A Christmas Adventure

We decided to make the lengthy road trip to Idaho to spend Christmas with my Parents. Gilbert was a trooper driving straight through for 30 hours from McKinney, TX to Rexburg, ID. Lara was a champ and slept most of the way. Poor Isaac however struggled with being confined to his car seat for so long. Part way through the trip I gave him one of his Christmas gifts to unwrap early. The roads, especially through New Mexico were pretty icy and we were grateful to arrive safely.

Rexburg greeted us with even more snow with plenty of ice-cycles and drifts to make it a very white Christmas. Christmas morning we enjoyed breakfast with Mom and Dad as well as Ann, Bliss and her husband Matthew who had also driven up from Utah for the weekend. Then we had fun opening gifts...Isaac especially enjoyed tearing the wrapping paper...on other's gifts as well as his own. Later in the day my sister Jenny, her husband Jeff and their children drove from Idaho Falls to join us. It was so good to see everyone again and a sleepy Lara was passed around between the loving cousins.

The next day we all trooped to the Yeck's home (my sister, Jenny's home) in Idaho Falls. After admiring some of the new gifts we got a chuckle out of squeezing Lara into Brinley's dolly crib. Then Grandma and Grandpa Garner helped her snuggle down for a nap while everyone else put on warm layers and went out to play in the snow. This was Isaac's first experience with snow. In the shots below you can see him in my lap being pulled around on a sled by Gilbert...clutching his Daddy's knees to get out of the wind...and in general enjoying some nippy winter weather.



On another day, back at Grandma's some of the grown-ups and older children had fun icing and decorating gingerbread boys and girls.

Part of the reason we came to Idaho was so Grandpa Garner, Uncle Matthew Blackburn and Uncle Jeff Yeck could participate with Gilbert as he gave Lara a name and blessing in Church on Sunday the 28th. Here Lara gets a bath before getting dressed in the special long white blessing dress Momma made for her big day. Later, we snapped a quick family picture, which as you can see, tested Isaac's patience a bit.

On our return trip (Tuesday the 30th) we stopped in Salt Lake to visit Temple Square. Isaac enjoyed the visitors centers, pushing the buttons on all the displays, stopping to view the temple through the large picture windows, and pausing to hear a spiritual message near the Christus statue. Lara, again, slept through most of our visit in her car seat/stroller and so is not pictured. That evening we had dinner with Ann, Bliss and Matt and then spent the night in the Blackburn's lovely guest room.

The next morning we headed out early. A full day on the road ended in a hotel room in Albaquerque (sp?). After tearing around checking out every corner of the hotel room, Isaac crashed in the portable crib provided by the hotel. During the night, I got up to feed Lara and had to snap this funny shot of Isaac with his bum on the pillow and his head on his stuffed Tigger. Once again waking early the next day we completed the final leg of our journey arriving in McKinney around 8pm CDT. Isaac was much more patient on the return trip...especially since we broke it into three days rather than one long haul. I also learned that a make-shift tent over his car-seat helped him to nap better...here he grins at me after waking from such a nap. Lara, again the traveling champ, snoozed happily between brief feeding/diaper-changing stops.

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas adventure. It was good to spend time with distant loved ones and enjoy the Holiday Spirit...but also good to be home again.