Christmas 2007 Highlights

Chad and I got back from Atlanta today and I am so sad it's over! We had a blast! To see pictures of the trip, go to my sister Audra's blog. Here are some of my favorite parts of the trip, in no particular order:

Running with Jessi--it was so nice to spend one on one time with Jessi and see the pretty countryside by where she lives.

Holding Audra's little Joshy! I am head over heals in love with that sweetie pie and I am so sad I can't hold him anymore. He is just the cutest, sweetest thing and I miss him so much already. It was also really special to be there for his baby blessing on the 23rd.

Singing Christmas carols with Jessi's girls in their van on the way to Audra's house.

Playing around in a gymnastics gym for Lydia's birthday party--there were so many fun thing to do there! A rope to swing on, balance beam, huge inflated slide, trampolines, mats to do flips on, etc. We also played keep-away frisbee on the gymanstics "floor" for quite some time, and that was so fun!

Watching "Bride and Prejudice" with Audra! I LOVED it! It was so funny and fun--I would totally reccommend it to those who love dancing and light-hearted movies (not to mention the Pride and Prejudice storyline).

Playing "Loaded Questions," "Catch Phrase," and "Cranium" with the fam. We always laugh so much when we're together! Audra gave me "Loaded Questions" for Christmas, which is one of my favorite games, and I look forward to playing it more. Thanks, Audge!

Playing tennis with Chad, Dave, and Audra. When I don't play tennis for a while I forget how much fun it is and how much I really love it. It was such a treat to be able to play outside in nice weather, since it's too snowy and cold to play outside here. After we played, Chad gave a mini lesson to Lydia and Jordan and it was fun to see Chad coach and Lydia and Jordan learn.

Going running on Christmas day with Jessi and Dave, Audra and Mike, and Chad. It was so much fun to support Jessi in the last few miles of her Fitness Challenge, and it was fun to see the responses of people walking by, driving by, and from their yards and homes. We made quite the unusual sight of six people going running together in the rain on Christmas day. :)

Looking through the wedding album Audra made for me. She took all sorts of pictures during the wedding celebrations that totally capture the emotions and feeling of the day, and she put them together in a really nice album for me for Christmas. I love it so much!

Visiting Chad's friends Ezra and Crystal. They had us over for a really nice meal and then we played Settlers of Catan (my first time playing that game). It was fun to hear Ezra and Chad reminisce about their mission. They have a lot of shared memories, since they lived together for three quarters of their missions and were companions for 5 months of their missions. We had so much fun talking and playing the game together. We look forward to visiting them again the next time we're in the area!

Hiking Stone Mountain with the whole fam. Tanner held Chad's and my hand for about half the way up and it was fun to chat with him. He is such a fun kid! He LOVES garbage trucks, garbage cans, and the like, and so for a good chunk of the hike we talked about the wonders of garbage trucks. :) It was fun to see everyone, even the little kids, hike to the top.

And of course, the usual, but still as exciting as ever, Christmas celebrations:
Playing with and tickling the kids.
Watching football. (Way to go to BYU for winning their bowl game!!)
Eating delicious food every meal for eight days. (Thank you Audra and Jessi for buying all the food and preparing all the meals!!)
Giving and receiving presents.
Reading the Christmas story and seeing the kids dressed up for the nativity scene.

I love my family so much!! I just get giddy when I'm around them. The last week was pure bliss to be able to spend time with them and not have to worry about anything else. Again, thank you to Audra and Jessi for hosting us and making the vacation one that we'll be thinking about for months to come!