The last time we were in Utah as a family was two Christmases ago, Christmas 2019 - before COVID, and dropping Aly off at BYU. Man, that almost seems like another life ago. But anyway, we decided to give it another go and get our winter fix, especially since it was in the 80's when we left Tampa. The girls and I flew out on Saturday, the 18th, but Chris had to work a few more days and joined us on the 22nd. One thing I will say about our girls, they have grown up to be good travelers. They wake up happy, get ready to go quick, and know how to pace themselves with snacks, movies, and naps. Even though we had to fly all the way to Seattle just to come back to Salt Lake, the flights went pretty smoothly, with no delays or anything.
Utah welcomed us with a hazy sunset over the mountains in the west and an amazing moonrise over the mountains in the East. It was beautiful. And thanks to my dad for picking us up from the airport!
For the first couple of days, we played a lot of games, ate a lot of yummy food, watched movies, played with cousins in the basement, and basically just enjoyed being together. (Oh, and Kylie randomly decided she wanted to get her hair cut when we got there. It may not look like it, but she actually had 5 inches taken off!)
On Monday we hit it hard, jumping into the winter sports. Lise really wanted to try snowboarding, so my brother Matt took her and my nephew Camren. Lise was a natural! Thanks, Matt!
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew went ice skating, which was lots of fun. (And everybody improved as we went along!)
It sure wore some people out though!
Also worthy of note, this star and manger scene drawn on the car by my nephew. Love it.
The next day we went straight from snow and ice to a pool, swimming at the aquatic center. The kids had fun but didn't last long - it was chilly!
Next up was a Polar Express Party with O'Gwin cousins. They had dinner, some crazy dress-up contest, watched the Polar Express, and then got all bundled up to go see Christmas lights. Super fun!
Another cool thing is this shed in their backyard. My brother-in-law converted it into a teen domain with a couch, bunkbeds, a TV, etc. The girls slept out there with their cousins (it's well insulated and heated) and loved it!
The next night the girls went to another sleepover with the Jackman cousins. They live just a few blocks from the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, so the kiddos decided to take a walk over to it and take some pictures at sunset. Super awesome!
That night I also was able to pick up Chris from the airport. So glad to have him join in the fun!
First up was the Webb Christmas party. I hadn't been to that in years and it was so good to see my aunts and uncles and cousins. There is just such a good vibe with the Webb crew. It feels like getting a piece of my childhood back.
On Christmas Eve we had a scrumptious dinner, complete with ribeye roast, garlic potatoes, Sarah salad, bacon-wrapped asparagus, spicy rolls, sparkling grape juice, and cheesecake for dessert.
Afterward, Grandpa played "Let's Make a Deal" with the grandkids, we played more games, and watched a couple of movies. And then . . . it was time for bed so Santa could come!!
Christmas morning was a little on the down-low for us since we had done our family Christmas before we came out. But we did get a few things in our stockings and it was fun watching my nephews get their fun toys and stuff.
I believe there may be another picture somewhere of one of the girls (maybe even Kate?) wearing the stockings as actual socks . . .
We also got to talk to Aly on Christmas, which was super fun. It was a free for all so we actually talked to her three times that day! It was a complete 180 for her as it is the middle of summer in Paraguay and she said Christmas is more like the 4th of July where people go to their grandparents' house and eat watermelon.
Once everybody got dressed and ready, we headed to Chris's brother Sean's house to hang out for a little while and catch up with them. They are in a new house, loving the grandparent life. We got to hang out with them a few times and it was great.
Next up, we headed to Chris's other brother Andy's house for Christmas dinner (yummy steak, salad, shrimp, potatoes - delish!)
Once we were stuffed, it was time for the real fun - the white elephant gift exchange! Chris got the infamous golden panties, which had been lost for a few years . . .
. . . Lise got a boyfriend pillow . . .
. . . Kylie got a creepy chicken that makes an obnoxious noise when you squeeze it . . .
. . . Andy got the "O'Gwin Man" gift. The card read, "O'Gwin Men be like . . . Angry on the outside, but a man-baby on the inside, with super powers, and a wee bit of Irish." . . .
. . . Stacy got the XL Thanos swimming suit. Gross, that's all I'm going to say . . .
. . . Sarah got the Flamingo beak . . .
. . . Marilyn got the "Crafting with Cat Fur" book. *Gag* . . .
. . . and finally, Noah got the "Boxers or Briefs" board game. (Also not shown. Ella got the Disney channel "Scene It" game with "Mean Girls" and "Legally Blond 2" movies.) Now that is how white elephant gifts are done!
So much fun hanging out with family - especially after being away for so long! It was also super crazy how much Lise and Ella look alike - they look more like sisters than any of my girls do!
On the Monday after Christmas, we took the crew to see the new Spiderman movie in the theater. That night Chris and I went out for the famous "Sibling Dinner." This year we chose Rodizio's, an all-you-can-eat Brazilian restaurant where they keep bringing different cuts of meat to your table. It was super fun and just as we got there it started snowing outside so we had an amazing view of the snow and the lights - just awesome. Love my family and the time I got to spend with them.
Time was winding up quick. We had a down day where I was able to do a lot of blogging - woo-hoo! - and we caught up on laundry. Then on our last day in Utah, we did a brunch with Chris's family and then prepped for my nephew's baptism that evening (which happened to be on my brother's birthday - his dad - which was pretty cool.)
Before the baptism they had breakfast for dinner at my dad's house - yummy!
I didn't get any pictures of the baptism boy, but I sure love this pic of Chris photo-bombing a picture Laura was taking!
It really was a great trip. It was so good to see everybody and just take a break from the stress of our lives for a bit. I loved it and I think the kids did too. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and it was time to go home.
And what a trip home it was!! Because of the separate flight situation, Chris flew home the same day as us, but his flight left a little after ours and he would arrive in Tampa 3 hours before us. This time we were flying to L.A. and then to Tampa. All was well until we arrived in L.A. and then HOLY COW it was a madhouse. We were caught up in the crazy "flightmare" where tons of flights were being delayed and canceled due to crew members getting sick with COVID and weather. Luckily our flight was just delayed by about an hour and a half, but there were people literally on top of each other. The girls were really good though, waking up early, going with the flow to get food, playing on their phones. They did great. We were really happy when it was finally our time to board the plane . . .
. . . and then they crashed for most of the 4 1/2 hour flight. Meanwhile, because of the delay, Chris was landing just as we were taking off. Little did we know that when Chris arrived, he would find a minivan with a completely dead battery. After a nice stranger gave him a jump, Chris had the battery tested, bought a new one (Thanks Chris!), came home to start thawing milk and hamburgers from the freezer, went to the grocery store to buy buns and accessories, and then came back to pick us up. What a guy! When we arrived we found out Kate's bag had been left in L.A. (better on the return trip than going out to Utah!) Anywho, in the end, we were all just happy to be home - together - and to eat hamburgers at 10 pm and watch a show. (Kate's luggage did arrive the next day and all was well!)
And that's a wrap! The next day was New Year's Eve. We chilled with pizza and movies, Lise went to a party at a friends house, and we have been trying to recover from our jetlag by taking naps, going to bed way too late or way too early and pretty much just wigging out our bodies. I'm sure school and work will help us snap back into shape though!
So yeah, it was a great trip and a great year. Looking forward to what 2022 will bring!
