Goodbye 2014

I wanted to post about Christmas before the year ended. Nothing like waiting until the last moments to get it done! Christmas break was really nice. The weather in California was amazing. It was a great balance for me as far as seeing friends and family. I always wish there was more time for both but I am very grateful for the time I got. I did most my shopping on amazon and so I didn't have any last minute stuff to get. That was really nice. I could just wrap presents and enjoy my time off of my normal schedule.

Nancy, Moki, and I made the trek to California together. We caravaned  with Sam, Amanda, and Andrew. Moki only tried to climb in the front once. She is sneaky about it but once she was rejected she curled up in a ball and chilled in the back.

It was so fun to have Andrew for Christmas. Kids are what make Christmas so I felt so lucky that he was at my parents house. It was crowded and crazy but so worth it.

We don't do a lot of presents but when there is one or two for so many people it sure looks like a lot. I stayed up late on Christmas even cleaning and getting everything ready for Christmas morning.

 When I went to bed I decided I really wanted to make breakfast in the morning so my mom could have a break. (Amanda was the real breakfast cooking champ on all the other days!) I knew my mom would do lots of other cooking on Christmas. I had breakfast done before everyone woke up. So we actually ate before we opened presents. Andrew didn't know the difference this year.

 He did a good job opening his presents. Like I said so fun to have him around.

Christmas was really low key. We hung out, played with Andrew, Skyped with Caleb, skyped with Dan and Anthony. It was a nice day. Andrew is obsessed with Peter Pan right now. He loves the song following the leader. He sings it and gets everyone to follow him around. He is lucky he has so many adults to dote on him!

We also went up to the dam on Christmas day. I think I rollerbladed 7 miles while everyone else walked. It felt great to get some exercise.

We got to hang out with lots of family on the 26th. Ben and Katie and company came to town as well as my Dad's siblings and my grandma. I love my extended family and am always grateful when they come visit when we are in town. It is so fun to catch up with everyone.

We watched the kids open their presents. My parents and I got Olivia a skate set. She has been wanting one for a while. We will see how quickly she learns. She practiced a lot and was really excited. Man I love her!

 We took all the kids to the park in the afternoon. It is so nice to let them have an outlet for all their energy.

When we came back Braxton and Andrew watched Mickey Mouse together. Seriously these two are so cute. Andrew had seen it before so he had to explain some things.

 So serious.

 Good times with cousins.

 We got Tong Fong Low take out and ended the night playing games. This picture of Andrew demonstrates exactly how I felt.

On Saturday we headed to Ben and Katies to hang out. Some people left early and went to the zoo. I was in the later group. We had a yummy lunch and then all the adults except me and Amanda went to watch the Hobbit. I had no interest in seeing that movie so I stayed behind to babysit. We fed the kids and played outside while everyone was gone.

 It was a beautiful evening. Braxton and I took a bunch of selfies while the girls were playing.

 This kid is too cute!

 He can be sweet occasionally.

 He is a trouble maker though. You have to watch him at all times!

It was a fun evening.

Moki and I went walk/running everyday in California. The weather was perfect so we took advantage. I think I was starting to get sick or just eating to much garbage because I did not feel like running very much. I did lots of walking. Moki on the other hand was able to be off leash in the field across from my parents and she went crazy.

 Moki loves the water.

 She was so dirty by the time our trip ended. I didn't even take her home she went straight to the groomers to get a bath.

 Unfortunately she has a brown tint to her fur now. That darn red California dirt!

 She was in doggie heaven. This was a great way to wear her out everyday.
I love letting her be off leash. She chased rabbits and squirrels, smelled lots of garbage, and just ran way faster then I could ever run.

Sunday the Ben and Katie crew came down for some more family time. We went to the park and played games. We kept it pretty low key. The two little boys were bonding over media again.

 Sometimes you must pick your nose and eat it!

 At one point Andrew put his arm around Braxton while they watched a movie. Seriously so cute!

Nancy and I headed home on Monday. We had a great trip until Wells. At that point we started to hit icy and snowy roads. Sam and Amanda were an hour ahead of us and said that the roads between Wendover and Salt Lake were pretty ugly. Nancy and I weren't in a huge hurry so we got a hotel in Wendover. Moki and I walked to the gas station for some treats and exercise. It was freezing.

We made it home Tuesday afternoon. It is cold in Utah. Man it took winter a while to show up but it came in full force last week. I am excited that it is supposed to warm up to the 40's later this week. I am not a fan of the 20's. It is so hard to be out in that kind of cold.

We did make it out to snowshoe this afternoon. We just did a 2.7 mile loop up south fork. It was a beautiful but cold day in the mountains.

 Moki loves the snow. She was so happy and she has seriously slept all day since we got home. It was cold enough that I had to bust out the actual beanie. The ear warmers wouldn't cut it.

 Poor puppy always has to wait for me.

 Luckily there hasn't been too much traffic on this route yet so we still had some good snow.

I ended up putting away Christmas this afternoon. It is always sad to put away all the decorations. I had a wonderful holiday season and I hate to have it end.

2014 was a great year. Can't wait to see what's in store for 2015.