Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...er, Buses

It's been a busy few weeks, but tons of fun!

We just got back from a long trip to Utah. But first I have to back up a bit.

Before we went to Utah, we had a mini Christmas at our house on Saturday, December 14th so we wouldn't have to bring it all to Utah with us. Caleb was soooooo excited to open his gifts and it made it so much fun for us! Caleb got the "choo-choo" train he wanted and did a happy dance when he saw it. I'll have to find the video and post it later. Here is Caleb with some of his loot:



Later that day, we were lucky enough to have Chris's sister, Heather, and her husband, Dan, and four cute kids all fly in for a visit. We spent some time that day downtown visiting the Alamo, eating at a German restaurant (Dan went on a mission to Germany), and the Riverwalk:



Sunday was a busy day but we were able to do some Christmas caroling and visit some friends. Monday we ate at an English restaurant for lunch (Heather went to England on a mission), Rudy's for dinner, and spent more time downtown, including a trip through the mirror maze (which is totally fun, by the way!):







We also had some fun time just to hang out and chat and watch movies:



They headed out the next morning and we headed out that evening. Caleb LOVED the airplane and was so excited! He was really good on the plane even though it was way past his bedtime! We spent the first day in Provo having lots of fun with my brother Kip and his wife Bridget and my sister, Kaylyn, who also flew in that day. Then we headed up to Logan.

Since we were going to be in Utah for about 2 1/2 weeks, we decided we would spend the first few days with family since most were just in town for a few days. We had a blast sledding, playing games, watching movies, watching college football, riding the bus (Caleb's favorite!!), ping pong tournaments (ask Chris who won more when we played each other...actually maybe you shouldn't--it may be a sore subject! :), eating out and eating in. My parents are the best hosts and really spoil us! With awesome food, diapers already provided, great babysitting, lots of games and toys...we always love staying at their house. We were able to see a lot of my family, and all of Chris's family during our first few days there. We had a wonderful Christmas, and once again Caleb was spoiled. :)

Unfortunately, Caleb and I both got a cold (as did several of our family) at the beginning of our trip. Mine passed fairly quickly, but Caleb's didn't. About a week into it, he also started vomiting for a few days and then the fevers started and kept getting pretty high. Finally, a couple days before we left, we took him to a doctor and found out he had an ear infection. He hadn't had one before, so I guess I was expecting something different. I hadn't seen him pulling on his ear or anything, so I felt bad when we found out he had an ear infection and wondered how long he'd been living with it. So anyway, we didn't get to see most of the friends we wanted to nor do a few things that we wanted to, but we did get a lot of great family time indoors playing games, watching movies, and just having fun! So if we missed you this time, SORRY! Hopefully we'll see you again soon!

Here are some random pictures of the fun we had!

Caleb had a great time playing with his cousins. We were even able to be there for the birthday party of his cousin, Ryan. They held the party at the fun park and Caleb was able to go bowling for the first time. And I must say, he is quite the bowler! Here he is with grandpa:



And this picture is titled, "Check out the shoes!" Bowling shoes! Whoohoo!



The party included bowling, pizza, root beer, and a pinata. Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot! Here Caleb is gathering from the pinata:



Most mornings when Caleb woke up, he would put on his hat and his nice black church shoes. Quite the outfit. Here he is also sporting the "cheesy grin" Chris has been trying to teach him how to do:



Before we went to Utah, I told Caleb that we might be able to ride a bus while we are there. Logan has this great free bus system and he LOVES buses, as everyone who rides in our car with us knows - he always points and yells "BUS!" Anyway, every time I mentioned going to Utah or to grandma and grandpa's house, he would say, "Bus! Ride bus?" Here are a couple pictures of our exciting bus adventure! (Excuse the photographer who somehow missed half of Chris's face!) Funny enough...I think this was the highlight of the trip for Caleb! Cheap activity I'm willing to do anytime! :)





Keeping with tradition, here is the hanger added to my parents' Christmas tree as well:



My parents have the best view of Cache Valley complete with awesome sunsets. This is a picture from their deck. We definitely enjoyed a white Christmas this year!



Here is Caleb sitting on a Caleb-sized couch, with a drink in one hand and the remote in the other watching some college football. We're starting him out young. He was really cute and kept running around and yelling, "Go! Go! Go!"



Here is Chris and Caleb ready to go sledding. They had an awesome time!





Chris and Caleb enjoyed shoveling my parents' sidewalk and driveway (even though the homeowner's association has someone who does it for them!)



We were sad to come back because we always miss our families so much! But today we're back enjoying the warmer weather...and back to work sporting flip flops and shorts!