Holiday Trip

The rest of our time was fun, except that Justin had a pretty nasty cold. Here's what we did with the rest of our St. George time:

 Took a little trip to Pine Valley to find some snow. The boys were begging. There wasn't much but we managed to have a good time.

 Even Grandpa gave it a try. We all had a good laugh!

 The snowball makers work great!

 Lucy couldn't stop loving on Grandma's glass snowman as the Christmas stuff was being put away. Lucy wanted to go outside all the time, no matter how cold it was. She fell and hit her head while outside and got this nasty bruise under her eye. The poor girl had a black eye for the next couple of days.

 Snuggling in Grandma and Grandpa's bed at night is a favorite for the boys.

 We got a new hitch and bike rack for our van so we brought our bikes on the trip. We were excited to try out some of the great bike paths. We went 16 miles from north Snow Canyon to the Bloomington Park. It was cold (about 40 degrees) but really fun! Poor Nolan was coming down with a cold but he was a trooper.

 "Helped" Grandpa with the leaves.

 Snuggled while watching the Disney channel - an entertainment treat!

 These boys are getting ready to party on New Year's Eve. It turns out it was a quiet party. Just us, Grandma and Grandpa, and Keeley and Bryan (their kiddos were partying with their friends). Fun anyway, and lots of delicious hors d' oeuvres!

 Easy on the sparkling cider, Nolan!

 It wouldn't be a trip to St. George without a hike up the Sugarloaf with Grandpa. It was so cold for St. George... about 38 degrees with a cold breeze! It reminded us of the freezing day that Justin and I got married.

 We were in St. George for 8 days. We overstayed our welcome but there were some storms that made it so we stayed longer than planned. When we returned home on New Year's Day, Nolan set up a Christmas scene. Good thing we finally got a picture of the 5 of us. It's not a perfect portrait, but it will have to do!

 Lucy was excited to see the setup after she escaped from her tub. We all love a little naked Lucy! She was so pleased to pick some candy off the gingerbread house.

And here's our family picture for Christmas 2014. We forgot to take one of the 5 of us while in St. George. This will have to do (pretend that Lucy is happy, that Ezra has a shirt on, and that I'm wearing makeup). 

2014 had its up and downs but it was mostly a great year. Bring on 2015! Happy New Year! Oh, and Justin and I celebrated our anniversary... 11 years. We went to see the movie "Unbroken." And then we ate at a delicious Indian restaurant called Bombay Cafe. Grady had recommended it. It was a fun evening out.

A Beautiful Christmas Day

The rest of Christmas Day was spent back at Grandma's house. The kids had plenty of time to play with their toys. What fun!

After we had our afternoon Christmas dinner, the adults exchanged their gifts. Grady's friend, Britt, spent the evening with us again. Here's Grady received plenty of socks!

 I've never seen Grandma Sherri get so excited about a gift before. This is the "squatty potty" stool that we got her. Boy, was she thrilled!

 And Grandpa John was pretty thrilled to receive a table saw from all of the kids and spouses. He's getting prepped to start construction in Park City this spring.

 Lookin' cool, Lucy.

 Doing some blind taste tests with the Jelly Belly's to see if we could guess the flavors.

 Lucy had one last present from Grandma and Grandpa. It's a baby that bounces up and down and laughs and coos. Lucy thought it was so funny. She was so fun to watch as she got to know her knew baby.

Happy Christmas! Can't believe it already came and went. We missed Darian, who is in California going through rehab, and we missed Lacey's family, of course. They had several people sick so it was a sad year for them. Luckily they ate their Christmas meals a few days later when they could all enjoy.

Santa made it to St. George

It was a wonderful Christmas morning! The kids were pretty happy with their loot. They received lots of playmobil items (pirates and camping sets), and Lucy got a stroller, baby, and playpen.

Nolan's bow and arrow didn't come in time (actually it did, but we lost track of it in the food storage room and somehow ended up with 3! Long story, but basically I had a stressful Christmas season and couldn't always think straight). He did receive some arrows and we told him it would be coming. He was really excited!

 Snow ball makers. These were a hit later when we found some snow!

I was pretty excited to give Lucy the necklaces I made. She loves her "pretties!"

 Stockings!

 It wasn't long before baby doll was kicked out and Lucy got in!

 After the kids got through their gifts, we headed to Keeley's house for a delicious breakfast. And we got to say hello to Elder Blake Lawrence as he skyped from Argentina. He looks great and is really happy!