Christmas in Utah

We got up early and drove to Utah, Friday, December 23rd. We got a fairly early start because we wanted to do it all in one day. The girls were really good on the drive, surprisingly good. They played and read and were pretty happy most of the day. And Brooke was so excited once we got into Utah and started seeing snow on the ground. She wanted to stop at every field on the side of the road to play in it.

Our Christmas Eve was pretty low-key and chill. We just hung out with the family, played some games. The girls loved playing with their cousins, Brooklyn and Bailey. It was so fun to see them loving each other and hanging out together.

Santa, of course, came later that night. It was quite a different experience for us, doing it at Gramma and Grampa's house. But we were still excited about it.

I was still sick when we drove out to Utah, and it got a lot worse once we were there, pretty much peaking on Christmas day. I had a hard time sleeping, and was constantly afraid of waking up Daniel and Camille, who I was sharing a room with. So, I woke up coughing early Christmas morning and went upstairs to lay down on the couch. It had snowed a ton that night, and there was all this fresh beautiful snow outside. The perfect kind of weather for Christmas!!

 I think I must've fallen asleep a little, but I was glad to be up there in the morning, because I could see people coming out, and the kids coming up to see what Santa brought. And it was pretty fun. Brooklyn came up first, and a little while after, Brooke and Daniel came up. We took Brooke back downstairs, had a little morning family prayer altogether, and then all went back upstairs so the girls could see what Santa had brought them.

It was so fun! They were so excited about all of their gifts, and little Camille was just enthralled anytime she pulled something out of her stocking or opened a new present. Brooke wasn't as excited about the awesome new bike that we gave her; we thought she would be, because she'd been talking about a new pedal bike a lot. She was more engrossed in the new coloring stuff that Santa brought her.

After a while, we had some breakfast and started getting ready for church. I was really not feeling good at this point, and considered just skipping. But I wanted to go to church with my family on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, I don't think I picked up much of anything from that Sacrament meeting.

After church, and after getting comfy again, we ate and waited for all the family to gather around the tree. Michael and Michelle came with their boys, which was so fun. And we spent a while opening presents. I felt so spoiled! There was a bunch of stuff for us from Gramma and Grampa, and Daniel's siblings. It felt like a big Christmas to me, and it was a lot of fun to be with everyone.

The girls played with their cousins all the livelong day, and the adults chatted and cleaned and had fun together. We had a special Christmas dinner, which all of us pitched in to make, and Gramma Mitchell came over, and some other family. We ended the day playing games. Aside from being so sick, it was a perfect Christmas.