Christmas was very merry

We had a fun Christmas this year! We packed everything up and headed to Utah to be around family. We got to see all four grandparents, which Afton just loved. She got very good at saying Grandma and Grandpa and followed them all around the whole time. This is a hat that Grandma Jan made before the arm incident: The big news at the Stubbs was the present that they and Jared gave me. A guitar!!!! I was totally surprised and giddy. It is gorgeous, sounds fabulous, and is all mine. Yahoo! Now I really need to get better at playing.
We spent the majority of the time at Hotel Carlston. It was fun, busy, crowded, and full of good food. All the clan was there and we had fun watching the cute kids, talking about the ones to come, and hearing dating stories. Good times. Afton and Katherine spent most of the time playing and then telling each other what to do (we'd better get used to that) while Parker was just cute the whole time. They got some fun hairdos from their aunts and always had to have their hair done at the same time. This was the cutest moment by far because they were so excited to get all the attention at how cute they were. Front and back shots:


On Christmas Eve the three of us went sledding. We thought she was ready for a small hill and that I would still be able to go. So, up to the good hills at my Jr. High we went. The snow was in perfect condition and the hills were just high enough to get some good speed without bumbs. Afton laughed her head off until she got too cold. Here's Jared and Afton going down the last hill with big smiles on:

Christmas Day we had a big breakfast (with my french toast experiment failing miserably, doh!) and then opened presents. It was fun to see what everyone got and I felt very spoiled. Jared got me tons of stuff! One of my favorite parts of the day was that I got to take a nap. Being prego and traveling sure took it out of me.

The trip home was delayed because of tons of snow on the roads, and we ended up switching cars with my mom so we'd be able to have some four wheel action. The extra space in the car helped us get our new dining chair delivered (finally!). They are awesome. Jared and I keep saying how grown up our house looks with real chairs at the table instead of folding metal blue chairs from walmart. Awesome.

We even had one more big surprise when we got home for the kid. We got her a big present that wasn't worth taking with us. The good part is that she LOVES it and it will just keep getting better as she gets bigger. At least for now we all get exercise going around and around our little house.
It's a trike that goes from being a stationary rocker to a push bike, to a full on cruiser. She has the revving engine sound and the screaching wheel sound down so it's pretty fun as we cruise along the hallway and pull a sharp turn in the kitchen. She laughed her evilest laugh yet and we all had a good time.

Thanks to both our families for letting us crash your houses and spend a really fun holiday with you! We love you!