Holiday Pics

Happy Holidays

WOW! I'm unsure where to even begin. Our holiday has been such a blast! A little busy at times, relaxing at other times, and overall.... soooo needed!;) I won't try to ramble on about every little detail, but I would like to share some of the highlights.

We finished off our final exams pretty well. Our grades turned out just fine. What we're most excited about though is that we survived!

We started out the holiday by attending the annual Christmas concert at the Conference Center featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Symphony on Temple Square. It was amazing! The guest performers were the King Singers. They were incredibly talented, and we felt so lucky to actually get tickets! (Thanks, Christine, for sending them our way;) Though we had planned on heading back up to Logan that evening, we decided to stay in Centerville due to icy/dark roads. The next day (12/16) we visited Keith and Jen before leaving to Logan. They claimed they had pounds and pounds of food they needed to get rid of, and who doesn't want to assist in such a worthy cause;) tee hee! On the way down to their home, however, we noticed the car was kind of rattling (it was actually Cody's brother's recently purchased car...we were just test driving it on the highway before taking it up to Wyoming). We thought we should check it out on Monday morning before risking it on the highway again. Though no one really likes car trouble, we were excited to have an extra day with Keith and Jen. We even got a little Christmas shopping done the next day while awaiting our car to be checked.

We spent the rest of the week working on Cody's Dad's 50th Birthday video (thanks to Keith and Jen's generosity and hospitality) and even got to babysit Baby Logan at Scott and Marianne's while we were in the area. He is just too adorable! We loved having a little time with him even if he was asleep 90% of the time. We then headed up to Wyoming on Saturday (12/22) to spend Christmas with the Cutler crew. One of Cody's buddies and his wife put on a Christmas party that evening. We had a great time! I really enjoyed getting to know some of Cody's old friends and he enjoyed catching up with them.

On Sunday (12/23) we sent caroling around Green River delivering Christmas gifts. Family time is the best thing about the holiday break. It was so fun! Afterwards, Cody somehow coaxed his sisters into giving him a little pedicure, if you will. They gave him a foot rub with lotion, clipped his toe nails, and then painted them with clear nail polish. That part, I'm pretty sure his sisters did the coaxing.

I caught the flu on Christmas Eve Eve and spent most of the next day in bed sipping gatorade. I was grateful it was on Christmas Eve rather on Christmas day:) And why not shed a few pounds right before the holiday weight starts packing on? haha. Well anyway, Christmas was so wonderful. The night before we dressed in robes, ate a humble shepherds meal, and listened to Cody read the Christmas story from Luke while Cody's dad read what was going on at the same time from the Book of Mormon. I really enjoyed getting both sides of the story from opposite ends of the world. The next morning, we arose early and opened presents, of coarse! During gift opening, Casey (Cody's missionary brother) called and we talked to him for a couple hours. It was my first "meeting" with Casey. It was nice to have a chance to get to know him a bit better.

After a lovely Christmas breakfast, we were off to Centerville to celebrate the rest of the day with the Moons. When we arrived, the house was packed with family! The whole Stauffer family, Grandma VO, Jared & Amanda, Nate & Sarah, Mom, Dad, and Andrew were all there to share the holiday. Scott & Marianne and Keith (we missed you Jen!) joined later...and I musn't forget...Parker, Kierscha, and Baby Logan were there too. We missed the Brady Bunch! Know our thoughts were with you. It was a bit crazy with such a full house but super fun! We had a magnificent meal designed by Dad and a bit of Swedish Butter Ring to top it off. We finished the fun with a stocking hunt! This is one thing that makes Christmas feel like Christmas.

On Thursday (12/27) we spent the day on the slopes with the Cutlers. Derek, Tayli, Cody, and I snowboarded while the rest of the family skied. It was only my second time so I was bit shaky but it went much smoother than my first time! We spent the night at Cody's grandparent's home in Springville. It was my first time seeing where they lived and it was such a nice place! The entire house was built for them...custom sound, intercom, lighting, and much more. It was crazy nice. We also had the opportunity to attend church with them that Sunday. Cody's grandpa serves in the branch presidency at the MTC so our Sacrament meeting was full of Elders and Sisters. It was a great experience. The spirit was wonderful.

After church we headed back to Wyoming for New Years. We made it to Evanston and I-80 had just been closed! We waited on the highway for five hours before we decided to turn around and spend the night in Centerville. Quite the traffic jam if you ask me. The road opened the next morning and we were able to make it to Green River safely.

New Year's Eve was pretty relaxing...we played games, watched videos, munched on goodies, and welcomed the new year with sparkling cider. The rest of the week was our time to relax and rejuvenate. Cody's Dad's birthday was on Thursday (1/3). We prepared a mini-surprise party including a steak dinner and lots of gifts. He loved the video. It included pictures from the day he was born up until now. We had short little voice messages from the kids and Cody's mom at the end, as well. We gave him a DVD of bonus features that included interviews from his sisters, brother, and mom. We felt bad we weren't able to get his dad...that would have been priceless.

Yesterday was Karlee's (Cody's little sister) baptism. It was so special. She was baptized by Derek (Cody's brother) and confirmed by Cody's dad. Karlee has been on her best behavior ever since. It's wonderful to see that she understands the importance of her baptism.

Now we are back in Logan. It feels like we have been on the road for three weeks straight! We're excited for the new year and new semester. We've made New Year's resolutions including exercise, studying, eating right, and spiritual growth. We're excited for this opportunity for a fresh start. I liked Cliffton's comments on a new beginning in his 'tag.' Thanks for your inspiring thoughts. We love each of you very much! We enjoyed seeing so many of our family over the holiday. Thank you, everyone, for opening your homes and pantries to us.

Hugs and Kisses

P.S. My apologizes...I did ramble quite a bit:)