After Christmas

We loaded up the kids and headed to St. George Christmas Day. Well, first we had to take down the tree and vacuum up the 100,000 dry needles that were all over the floor. I didn't want to do it (it was Christmas after all, I just wanted to get down to see my family), but it was good to get it done before we left.

We spent the week after Christmas having all kinds of fun. The kids stayed up WAY too late (one night at 1 am we went down to check on them and Damon and Allie were STILL awake!), but I tried hard not to worry about it and just enjoy our vacation. Even if it meant we were all a little sleep deprived.

My cousin, Rebecca, invited us to ride horses with them on Tuesday and seeing how we didn't have to do any work, but just show up and enjoy all their planning, how could we say no?

Carter didn't seem to realize he was a part of anything new and exciting.

In fact, he put on his best cowboy face while posing for this picture. Can't you just imagine drawing a hat and mustache on him, and laughing at what a perfect little cowboy he makes?

How about now?

Allie wanted to roast just for the sake of roasting. I'm pretty sure she didn't end up eating this hot dog. I, however, smelled like campfire for the rest of the day, as I roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for the other kids who were busy riding the horses and playing in the dirt.

This was by far the best weather day we had while in St. George. Notice no one even needed a jacket! The rest of the week was rainy and cold and we were stuck inside.

Carter hated wearing this Santa hat, but I managed to get a picture of him in it before he tore it off. What a Grinch.


Once the rain came, we had to get creative. We played a lot of games together...

...and Grandma Karen helped all the kids make sugar cookies, which thrilled everyone.
Especially since that left us free to play Settlers. I wish I had counted how many hours we spent playing, but it was a lot. I like to keep track of the numbers we roll during the games, and Damon was helping do just that during this game. And of course, he was playing with his hair.

We had some friends (Hookers) come over for a visit on Thursday, and Jeff and Wayne wanted no part of the chit chat. Instead, they took the kids to Pirate Island for all kinds of fun. Eric and Kimmy tagged along, because they are still kids at heart. Tara, can you get the pictures from mom's camera and post them so I can steal one? Thanks!

We also snuck in a few minutes of personal time with my grandparents. Jeff has been working on a coffee table book of photos of my grandpa's ranch for a couple of years, and he was finally ready to give it to him. It turned out awesome and I think they really loved it. I love this picture of us, and I will love telling Carter all about them someday when he is older.

We had such a fabulous time. I wasn't ready to come home, especially since it was only in the teens when we got here, but it's always good to get home and get everyone back into the routine of life. And I'm happy to report we are all back to reasonable bed times.