Christmas!!

Christmas was far better than I expected this year. I've had enough crummy Christmases that I worried. Nope. This one was good. Starting with waffles and cartoons Christmas Eve morning. Plus some yoga and housecleaning (sadly, the vacuum cleaner broke halfway through the first room -- humbug).

The evening was spent with my favorite cousins. Hooray!!

Nativity populated entirely with tiny humans for the first time since my brothers and I were kids.
Finally!!

Uncle Martin does a great job narrating

This tiny babe was everyone's favorite. Her mom even let me hold her for a little bit.
There is no sadness in the world that holding a tiny baby can't cure.

My nieces and nephew are the coolest.
(Also, they remind me a lot of their dad. A LOT.)

Aaron played guitar while his girlfriend Anna sang. She has a lovely voice. He is smitten.

My cousin Bryce invited a girl for the first time ever. Isn't she pretty? Doctor, too.
We're trying not to be too pushy ;)

There's a reason I look forward to seeing these people. And talking with them.

Relationship goals 

Taking sweater cutes from my mom

Christmas morning, Dave and I ate breakfast with Mom and Dad, then spent a few hours helping Mom prep for the big afternoon meal so that Mom wouldn't have to worry about it when everyone else arrived to open presents. Dad took the opportunity to remove snow for the second time that morning. Hooray for new snow on Christmas!

Perfect American breakfast for the perfect American family (2 kids - one boy and a girl. If only, Dave!)

Mom says this is the first time the money bread has ever come out of the pan perfectly.
Had to document it!

When it came time to open my gifts, I was far more spoiled than I ever expected. My parents are so generous to all of us. I don't deserve them.

Dad gave all the families a package with chicken sausage and ham. He also gifted us with Red Lobster biscuit mix, campfire roasting sticks, puffy vests for the boys, and sweaters for the girls. My dad is a true original, and sweetly thoughtful.

Mom made PJ a Busy Book. She said she made most of it up, so she'll never be able to recreate it. I may make her try to recreate it for me anyway ;)

A package of Red Vines bigger than Dave's head. Haha!

Now for some gorgeous shots of children:

This little guy wasn't feeling very well, but it didn't keep him from eating most of a package of graham crackers

The girls had quite the group of helpers to put together their new Lego sets

Mom's turkey dinner was delicious, and I especially love cherry pie

I stayed up past midnight and listened to as many Christmas songs on FM100.3 as I could before they clicked off. This year, they kept playing Christmas songs through the next day. Haha! I'm so glad. I love Christmas music. I wish it played a little longer every year. I will listen to "Feliz Navidad" over and over and over again as long as they will let me.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. I know I did!

Thanksgiving in Moab part 2 - dinner, Dinosaur Tracks, and Longbow Arch

Visit part 1.
For Thanksgiving dinner, Jordyn made us a reservation for a buffet at Red Cliff Ranch. My dad was thrilled to give my mom a break from cooking and to sit and enjoy dinner with her. My mom was thrilled to eat crab legs along with her turkey. I was thrilled to eat three different kinds of pie. When we'd eaten our fill, we toured the Film Museum in the basement. Golly, a lot of movies were filmed in Moab and thereabouts.

My nieces and nephews received their first Christmas presents that evening -- pajamas and books. Watching kids open presents is about the best thing ever.

Then the "big kids" watched family favorite UHF, and Lindsey and the little girls watched Peter Pan. We all went to bed a little early. It had been a long and happy day.

The next day, Aaron, David, and I made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast (all of the family groups volunteered to take a meal or two). Then we all trooped over to see some Dinosaur tracks and cave drawings.

We decided to check out Longbow Arch, having no idea that it was kind of a long hike and somewhat strenuous. Even so, most of us made it all the way to the arch. Even me!

Longbow Arch

Unckie Aaron was happy to be the official photographer. He toted his fancy camera everywhere, and our nieces were happy to pose for him.

This view!

This little boy is not terribly chatty. I heard him speak for the first time on the trip. The first word? "Uh-oh!"

After our impromptu hike, we had to get baby PJ (not so babyish anymore, is he?) home for a good nap. We ate lunch and watched Home Alone. I and a few others took naps. Dad and Dave decided to check out Landscape Arch. 

When the movie ended, Adam, Lindsey, their kids, Aaron, and I found a local recreation center and spent some time swimming. The kids had a great time jumping off the diving boards and going down the water slide. Adam's flipping skills and Aaron's diving is impressive! When it was time to head back to the condo, we learned that it was snowing. Aaaaaaah! In our towels and wet swimsuits we bolted for the car Adam so thoughtfully warmed up for us ahead of time. He's a good husband, dad, and brother :) My shower that night was very, very welcome!

That night, we played the Smyth Family Game and laughed over the answers to questions from our own childhood and more recent memories. We're starting to forget the answers, so we had to write several of them down. Can't lose our history! After the game, the littlest kids went to bed, Mom, Dad, and I watched Jurassic World, and Adam, David, Aaron, and Gunner played Settlers of Catan.  

Saturday morning, we slept in a little -- just kidding! With little kids around and a bed in the common room there was no sleeping in for any of us. Fortunately, Mom and Dad made it worth our while with leftover Monte Cristo sandwiches for breakfast.

Service with a smile

Not a bad way to end a terrific weekend. I love these people more than anyone in the world. I hope we can play together again, soon!