Real Christmas (In Utah)

Early Sunday morning, the day before Christmas Eve, we drove up to spend a week in Utah.  We timed it just right, since the very next day saw the start of a four-day blizzard that pretty much snowed us in!  
    

Elise and Grandpa worked hard on their snowmen.

  

Despite the weather, Kevin, Kyle, Kelli, Felix, and baby Lincoln were all able to come down to my mom's place, so we got to open presents and have Christmas dinner together!  
  

   

    

For the next few days, the kids played with their toys, we shoveled snow, read, hung out, and just relaxed.  It was exactly what I needed.  
      

Flying Connor's Helicopter in the Shed

I don't know if Elise designed this to look like a heart, but I wouldn't be surprised.

  

When the roads cleared, we managed to go up to Temple Square with Kelli and her kids to look at the lights (poor Kyle had to go to a Jazz game).  It was cold.  No - actually COLD!  Not something we're accustomed to anymore.  Despite the chilliness, Kevin and Katie were still willing to come out and join us as we looked at lights and candy windows.  It was pretty great.

    

  

  

We visited Kyle and Kelli's new house (Ryan hadn't seen it yet), and stayed up late playing card games.  Felix didn't make it very long.
   

  
We also went over to Grandma Cloe's for an afternoon.  Even little Evan knows that Grandma Cloe has toy cars and ice cream.  Binny had fun, too.
  

I love this picture.

   
I had brought this gingerbread house kit up with me, then forgot to build it.  We decided to do it last-minute the night before we left.  I figure it's better to make the mess at Grandma's house than ours, right?  Oh, and I was much better behaved this year.  I let the kids do basically all of it themselves.  Only Evan was brave enough to eat it the next day.  It's kind of more for looks than flavor.
  

(Next Morning)

We left on New Year's Eve morning, and drove straight through.  We got to Pasadena around eleven, so Ryan thought we should park, wake everybody up, and walk through the cold, dark night to the float display to ring in the new year.  Tragically, there was no parking, so we gave up on that idea.  It was fun to drive the route, though, and have silly string, marshmallows, and tortillas thrown at us.  When we got home I don't think we even turned on the TV at midnight.  We just went to bed.