Catch Up

It's been awhile...no surprise there.

Here's a glimpse of our holiday adventure in Utah and Idaho.  We relished every minute of our time there since we don't have plans of heading west in the foreseeable future.  I must say, holidays - especially Christmas - are so much fun with babies.  Bug is already curious, but with shiny ornaments, tinsel, lights, and jingle bells, she is out of control.  It was awesome.

We ran into some crazy Texans who we absolutely adore and made an afternoon of it at Squatter's for lunch and a stroll through City Creek.

Steve and I played chaperones for an outing to the Utah Symphony's Christmas performance with my cousins' kiddos.  We've missed these munchkins!  It was especially fun hearing their version of how picked on they are by their parents.  I was glimpsing my own future...

It was a special treat to introduce AJ to her great-grandparents this trip.  Here she is with Bill and Marlene...

 And Great-grandma Charmain.

And Christmas isn't complete without a visit from St. Nick!  Look how much fun my mom was having!

AJ's first interaction with Santa was a huge success.  No tears, no tugs, just curiosity and smiles.

 Christmas found us in Logan (freezing Logan, I might add) to spend a couple days with Steve's family.  It's always nice to get together and hear about Julie and Derrall's adventures in Peru.  They met a friend of ours who arrived at the MTC in Peru a week or so before they flew home to Utah for Christmas.  Small world.

The time passed too quickly.

AJ got to meet her cousin this trip and they had lots of fun reading with Grandma.

 Bug's first Christmas.  Her expression says it all.  Clueless, but oh so happy.

After we left Utah, we headed north and made our way to Sun Valley, Idaho.  Behold, the quintessential logo at the lodge.

Exploring the ice sculptures in the Village.

We enjoyed the scrumptious desserts and hot cocoa at the Konditorei....multiple times.  Jack Frost forced me into it, but I must say, the pecan brownie and lemon tart were oh so tasty!

Bug finally got to meet my oldest brother, Precious Scott.  They became best buds from the moment they met.

So much so that Bug snagged a special photo-op with Scott and the Zamboni (technically it's an Olympia, but that's like calling a kleenex by some other name...it just isn't the same) in front of Baldy.

She stayed up waaaay past her bedtime to ring in the New Year (she conked by 9:00 p.m.).

 Daddy/daughter date on Baldy?  Absolutely.  

More Village exploration...

And a highlight of the trip was meeting my BFF's brand new baby!  Dez is the cutest little guy on the planet and I was so glad I got to spend time with him (Twice!  Didn't take pictures the first time).  It's still surreal to me that Penn and I are both mamas now.

And that's a wrap.  2012 was a big year and this trip was a perfect way to bid it farewell.