Salt Lake City

After Saint George, we traveled up to Salt Lake City to be with my family. I'd list all the family members we saw there, but that would take a whole page. Let's just say that we saw seven out of eight of my parents' siblings and their families (Debbie and Gary...we sure missed you! Hope Mexico is treating you well!), my whole family, three sets of grandparents, and my mom's uncles and their families. Seriously, I think we probably saw and talked with over a hundred family members. We are so blessed.

We stayed at my Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary's home. They aren't much like an aunt and uncle, since they are only a few short years older than us. So it was fun to be with them. My sister Laurel and her little family stayed there, too, so between the three little families we had five kids under five. It was a riot.

(Aidan and cousin Maggie, they are just two months apart)

Steve and Mary live on a darling little "farm" and their home is an old farm house which (part of it) dates back to the late 1800's. It's large and unique and perfect for photos. So here is one of my family in front of the old grainery:(left-to-right: Nathan Lakey holding Eli, Laurel (my sister), Jeff, my mom holding Nate, my dad, my brother Tom standing above them, Ali, Angela (sitting), Adam holding Aidan, me)

We also blessed Aidan while we were there. Adam jokingly threatened to change his name during the blessing ("A name and a blessing means just that...I have ultimate power...mwahahahaha!!"), but in the end he remained Aidan Michael Murdock.

We celebrated my dad's 50th birthday with a "surprise" party for him (he found out about it by reading my mom's emails...curiosity killed the cat!) The party included a Roast, and it was really fun to listen to his high school friends tell about him as a kid. I don't think my younger siblings will ever get into trouble again...they have "But you did it" fodder for the rest of their lives!

(Dad with his Mom, brothers and sister)

Adam and I took the boys to Temple Square in Salt Lake City on New Year's Eve. It was so cold, we could hardly stand it. The visitor's center was packed but there weren't many people touring the grounds. But I was determined to see the lights on Temple Square. It is one of my favorite traditions. I wonder--am I the only one who thinks that the spirit is strongest on Temple Square? For me, I feel it instantly as I cross through the gates. Every time I go there I start to gush tears for no apparent reason. What a magical place. I suppose it may have something to do with the fact that Adam and I were married in the SLC temple, as were my parents, my grandparents, and many sets of great-granparents, great-great grandparents, etc. I am so thankful for our temples and for the sealing power that binds our families. What a priceless gift.

After Temple Square, we went back to Steve and Mary's and put the kids to bed. Then the adults watched the ball drop and played a rousing game of Speed Scrabble (hey--it's not the most intense fun but at least this year we stayed up!! haha) We were all frustrated by Nathan (Laurel's husband) and his incredible mind. I think he easily had twice as many points as anyone else!

(Steve wanted Nathan to know how he felt about his plethora of points)

The next morning we had brunch at my uncle Mike's house. It was really fun to have everyone together for some yummy food!

(My mom and her brothers...nothing is ever boring with this crowd!)

The next couple days were spent getting family portraits done (I'll post them when we get them back from Busath Photography), shopping (we got a Wii...and playing Mario Galaxy is all we've been doing since we got home), eating good SLC food (Training Table is my fave), and photo shoots (I'm working on the edits from about 8 photo shoots...they'll be on my website soon). We traveled home safely (it was perfect weather the whole way back) and now we're into the reality of life which includes finding a place to live in Dallas, packing up, and making the move in just two short weeks. Wish us luck!

Christmas in St. George

We started our holiday travels in St. George, Utah with Adam's family. We were able to be with Adam's parents, his brother Jared from L.A., his brother Daniel (recently returned from BYU-Jerusalem), his brother Paul and his wife Rachael & daughter Sydney. Here are some highlights and pictures:

Nate and cousin Sydney watching a Mickey Mouse Christmas Eve special

Our view from the back patio...it was so sunny and beautiful there!
Ahh, I miss the sun now that we're back in dreary Calgary!

Happy Aidan on Christmas Morning

Nate and Aidan on Christmas morning...Nate was thrilled with all that Santa brought...but his favorite thing was the Spiderman Web Blaster!