Happy Holidays at Home and Away~

Christmas is always a fun, family time but since so many had come home at Thanksgiving we knew not many would be able to be at home for Christmas. We could count on Tessha, Seth, Grace and Alisha.
Ta.. da.. We decided to go to St. George where we thought we’d enjoy sunshine and warmth. We asked Kristi and Haini if they could join us and of course they said, “Yes”. Mark and Laura were also able to come since they were out of school for several weeks over the break. YEAH!! We were going to be with family after all.
At home we prepared simply for Christmas morning.

We opened one present on Christmas Eve and no, it wasn’t pajamas! This year we each got a Stocking Hanger to hang our stockings on.

We played a game by drawing a number and then picking a package to open. They all looked the same so it didn’t really matter which one we picked except that we could also “steal” someone else’s hanger if we wanted. Gracie went first and everyone thereafter just picked one to open except that Tessha decided she wanted Gracie’s instead of opening one herself. Gracie was sad because she liked her hanger but since Gracie had gone first she was allowed to pick whatever hanger she wanted after they were all opened. Of course, she traded with Tessha so she had her original hanger back. Alisha and I also traded and we were all happy with our choices. We ended the evening with scones and hot chocolate.









Although the kids were “crazy” excited we hung our stockings and went to bed only to SLEEP IN the next morning. I can’t remember when we haven’t been up at the crack of dawn (or earlier). But his year we slept in until about 10:00. It felt wonderful. We gathered at the tree and slowly opened presents. There weren’t really too many to open. The kids at home got their Conference CDs, a Picture Art book put out by the Church and a couple of things just for them. Alisha had a camera in mind. Gracie got a watch and an IPod adapter for her car and Seth got a coat and a Mini Laptop. Tessha got some of her cruise paid for. Dad got the Conference video, new sheets for his bed and a trip to St. George.

After that we began packing our things and putting them in the car. We were out of IF by 1:00 and on our way south. We had two cars (Gracie’s and the Toyota) so we even enjoyed some room on the way down.

We dropped the girls off at Gracie’s apt. and Seth went with Dad and me to the hotel for the night. The next morning we met up at Kristi’s and Haini’s













where they gave Dad a shark tooth wooden paddle for Christmas. We loaded the cars and Haini's truck. Sitani began the trip in the car with us and later Marley traded places with him. Laura and Mark were about an hour behind us as we headed down the road. It was a fun ride down. Haini drove his truck with Seth’s and Mark’s bikes in the back and we kept in touch by text messages and slight sightings of each other. We got to the resort only to find that we were a day early. Talk about being bummed, but actually it worked out great because we got on line and reserved three rooms at the Days Inn in Hurricane. We were able to use my AE rewards for all the hotels on the trip and we got an extra night. Mark and Laura actually beat us all to the Days Inn.

The kids enjoyed the pool – especially Haini. It was the most fun to watch him have fun in the pool. We ate pizzas and pop and went to bed. We shared presents with the Sugu’s and the Nelsen’s the next morning
and headed to the resort – the long way :-) We went exploring out at Silver Reef and then up through the Dixie National Park (dirt road).
It was a beautiful ride with fantastic scenery but eventually ended at a huge mud hole that the lower-riding cars weren’t able to get through. If Mark had been in his truck and just he and Haini were on the road, they probably could have made it through. But, being kind and thoughtful of us others, they helped us turn around and come back out. I’ll always remember the beautiful snow covered mountains past the red rocks bluffs. Thanks Mark and Haini!
With our cars covered in red mud, we proudly entered the resort and checked in. The weather was a touch cold but they said the hot tub felt good. We put puzzles together, shared dinners, played with the kids, went shopping and enjoyed relaxed mornings.
On Thursday Grace, Tessha and I went into Las Vegas and saw some of the sites. It was so big with so much to see. I remember the times when you drove into Vegas on I15, straight through on the strip and left Vegas having never turned off the highway. Now, it’s crazy full of fun places to visit. We spent most of our time in Caesar’s Palace, had a great lunch and fun checking out the shops.
Then we returned to St. George for New Year’s Eve.
Today Dad and I went to the movies. Just us~ We saw "The Blindside" and loved it.
Mark and Laura took off for home a little bit ago. Mark had a ski pass for Saturday morning so they hurried back to Provo tonight.

Tessha fixed us a yummy dinner and we watched the movie "Up" on the DVD before going to bed. Saturday morning was warm and sunny and we packed our things, getting ready to head home.