What we did on the first part of my sabbatical

I have not died. I have been on a 3 week sabbatical (now almost 4 since I began this post). Last 2 weeks were inadvertently, the prior two weeks I planned it that way. Besides not writing, I also did not stay caught up on all my wonderful friends. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Christmas was very good to us. We had an uneventful trip up to see family on Dec. 23 and 24. The biggest issue was it took us way too long to get out of the city because of bathroom breaks, grabbing dinner, and getting some snacks during the first potty stop.

On Christmas Eve we swung by Brian's sister's house to visit with family that had gathered and then in the evening we went out to my parent's to stay. That night I gave my mom chimes I had made in Relief Society. She has wanted a set since my Grandma Lue started using chimes on Christmas. Brian was real excited to give these to her. The chimes are not his favorite, but the rest of us had a good time.

We were lucky enough to have a white Christmas. It was freezing on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas day a big snow storm hit. At Brian's parent's home they received at least a foot and a half of snow. It was such a beautiful winter wonderland that I had to snap a picture of a random home plastered with snow. The picture doesn't do the magic of the scene justice. We were grateful to have four-wheel drive that day.

We were given many wonderful gifts. Somehow the kids came home with a carload even though I really tried to avoid it this year. My 3 favorite gifts were drawings of my girls done by my aunt (the gift was from my mom she had asked my aunt for this favor), an electric grain mill (I know I am dorky. Last year I was excited about my vacuum sealer), and tickets to the Broadway musical Lion King. Brian and I may have been married way too long (which is really not that long) because we gave each other the exact same gift, the John Bytheway collection of talks on CD.

With all the snow, luckily a grandma's intuition kicked in. She gave the girls snow pants and boots for Christmas. This was a perfect gift for Macy. She loved being out in the white stuff. Brian almost took her skiing for the first time but decided to wait for next year. To break in the new gear the girls went sledding with their cousins. Kelsey wasn't so sure of the attire and the cold weather. We got her all dressed and then she wouldn't get out of the car. Macy on the other hand loved it. I think she is our little daredevil. Here she is waiting to go down.

One night her and Brian went out and built a snowman. Kelsey stayed inside with me until it was time to put eyes and nose on and then she wanted to be a part.

While we were up there I was able to visit with a lot of friends and family. I went to lunch several times; once with some of my good friends from high school, once with a good friend from college (actually we went to high school together too, but didn't know each other until we were roommates), and once with a good friend who I used to work with. Brian and I also had some great date nights. We laughed all night long at Zupas with Brian's cousin and his wife. Then we laughed some more when we went out on New Year's Eve with our wonderful friends the Hodlmairs. After dinner we had to go back to their place to play a little Guitar Hero band. They made me the lead singer, not a good choice. Of course we played a few games of Ticket to Ride the Germany edition with Brian's parents (this game was Brian's Christmas gift) and then some more with my brother-in-law, Jake.

One of the best events of the trip was watching the Sugar Bowl with fellow Ute fans. We made our way back over to the Hodlmair's to do some cheering. It was a sweet victory. In fact, Brian recorded the game here at home and keeps watching it again and again.

All of us came home with new Utah attire. Even baby boy is ready for next year.

Besides Christmas, this trip was about the Running Utes for the girls. They got to go to two basketball games. Now they don't stop cheering, "Go Utes!" and doing cheer type gestures.

Of course there was shopping on this trip. I made my way to my favorite store the Banana Republic Outlet. It did not let me down. Brian came home with several ties from the Dillards sale and I started some shopping for baby boy otherwise he will be wearing lots of pink.

Our trip was slightly longer so I could go to a good friend's wedding. The wedding was definitely worth it. She was married in the temple, but instead of doing the traditional Mormon reception she had a sit down dinner. She made me a big fan of the sit down dinner. It made the evening an enjoyable night out instead of a quick five minute drive-by. Because of the dinner people were there to hear the toasts, see the cake be cut, and to watch the first dance. The evening was very entertaining too, but that was in part to the two parties that came together. If we can afford it, I am going to nudge my girls in that direction. Don't tell this to Brian or he might become like Steve Martin from Father of the Bride.

On Sunday, January 4 we stuffed everything in that we could and headed out for a long drive home. We were packed in like sardines and not a lot of room to breath, but I think we got everything home. The girls were great on the trip, but we watched/hear the same Strawberry Shortcake movie for the majority of the drive. There was a time when Macy fell asleep so Kelsey picked a different movie, but then Strawberry Shortcake went right back in. Bathroom stops seemed to be at 2 hour intervals. Kelsey must have a small bladder.

The above picture could be titled "No Room in the Inn".

Brian and I did talk about names, but sorry to say no definite conclusion was reached nor did we come real close. Soon we might need some help.