Holiday Synopsis

Here is cousin Alisha with Elora and her daughter Scarlet that are only 5 days apart.

Okay, so tons has been happening. I basically haven't been keeping my blogger friends up to date since September and who knows if I'll ever catch up. But I do have a few moments while Jonah colors and Elora crawls around to do a holiday debriefing.

Dec. 22- Brandon's mom & step dad arrive at our house late in the evening, have dinner with us, chat, watch Elf, and spend the night.

Dec. 23- B's mom & I drive down to Provo with Elora to meet two of her sisters and several other R. family gals for lunch. Shop at Target. Head home with MIL and two teenage SILs.

Dec. 24- Elora gets her first tooth.
B goes snowmobiling in the morning with his dad.
We all head up to the cabin after Jonah's nap.
Andy, Coach, and Katie meet us up there too. Alan & Linda are already there.
Have an incredible dinner of beef tenderloin, balsamic roasted onions, etc.
Boys karaoke. Some people hot tub, some play craps, some wrap gifts...

Dec. 25- Jonah loves unwrapping gift after gift. He likes the unwrapping more than the gifts at first.
Jonah's best gifts: a fancy mini kitchen, two slides, tee pee fort, pull toy train, books, doll w/ stroller.
Elora's favorite gift: Elmo Live Doll (robot)
Brandon's favorite gift: having both of his parents with him for Christmas for the first time since he was eight and having all four of his sisters there too.
My favorite gifts: breadmaker, boots, bookshelf, Last Word game, etc., etc., etc!...
It snowed hard all day and the B's mom's family got snowed in with us and got to stay an extra night at the cabin.
It was the greatest day ever for me. I was showered with wonderful gifts, I got to go sledding, I got to hot tub, and got to take a nap all in one day!

Dec. 26 - hung out at the cabin. I went down to SLC alone late in the afternoon, grabbed a smothered burrito, exchanged gifts with Jen, and shopped the Christmas clearance at Target scoring a tree topper and a few ornaments.

Dec. 27 - hung at the cabin. Elora and I headed home to try to get her back on her normal sleep schedule while Jonah & Brandon spent one more night at the cabin with Alan & Linda. Brandon's 19-year-old sister Katie shocks everyone by getting engaged.

Dec. 28 - a whole lot of nothing if I remember correctly

Dec. 29 - more of the same, I think. B's mom, stepdad, and three sisters and Oakley (Andy & Coach's boxer dog) came over to do family pictures here and then we all made dinner and hung out for the M. family's last night in town.

Dec. 30 - Elora learned to pull herself up to a standing position in her crib.
Tried to get my house back in order.

Dec. 31 - took Jo to the library, grocery shopped. Jamon & Alisha & their two little girls arrived to spend two nights at our place. Brandon made us all layered bean dip and tacos for dinner.
Derek (B's second cousin?, Jamon's nephew) & his bride Tianna & their two dogs came over to ring in the new year with us. We were pretty boring. They slept over on our couches.

Jan. 1 - breakfast all together. B & Jamon go snowmobiling. Derek & Tiana go home. Alisha & I spend the day together with our four kids and even have all four asleep at the same time for a whole half an hour of quiet bliss. The adults play True Colors & Mario Kart after the kids are in bed.

Jan. 2 - today Brandon goes into work and Jamon & family head home to Denver.
Life resumes normalcy?