Road Trip: Day 1!

Aaron had a few patients to see Monday morning. Meanwhile at home we were pretty lazy. We slept in and enjoyed an easy breakfast, and mostly played with new things, and did a little clean up. I can't remember if I posted this video yet or not.



I think Aaron was home by lunch time. That afternoon her took all of the kids to the church to play with a few things. He had gotten a remote control paper airplane kit. We figured it would work better in a larger space. They also brought Timothy's robot. He spent hours putting it together, but it was finally all done, and he did it mostly by himself.

Meanwhile at home I got some things cleaned up and dinner ready and got some down time too.  Aaron was done with call around 5:00 that evening. Our internet wasn't working for most of the day. It was really frustrating. It was spotty for a few hours in the morning, and then it was completely off.

Tuesday was a little busier. We did lots of laundry and cleaned up the house and packed. This is what my bed looked like with three suitcases and a garment bag. Oh, and Michelle - she had to be in the middle of everything!

It's always a little stressful getting ready for a road trip. Lots to pack, and taking care of things at home while you are gone, hoping the weather cooperates etc. Anyway, it got done for the most part. I was too busy to worry about the internet. The kids of course weren't happy that they couldn't play on the computer or use the phone for games. Melanie hasd to forgoe her normal shows and watch a movie. At some point Aaron called the internet company and they immediately said there was an outage in the area and service wouldn't be restored until 10:00 am the next day. That didn't help us any. I wasn't able to download any show to my iPad for Melanie to watch, and David wasn't able to download things to his iPod either. Oh well!

Aaron stayed at work to finish everything he needed to.  We used our data from our phone sparingly. Thank goodness we only had one day left on that month's data. Eventually Aaron got home and packed the things he needed since he would be taking another trip in the middle of our vacation.

At some point that afternoon my brother returned home from his mission. Three of my sisters and my other brother Mike were able to be there with my parents. It was fun to see pictures and videos soon after he arrived. I was sad not to be there, but I knew we would be there the next day, so I didn't let it bother me.

We tried to get to bed at a decent hour. But there's always something I'm remembering at the last minute.

We wanted to get out fairly early on Wednesday morning, so we could make it by dinner without being rushed. I got up and showered first and then got the rest of my toiletry bag packed. Then Aaron got ready and I got the kids up and got them started. The goal was to leave by about 8:00, but realistically I was thinking we wouldn't be gone until 9:00. We got out at 8:20 - not too bad.

I drove for the first little bit so Aaron could get some work done. I thought Michelle would fall asleep fairly early, but that wasn't the case. She didn't sleep for the first two hours! We stopped once for gas, and bathroom break, and then switched drivers. We stopped again to feed Michelle and have lunch. At one point I gave Michelle my sunglasses to keep her occupied.

 It was fun to see all of the snow as we drove, but I didn't get great pictures.

 Michelle also loves her nursery rhyme book. Even after she ripped it in half :(

You can also see Melanie using the wipe off travel cards.

 Timothy and Amy were engrossed in a movie

 Aaron and David in the front seats

When we arrived in Idaho we first made a stop at the store to fill up Becca's fridge. Apparently we weren't the only ones to do so. There were several gallons of milk by the time we got there! We ended up putting some out in the snow! It never got above freezing so it was safe. We unloaded the Yukon and the cousins played. Tina and her family were staying with Becca. Soon after we arrived Mike, Chris, and Mom and Dad arrived.

On the way there my mom asked if David would be willing to watch the younger kids while the adults went out to dinner to celebrate Becca and Aaron's anniversary. Not all 14 kids were there and the two youngest were coming with us. So it worked out. I told David I would pay him. But my mom beat me to the punch! Becca, Aaron and Emry rode with us. We went to a great restaurant and enjoyed a meal out. Michelle fell asleep on the way there. Eva and David came too. We were missing Sara and TJ.

 Michelle wanted a picture too.

The chipotle shrimp pasta was good, but had a bit of a kick, so I drank a lot of water. When we got back the kids were finishing up a movie. Then we got them ready for bed. Michelle got a hold of my phone and she and Liam took a selfie!

Amy really wanted to sleep with Lizzie and Hali, but they weren't quite ready for bed, so we had the girls in the sewing room with us. Amy and Melanie on the futon, and Michelle in the pack n play. Although it was hard to get her to sleep, and I think she ended up in our bed anyway. After the girls were finally asleep, it was pretty much bed time for me too! Timothy slept on the couches with the older cousins, and David slept on the couch downstairs. Day 1 in the books!

Christmas Day 2016

Sunday morning the boys were up at 6:00 am! Aaron had just barely gotten back to sleep, so I told them they had to wait. At 7:00, the girls were starting to stir, so I decided to get everyone up. We did need to get ready for church, so it was time to get up. I took a few pictures before Michelle woke up.

 Then Aaron took some of us after Michelle woke up

First up the kids find their Santa gifts

David's metal detector

Inflatable bowling set - a silly family gift

Melanie likes her easel

Michelle wants Amy's caterpillar

Timothy's programmable build your own robot

The family also got a new roku

Michelle got a little piano

I love that in the background you can hear Melanie find something in her stocking that she really wanted for Christmas.

Aaron looking at David's leef iBridge

Christmas morning chaos

Then we wandered into the kitchen for breakfast. Lots of cereal nuts, and whatever was in their stockings.

Church started at 10:00am, so we decided to wait on presents and get ready for church. I had the girls open one present before we left since it contained new tights and socks they could wear to church.

 

Michelle was ready to go 

  

Aaron drove separately in case he needed to go in to the hospital. The Christmas program was wonderful!!! I don't think we've ever had the chapel so full on Sunday. There was a lot of people visiting from out of town, family visiting, and even people from the area that came to our ward because family was participating in the program. There were even a few non members just visiting, and people we haven't seen in years.

I was slightly concerned we'd run out of bread and water for the sacrament, but it was fine. Just took a little longer than usual. I was OK with that. Then the program began. Jane G* put together a great program of about 14 songs and narration in between. Everyone participated! I don't remember the exact order, but the ward choir sang a song, the men sang a song, the relief society and the young women sang a song, the primary sang a song, there were a couple of solos (Betsy D*, Corrina S*, and Tammy L*) a couple of small groups and a few congregational hymns. I loved the music and the spirit was there. It was a perfect start to Christmas. 

We talked with a few people and made sure the building was secure before we went home. Aaron had to do a couple of things before we could open presents, so we took a few pictures of the girls in their matching dresses. I'm not sure how long they will be able to find matching dresses in their size!

They sure are silly

Then they went up stairs to get out of their dresses, and decided to get back into pajamas!

It was 12:15 before we started to open presents
Aaron thought it would be funny to wrap a tiny gift in a huge box.

 I love how about 30 seconds in he says "Watch, it's going to be an itunes gift card"

 lo and behold he was right, well actually it was 2 gift cards.

Aaron also thought it was funny to stuff this wrapping paper tube with nightgowns for the girls

When Michelle woke up from her nap, she opened her presents

 I didn't take too many more pictures.
It's always a mess afterward

Throughout the day we just played with toys, and games and snacked on leftovers, and candy, and nuts. I don't think Melanie ate anything besides candy all day.  I think that was the case last year too. It was a pretty calm Sunday afternoon. We got to Facetime with my family (including my brother in New York) and Aaron's family. After that the internet was spotty, and at some point Aaron did have to go into the hospital. The only one to take a nap was Michelle. Otherwise she was by my side pretty much the whole day.

The girls playing with the table top Foosball game from Grandma G*

More fun before bedtime

 

After a long and wonderful day, we went to bed. Merry Christmas!