After a wonderful Christmas day with family in Victor, we headed down to see even more family in Utah! Pam, Big D and Stephen were coming down from Boise, so we went to meet with them for a few days and see relatives. While many pictures were taken with Stephen's camera so I don't have them here, we had a great lunch at the Lion House with my mom's side of the family, a wonderful dinner with Jackie and her kids, saw Mikey (well, I did actually a week prior), kicked it with our friends from Florida, hung out with Karen and Adam and Sarah and Noah, and more! It was great and really fun to be back in Utah.
Max was lucky YET AGAIN to get more gifts - this time from Grandma and Grandpa (not Dama and Papa D...their gifts were sent to our house). They got Max a Cookie Monster phone, which he actually picks up at least once a day and really loves.
Grandma and Dama watch as Max finds joy in gifts.
"Mom, can I play with this right now please?"
Later Max and Papa D buddied up for some TV watching time together. Its how Papa D bonds with the youth.
As an activity we decided to go and hike up to the U. After a rousing tour through memory lane to see where Big D and Pam grew up and where my great grandparents used to live, we headed up for our hike. Max got many "1, 2, threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees" on the way.
At the bottom of the hill, looking over a smoggy SLC. OH Salt Lake and your winter smog.
And then we were off. The hike is actually only about 200 feet up, but man it is a steep 200 feet!
You may be wondering why we cared about the U. Turns out we have much U loving blood in our family. Big D is a Ute, and Stephen went there for a while and even marched in their marching band. I was the lone Cougar in foreign territory.
But it was my idea to spell "U" with our bodies...talk about school spirit!
Max had a great time playing around by the U - as long as mama or dada was holding him so he wouldn't tumble to his doom.
Stephen poses. This picture would have been amazing if the lights were turned on. He would have glowed in a pillar of awesomeness!
One night we went to Red Robin with Grandma and Grandpa. We had plans to go to about 100 other restaurants. Turns out the Wednesday after Christmas was the night everyone and their dog went out to eat.
Big D and Grandpa - two men amongst boys.
Max behaved, even if he tore the place apart. Who could blame him? I think he just wanted some fish 'n chips like the big boys.
The fam.
Because we had just linked up with the Mulcock's, we got to enjoy some post-Christmas gifts as well. Max, who had now been converted to present opening, decided he wanted to open my present from Bree.
New totally pimp baby blue earphones that make me look boss on the train! They were awesome and I was using them last night to do some practice DJ'ing on my iPad. I looked legit. Thanks Bree!
And Caitlin got new shoes! Always risky giving a woman shoes, but they fit perfect and were really comfortable, so Caitlin was pretty psyched.
Plus Pam hooked Caitlin up with a sweet shirt that is pregnancy worthy. I think Beeps got the same shirt or something. Anyway, another successful gift! Pam and Big D also got us some art of Jesus for our home (thanks for recognizing that we were living as heathens) and a nice print of our recent family photo session in Boise. Can't wait to get those up on our walls! Thanks mom and dad!
We were sad to leave family and Idaho and Utah and all the people we love. Hope to see them soon - next time with baby #2!
I recognize that there will be a time when Max can't wait for Christmas morning and will wake up at some ridiculous hour so he can go open presents. But that time is not yet. For now, he probably would have preferred to sleep until 9:30 or 10pm. But there were older kids, so we got Max up at 7. He was a bit confused and angry at first, but that didn't last long.
First, we had to show him something special:
A Christmas tree with a ton of presents under it. That was the first step in waking the kid up.
The second step was getting him to open his first present - a Little People race car thingy. That woke him right up and from that point on, Christmas was ON.
He wanted to play with everything the second he got it - no waiting!
Dada also got the presents of his dreams in his stocking - gigantic Mountain Dews. Santa Clause knows me so well, its scary.
For other kids, Mountain Dew isnt' everything. Some people actually want ice skates and candy and stuff.
Other kids got tepees, allowing Max to go in and have a blast with cousin Will.
But the true cowboy was Sheriff Benjamin, ready to rope some steer and tame the west.
But it wasn't just about cars. Max also connected with his inner Super Why thanks to some great gifts from Nana and Papa. SUPER WHY stuffy and an amazing cape so Max could go on adventures with Super Why every day!
Buddy Will got a Superman cape as well. Kid of steel.
So cute.
Our two superheroes proceeded to play, play, play and play some more with all their toys and gifts.
Our unborn son, Gus, got a future stocking as well. I'm so glad Caitlin's family helped me convince her that this was the right name for our next child.
Yes, it was an awesome Christmas. With Max having a birthday and Christmas right next to each other, he really racked up on presents and is now a full convert to both.
