique.  The poor kid had to stay up until midnight his time to call and he was the very last one who got to talk to his family.  We played with Ben's siblings and had a relaxing evening.  When we headed back to the Johnsons' house I believe this was the first night that we had a Nerf war.  My dad gave each of the boys a little Nerf gun for Christmas and we ended up getting some more so the girls could get in on the action.  There were overturned couches and eyes that were practically lost, but it was lots of fun.

On the 26th, my mom did a big Christmas dinner when we would all be together.  It was divine, as are most things she cooks.  (Except tuna bunwiches, but those are long gone.  I know Mom...of all the wonderful things you cook, the one thing that I hated lives in infamy.)  After dinner, we headed over to the Christensens' casa to spend a few nights there.

The 27th was family picture day.  We thought ahead and planned it out since it was the last time we'll all be together before my little brother's mission.  Everyone looked great in their black and red and Sammi and E even cooperated beautifully.  He kept telling the photographer "Thanks!" whenever he would arrange his chair and gave him a little footstool.  For some reason he was in the best mood ever after his nap.  We were really thankful for that.  We ended up spending the night at my parents' house and we had to go out looking for some more whistling darts for an epic Nerf war.  Big fun.

On the 28th, we got together with Ben's friends Dan and Ryan and their ladies for lunch and then Ben headed up to his family's cabin for the night.  I got together with my friends that evening for dinner at Market Street Grill and we had a great time reminiscing and gossiping.  It was so much fun to see everyone although we missed the few who ended up not being able to come at the last minute.

 On the 29th Ben came down from the cabin with his fam and went to dinner with them and the kids and I went back over later to stay the night.  We had a good time playing games and making treats with them.

On the 30th Scott and Ashley flew home and we were so sad to see them go!  Emerson kept asking where they went and wondered what they could possibly be doing besides playing trains with him.  We played a few good games of basketball and soccer with Ben's family before collapsing into bed that night.

New Year's Eve was spent with my family with our traditional treats and games.  We had our yummy caramel apple dip and cran-grape with sprite beverage.  Some people had onion dip, but I'm allergic to it so it makes me want to vomit.  That darn Ben wins at most any game he plays, even the ones the hates like Disney Trivial Pursuit.  We played Perpetual Commotion until well after midnight and I won.  Ha.

The next morning we got up and whipped up some crepes (ha ha...it didn't go quite as fast as we anticipated. :) Then I took Ben to the airport and sadly said goodbye for a few more days.  E was pretty sad that Daddy was gone and kept asking for him.  (See?  He does love you.)

The remainder of the trip was spent doing things one last time (like Sweet Tooth Fairy) and milking every single minute we could together.  This included visiting my cousin Brooke and her kids and my Aunt Karen and Uncle Craig.  Emerson kept asking to see Kerison (Ericson) and Bri-Bri (Brighton) again and was very distraught that it would be a lot of days until we got to play again.

So if you've made it to the end of this mega post, congratulations.  You must really care.  It doesn't matter how long I spend with my family--I'm always ALWAYS sad to go and I feel like I can't tell them how much I appreciate all they do for me.  So since I can't ever say it in person because I'm either actively crying or on the verge of tears, THANK YOU!  We love you so much!

 This is how I feel when we leave.