2012 Christmas Vacation (Part 1)

The last time we went to Utah to spend Christmas with family was in 2010, so this past year we decided it was time to make the trip again.  We left on December 14th and didn’t get back until the night of January 1st, so with all the driving included we were gone for 19 days. 

It was a whirlwind trip that included lots of hanging out at Grandma’s house, two family reunions (one with my family in Utah, and one at Daniel’s sister’s house in Arizona), Christmas parties, game nights and playing with cousins, a baptism (Rachel), a priesthood ordination (Tristan), a broken bone (also Tristan), lots of sickness (all the kids, because can you go to Utah at Christmas without getting sick?), snowstorms and sledding and snow forts, and then also a Killers concert in Vegas in the middle of the Arizona reunion. 

So I’ll see if I can fit all that in three posts.  

The Drive to Utah

The first night we stayed at a hotel in Amarillo, Texas.  We got there pretty late and put the younger kids straight to bed.  Tristan and Oliver got to stay up with me and Daniel and eat take-out fries and shakes from the Red Robin across the parking lot from our hotel (oh, the perks of being an older child.  Sometimes I have to remind them of these kinds of perks when they are complaining about The Responsibilities of Being an Older Child). 

This is our standard hotel sleeping arrangement for the younger four – Cindy in her tent, and Rachel, Lizza, and Henry sleeping sideways in one of the beds, with Rachel in the peacemaker position in the middle. 

The next day we packed up the car, enjoyed our hotel breakfast, and then drove to Denver, Colorado.  We ate dinner at a great Mexican restaurant in Denver that Daniel and the older kids discovered on our summer road trip to Yellowstone – they had gone out to eat there after going to a baseball game, and wanted to bring the whole family back.                                                               

Then we had lots of time for swimming at the hotel:

Utah

Our first stop once we got to Utah the next day was Temple Square.  The younger three kids have never been there before, and they loved seeing all the Christmas lights:

But they loved seeing their cousins even more!  Some of the families who were already in town had driven up from my parents’ house in Orem to meet us. 

After Temple Square we visited Daniel’s mom at her new house in Pleasant Grove, and then went to my parents’ house, where we were staying for the next few days. 

The next morning the kids got started right away on all their favorite things to do at Grandma’s house.

Drawing:

Playing Pac-Man, foosball, and air-hockey in the game room:

Puzzles!                                                                              

Playing with Yankee, their kind and patient dog.  This was Cynthia’s first trip to Utah since she was a baby, so it was like she was meeting Yankee for the first time and it was love at first sight.

The first morning we were there, my brother went out to the kitchen and looked out in the backyard and saw Cindy out there in her fuzzy jammies, kneeling in the snow with Yankee.  All the doors were shut and locked, but she had followed Yankee out through her doggy door.                 

Later that day we got everyone all snow-suited up as best as we could (we had brought some snow gear with us from Texas, leftover from our old days in Utah, and borrowed the rest).  I was reminded again that snow is more fun as a kid than it is as a parent – just looking at Henry’s little wrists and legs with the snow touching his bare skin makes me cold.  If we ever move back to Utah I’m investing in a bunch of those gloves that go all the way up to your elbows – trying to keep my kids’ hands warm and covered on this trip was the worst.   

Getting a fort ready for a snowball fight with the cousins later:

Henry had horrible aim with his snowballs, so instead he just went with the “sneak up and drop a big chunk of snow right down their shirt” approach:

Lizza contributing to the fort.  They seriously used up all the snow in the yard to make that thing. 

Cousins!                                                          

See?  No more snow in the grass.  At the time I thought that was going to be it for our snow play on the trip (I don’t know if there was even enough left to make snowballs), but that was because I didn’t know about the blizzard coming that night. 

Back inside, Cindy playing with her cousin Sally.

And Henry reading with Grandma. 

That night it started to snow like crazy, and I don’t think it stopped all night.  So much for my worries (hopes?) of no more playing in the snow.  Oliver was in heaven.  He probably looked out the window every 5 minutes to see how much had accumulated.  When Lizza and Henry woke up the next morning they were pretty surprised – Henry especially has no memory of snow, so it seemed extra magical to him that the yard could just fill up with snow over night.                                                                    

Rachel hiding behind the fort during the big snow war.

Later that day, some of the cousins watching a movie together. 

But nothing beats getting nice and cozy with a good book when it’s cold and snowy outside.  Madeline is about 7 months older than Oliver, and my sister and I used to always joke that they were meant to be twins because they were so much alike when they were little.  Then Madeline grew up and she’s about a foot taller than Ollie now, so I always forget that they’re the same age.             

Family Reunion – Altamont, Utah

The Wednesday before Christmas my family all headed up to the Hidden Springs lodge in Altamont.  The only other official reunion we’ve had was in Yosemite in 2010, and that was camping, so this was the first time we’ve all been staying in the same place together.  It was so much better than when all of us are in town but staying at different houses.  The lodge was huge and amazing and perfect for such a big group – there was more than enough room for all 45 of us.

There were three floors:  upstairs there were 5 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, then there was the main floor with the kitchen and several huge wide open living areas, then a basement with a game room plus 8 rooms full of queen beds plus dozens of triple-layer bunk beds.  We turned one of the bunk rooms into a dorm for the boy cousins, and one for all the girl cousins (minus little babies who slept in rooms with their parents).

After all the rooms were sorted out and we knew who was sleeping where, Tristan and Oliver wanted to get right back out in the snow.  It was a lot colder here than it had been at my parents’ house, so for the most part the younger kids stayed inside.  That’s a swimming pool in the background covered with snow – I think we’re going to have to schedule another reunion here in the summer. 

Working on another snow fort – this bridge divided the girl side from the boy side:

Tristan and Pace (5) drawing out their snow fort battle plans:

Cynthia loved hanging out with so many new friends:

And Henry got started right away on a 500 piece puzzle:

Happy girl:                                                      

Cozy cousins:                                                   

Tired boy:                                                       

Having fun in the game room.  All the brothers and brothers-in-law and older boy cousins held some sort of tournament that involved competing in air hockey, foosball, and ping-pong. 

Oliver vs. Uncle Brad:                                       

That night we stayed up way too late talking and playing Bang and What Were You Thinking, but I think that’s one of the best parts of any kind of family gathering.

The next morning started out with Lizza losing a tooth.  She was so happy that she could copy Rachel and lose her tooth in an exotic location (Rachel threw a tooth out the window somewhere in South Dakota on our road trip last summer).  Who needs the tooth fairy when you can bury your tooth in the snow in Utah?

After that we all got bundled up to go sledding.  Here’s Rachel and Mariah (6) with their matching coats (which were both handed down from older cousins.  There’s a lot of clothes swapping and passing down that goes on in my family, so it’s always fun to look around and see little nieces and nephews wearing clothes that you recognize from your own kids).                                            

Oliver was meant to be a polar bear.  He loves the snow so much, and he’s the only one of my kids who never gets cold.                                                        

Cynthia was so bundled up she could hardly walk.  Part of her problem was that Henry dressed himself and headed out with an earlier group, and I didn’t realize until too late that he had put on Cindy’s snowsuit (his legs must have been freezing), so Cindy ended up wearing his size 4 snowsuit. 

I stood in the middle of the sledding hill with my camera and took pictures of people coming down the hill (Daniel, with Cynthia, Oliver, and Henry on his lap):

And walking back up the hill:

Daniel, Oliver, Henry:                                       

Lizza and Cindy, getting a push from Daniel:

Henry getting a ride with Aunt Christine:               

Me taking a turn with Cindy on my back:                                  

After sledding we came back and got warm and ate lunch and put babies down for naps and then had our sisters gift exchange (we do gift exchanges at our sister trips that we have every other year, but we’ve decided to also do them at our family reunions on the off years, just for fun).

Here we all are (from left to right, with age order in parentheses): 

Marian (5), Me (4), Christine (6), Mom, Rebekah (2), Eliza (3), Laura (1), and Lindy (sister-in-law)

Me taking pictures of the kids building their snow forts.  I was happy for my zoom lens, because it was freezing cold and I did not want to go back out in the snow.

Henry basically worked on his puzzle all day long.  He recruited several helpers throughout the day – he would have given up if it weren’t for Uncle Loren’s help. 

Rachel about to take a dip in the hot tub.  We had to do some switching around with the swimsuits to accommodate cousins who hadn’t brought theirs, so she’s wearing her own swimsuit top and Cynthia’s swimsuit bottom.  Plus snow boots.                                             

Relaxing in the hot, hot water.  The air was so cold that their hair kept freezing after it got wet.  And I don’t know if I’m happy or sad that after I went inside I missed Tristan’s mad dashes out to roll around in the snow and then jump back in the hot tub. 

Cindy and Wayne (1) playing trains.  I have so many memories of playing with that exact train when I was little – it makes me happy that my mom kept it around for grandkids to play with, because it is a classic for sure. 

After all the little kids had gone to bed, Henry was still plugging away at his puzzle.  He was so focused I didn’t have the heart to tear him away from it, so he got to stay up way past his bedtime. 

Oliver asleep on the couch with his book.  The main floor of the lodge was so cozy, with couches and chairs and gathering areas everywhere. 

Friday morning the sun came up on Henry right back out at the puzzle table, still in his jammies. 

Later that morning – done!  I wonder if when he’s older his memories of places will all be centered around the puzzles he did there. 

Also on Friday, we had some birthday celebrations and games.  Two of the cousins plus one of the aunts all had a birthday on Friday, and Tristan’s was the next day.  The kids had a little party and played fun games like musical chairs and limbo. 

At lunch we had four big cakes and sang Happy Birthday:

Then there was some coloring:

And a big group family picture of all 45 of us:  My mom and Dad, their nine kids (6 girls, 3 boys), five sons-in-law (one was in Afghanistan and couldn’t make it), one daughter-in-law, and 28 grandchildren:

Then it was time for some of the grandkids to get to go shooting with my dad.  But not before a thorough gun-safety lesson:

Oliver was one happy boy when they got back from shooting.  He got to shoot a 12-gauge shotgun that knocked him flying right on his back, and I just wish someone had caught it on video, because Daniel said it was one of the funniest things he had ever seen.                  

My mom’s parents came up to the lodge that afternoon.  I love when my kids get to spend time with their great-grandparents.  Grandma Jody is so fun.  She brought some great puzzles to do with the kids. 

There were always lots of games going on:

Including a little bit of snow football out in the yard:

And my sister Christine brought up several great science projects/experiments for all the kids to do (she’s creative and organized like that).

The last night we had a little talent show for all the cousins.  Here’s Oliver showing some drawings that he had done earlier in the day:

And Lizza with her “helping charts” – She had been in major helping-mode during the reunion, and had kept track of all of the little acts of service she had done for people (her love of making lists equals her love of helping out).

Saturday morning it was time to clean up and get everything packed and ready to go.  Luckily Tristan, the birthday boy and my little game addict, had gotten up early so he still had plenty of time to try to teach all the little cousins how to play Wits and Wagers (our favorite betting game). 

Also luckily, my brother Alex had surprised his wife Lindy with some fancy chocolate cake for her birthday the night before, and we saved a big piece for Tristan to have for his birthday breakfast.  I really cannot believe that I have a 12-year old!  He is such a good kid and we love him.  I just don’t know if I’m ready for him to get any older.                                                              

After that it was time to finish packing and head back to Utah County.  It was nice that even though the family reunion was over, we didn’t have to say goodbye to anyone, because we were all staying in town for Christmas.