Boise

A trip to Idaho wouldn't be complete without a stop in Boise. All of both mine and Jon's living grandparents just happen to live there, as do most of our aunts and uncles. It's always a very full few days trying to see as many people as we can!

We stayed with Jon's grandparents and somehow never got a single picture with them. Have I mentioned that I'm terrible at picture taking? Because I really am. We really enjoyed being able to visit with them though. Their house is grand central station for all of their family there, so we were also able to see several of Jon's cousins and their families while we were there.

 We spent Monday (New Year's Eve) with my Grandma Hiatt (Grandma Lorraine). She treated us to lunch at the Westside Drive-in, and then we played games and visited. Grandma was recently given several things that were her dads....ledgers, journals, and various other documents. What a neat experience that was to look through those (very old!) papers and books and get a glimpse into my great-grandfather's every day life. 

The day went by way too quickly and soon it was time to go so we could get kids in bed.

At least we had every intention of getting kids in bed...we ate some pizza and visited with Jon's aunt and uncle and then got Ellie in bed. We started a movie for the other two kids and before we knew it, it was pretty late. They really wanted to stay up till midnight to see the New Year's ball drop, so we pulled out some games to pass the time. Jon and I were struggling to stay awake, but we all made it. This was probably the first time in our 7 years of marriage that we've stayed up till midnight for the New Year. And it might be the last for awhile.  :)

Watching the ball drop! We counted down to midnight, cheered, and then told the kids it was time for bed. It was pretty underwhelming for them. I think they were expecting something more, something much cooler. The ball dropped and they said "wait, was that it? That's all they do?" Haha....next time we'll need to pick up some noise makers or something.

The next day we went out to Kuna to visit Grandma Danes. We went to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Gallo Giro and then went to visit Grandpa's grave. The last time we were here was for his funeral and the headstone wasn't done yet. I'm so glad we got to go see it. It is beautiful and is perfect for Grandpa and Grandma. We spent the rest of the day visiting and playing games. Even though I know I will NEVER win Boggle, I always love playing with Grandma. 

 

This picture makes me laugh

 Poor Ellie was pretty tired. By the time we headed home she had caught the cold/cough that I had and she was pretty miserable. It made for a very long drive back to California.

 Bumper to bumper traffic as far as the eye can see...yep, we're HOME!

 I'm really grateful for the few days we had to spend with our grandparents. Once a year isn't nearly enough, but we enjoy the time we are able to visit with them.

Cabining in Island Park

The day after Christmas we packed up and went to Island Park. My parents had rented a cabin up there so we could play in the snow and go snowmobiling. We had a rough start when we realized our van wouldn't start. Turns out the battery was bad and the cables were completely corroded, so Jon and Caleb spent the morning getting that fixed while the rest of us packed. I'm glad we got it fixed before we went so we didn't have to worry about it while we were out in the middle of nowhere!

The cabin was awesome (and for sale....too bad we don't have an extra $400,000 laying around...) and there was plenty of snow. I caught a nasty nasty cold the night before we went and spent most of our time there coughing uncontrollably and just all around feeling miserable. But we all had fun...lots of game playing, sledding, hot tubbing, and snowmobiling....or at least attempting to snowmobile. Dad's snowmobiles picked this trip to have problem after problem after problem. So the guys spent a lot of time stranded and/or fixing various issues on the machines. But it was all worth it. Jon came in from a long ride and said he was born for snowmobiling. He loved it.

Adam and Shannon and their boys came up one day we were there and then Kaci brought her boys the next day. Abby and Greg got back from their honeymoon and Christmas with his family and came up to the cabin for the last couple of days. It was fun to get to  visit with everybody. I think my favorite parts were playing games all day and late into the night, and watching the kids play with their cousins. I wish we lived closer to even some of their cousins so they could get to know them more than our once a year trip to Idaho. Maybe someday....somebody hurry up and move to California already!  :)

This is how Ellie feels about snow and cold weather in general.

The snow was a little too soft for sledding, but the kids figured out that the stairs up to the cabin made a great sledding hill. 

All ready for snowmobiling...I love the squishy helmet face.

 

There was this random tree in the main living area...made for a good time out spot for the kids.  :)

Christmas(es) This Year

Christmas this year was simple, partly because we were traveling and didn't want to have to haul a bunch of stuff, and partly because we just wanted to keep Christmas simple.

Each of the kids got one big present that they opened before we went to Idaho.

Jon made this awesome rock dig for Matthew. It is packed full of gemstones, dinosaurs, and other goodies. All the kids LOVE it. 

Emma got a new Razor scooter with pink light up wheels. Little girl heaven.  :)

And Ellie didn't actually get a present of her own because she's just not old enough to know the difference or care but she opened the easel that was for all of the kids. They were all thrilled with it.

Ellie, Matthew, and I got to set up my parents Christmas decorations this year. With all of the wedding craziness they just never got around to it. So a week before Christmas we pulled a few basic things out and decorated the tree. And yes, the tree is definitely leaning...haha...

Goodies from Santa- a helmet for Emma, Lego Ninjagos for Matthew, an Elmo stuffed animal for Ellie, and Ticket to Ride for me and Jon.

Ellie is slightly obsessed with Elmo right now...she was so excited to see this little guy. I just wish we had been able to find a bigger one...we didn't realize what an impossible task that actually is!

Matthew is slightly obsessed with Ninjagos so he was completely surprised and thrilled to see this.

We got several games this year- Feast and Famine, Headbanz, and Trouble. The kids also got a few new books, and a couple movies. Really simple...just the way we wanted. Jon spoiled me with several new kitchen gadgets I had been wanting, in addition to putting all of my internet-printed recipes into a nice recipe binder. He ALSO completely surprised me by painting the trim in our room, which was no small job. Whoever painted last painted the trim the same color as the walls and it's been driving me crazy the whole 3 years that we've lived here. It looks really great now!

We spent the rest of Christmas relaxing, playing, and later packing to go to Island Park the next day.

This last weekend (yes, almost 3 weeks after Christmas!) we finally had our Christmas with the Farrells. They set up a little tree and everything. Super cute!

The kids got lots of fun stuff...a little piano for Ellie, a stomp rocket for Buddy, an alarm clock for Emma, some coloring pages, card games, bubbles. And of course, they got some not fun presents too...pajamas.  :)  We also got movie tickets, and some books, which we're excited about.

Jon's gift from his brother...bacon soda...haha...

 It tasted this good...

If you ever need a good gag gift, this might just be the perfect thing. 

All in all, it was a great Christmas. I am especially grateful to have been able to spend the holidays with family...with my family, with Jon's family, and with our own little family.

Just a couple random thoughts...Jon and I felt bad that Matthew got so many fun gifts and Emma ended up with boring things....a scooter, helmet, and alarm clock. While she loved her gifts, she was pretty jealous of Matthew's Ninjagos, rock dig, and stomp rocket. She was a good sport about it though. And when we sat back and thought about it, those were the things she asked for. She is just a practical girl, like her mom.  :) 

We're continuing our unbroken streak of the kids sleeping in on Christmas morning. Hopefully I don't jinx myself saying this, but so far our kids have ended up sleeping in every Christmas. Sure is nice for us!