Whew! I don't know about you, but it seemed Christmas was quite the whirlwind for us this year! Beforehand we were crazy busy with Christmas parties and projects in addition to the usual stuff like YW, visiting teaching, etc. All in pleasantly cool weather. Then we left for Christmas break.
We spent the first four days of our trip with my family just outside of St. George in a beautiful place called Diamond Valley. We enjoyed four-wheeling, hiking, fishing, and catching up on episodes of "Wipeout!" and "Love it or List it". We had some yummy yummy food and the kids loved getting to open presents with their uncles and Oma and Opa.
The next day we headed out for southern Arizona, where Robert is from. That is where we spent the last part of our trip. There were tons of cousins to play with and Daddy spent every minute soaking up the fun to be had on the farm. Motorcycles, paintballing, shooting guns, etc. We got a few projects done for Grandma and Grandpa like finishing the painting on the outside of the house and welding and painting covers for the window wells. And we all enjoyed a second, mini Christmas exchanging presents with siblings, cousins, and grandparents.
Then the big drive home. It was the longest day of my life. Or at least felt like it. We started at 4 am and did not get home until after 9 pm. That's 17 hours of traveling in a small car with two children. But we made it, thanks to key stops like Cabella's to see the fish. And once we got home, the kids got to have another mini Christmas opening presents from each other and the gifts Santa wasn't able to fit in the sleigh for Utah and Arizona.
Now we are home and recovering from it all. The day after we got back, we had Robert's cousin and her family come stay for about 24 hours to bring a daughter back up to BYU-Idaho. What a whirlwind! Eight people in to stay and back out again!
So this week will hopefully remain low-key. All of us are going through detox from having so much family around to talk to, help out with the kids, and to play with, hold, and give attention. That's always hard for my kids. Hope your holidays were great and your week nice and calm :)
