Yay for Christmas!!

Christmas was seriously awesome this year! Other than my lack of skill at the poker table, Vance's occasional swearing spells, Kelsey's wild night terror on Christmas Eve, and Whitney's despise for the car... it was a GREAT trip, really :)

We decided to take our venture up north to Utah to hang with family, and see some fresh snow. Our first stop was in St. George where we celebrated with my southern Utah clan. There were loads of great snacks, top notch entertainment, and gifts galore for everyone. One of the highlights of the night was Grandma reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to many of her great-grandchildren :)

Then we hit the road and headed north, hoping to avoid the pending snow storm. We lucked out and had clear skies the entire trip. Sometime around 1am, we arrived in Saratoga Springs and hit the sack.


After some last minute shopping Christmas Eve, we headed over to Mike and Graciella's for dinner and games. Dinner was most excellent as you can see by Kelsey's large mouthfuls of food!






Kelsey was beyond ecstatic to be reunited with her cousin dubbed "my Raquel." They played nonstop from the moment we walked in the door, with lots of hugs and giggling all night long :)

Santa (a.k.a. Daniel) showed up early that night with presents for all the kids. Kelsey couldn't hold back her joy filled astonishment while Raquel was thrilled, but also somewhat skeptical of the elaborate theatrics, lol.

After dinner we snuck away for a bit to crash yet another Christmas party, with a quick stop at Jared and Patty's place along the way. Neil, Sharon and AWS hosted the party in Orem and Joe, Shauna & fam were there with us to party the night away. Vance took out Stephen during a game of musical chairs, which led to Nate taking out Vance, lol.

The rest of the night was occupied by an intensely serious game of poker back at Mike's place. The skilled individuals at my table included myself, Vance, Mike, Tanya and Nate. At another table Daniel, Graciela, and her sister and brother-in-law played. I obviously didn't last long (hence the photos!) Good times fo sho ;)

And then it came! Christmas morning was filled with fantastic surprises and fun! Santa completed his duty once again giving us super cute reactions, so we think we'll let him stick around for awhile. We all had big smiles as we played all morning with our new presents :) And breakfast was phenomenal! Tanya made the best puff oven pancakes I've ever had.

For the rest of Christmas day we headed out to Nate's parent's place for more great food and fun. Vance and Nate drove up the mountain to check out the bitter cold scenery for quite some time, while we all hung out in the cozy, warm house. Alright, the truth is they got Nate's truck stuck in the snow and had to wait for someone to help get them out, lol. It was a great day :)


It was so good to see everyone this Christmas! We had such a SWEET time. I only wish I could have spent more time with everyone. It was over way too soon. Luckily the drive home went by quick. Vance fought sleeping at the wheel, I daydreamed, Kelsey practiced her ninja skills, and Whitney actually fell asleep for once :) Can't wait until next year's adventures!