Avery was Baptized on January 2. That capped off our holiday visit and we returned home the next day to get ready to go back to work and school.
We had such a great time being house crashers on our cute family in Lindon and Riverton. Ben and Michelle and Cory and Angie were so great to open their homes to the 6 of us and the chaos that naturally follows. The kids had such a great time hanging out with cousins and playing with all the gifts and toys.
Uncle Ben was great to play Rock Band with the kids. He really made it fun for the kids and Michelle and I had a great time watching him be one of the kids.
Fresh snow is just what we all wanted after spending the last 3 Christmas' in the desert. There were snowball fights and tubing adventures.
I loved getting reacquainted with my holiday tradition of cracking fresh Dungeoness Crabs while watching Football Bowl games.
Brad and his siblings and their wives were awesome to step in and manage things while I spent time in Logan with Mom, Dad and my siblings taking care of Mom and helping Dad through the trauma and shock of a double mastectomy that surprised all of us when Uncle Gary found a tumor in Mom's mammogram just before the holiday. Mom and Dad spent Christmas in the hospital and returned to their own home on the 26th. Mom's recovery is going well and has seemed to be ahead of the doctors predictions. Thank goodness we have had Gary and his expertise to track all of us as in breast cancer awareness. His retirement on Christmas Day was inspired as Mom was motivated to get her mammogram before he retired and took a much deserved vacation to New Zealand.
Christmas night brought the traditional Nativity and dinner at Brad's parent's home. His father was suffering from terrible back pain which lead to surgery later the following week.
Over all we had a great holiday season. Thankful for family, good health and the ability to spend time with loved ones. We are happy to be back in the state of Utah and a short drive to all these great people that mean so much to us.