Home for Christmas....Are We There Yet?

WOW! What a year for everyone to be home for Christmas! I'm so excited we get to be home for Christmas!! We got to leave Friday the 19th and stay a night in Vegas before arriving in California the next day. We've kind of been making the stop in Vegas more of a habit and tradition to help break up the trip for our boys and just so that we don't feel rushed while we're traveling...that's gotten us in trouble before. And it's just been fun because the boys love it!

I called Paul's mom to let her know we were finally on the road and she said, "Where are you now?" And I said, "Orem." Then she laughed and said, "No, really. Where are you?" And I had to tell her, "Really, we're in Orem still!" We had been hoping to leave a bit sooner than we actually did; we didn't get on the road until 2:30. It had already started to snow before we left but fortunately by about Springville we had already outrun it and we had clean roads the rest of the way to Vegas.

Ryan was so excited for "vacation". After we finally left Orem we repeatedly had to try and explain to him that vacation is a time, not a place....all the way to Vegas he asked when we were going to be at vacation! I think he equates vacation to a hotel room. But the drive went very well. And except for Ryan asking "are we there yet?" every 10 miles (Paul & I had always wondered when that was going to start!) the boys did really well. They took turns napping and we stopped for dinner in St. George on the way and we still made it to the hotel in Vegas at a decent hour.

The boys watching football (what else is there?!) in the hotel room.

Then Saturday we got a late start out of Vegas and ended up driving straight up to Fresno for Paul West's birthday party! That was fun because we got to see Christa's new house and new baby right away--BOTH VERY CUTE!--Mom & Chuck and Doug & Becky & family were all there, and a few other people I wouldn't have seen otherwise. Ryan was so excited the whole drive that he would get to see "[HIS] Keith" that evening! And for the most part, I think the boys all played well together! (And it appears I didn't get any pics at Christa's BUMMER!!)

Then we made our way southbound again to Amanda & Tim's. They also have a very cute little house! And a nice backyard. The boys slept in Clayton's room.

Sunday we got to go to church in Tulare where everyone but Doug's family and Brad also attended that day. President and Sister Dredge were the speakers and I felt like I really scored! They are just such wonderful people. Janae was there visiting from Arizona with her family and it was really good to see her.

I remember thinking during sacrament meeting, after the Young Women sang a beautiful Christmas song (they sounded like angels!) that I really wanted to go to Young Women's that day. I totally forgot that Mom was the Mia Maid adviser! After Sunday School Christa and Lissa both told me they were going to Young Women's with Mom and I thought "SCORE! I get to go to Young Women's today!" So the three of us crashed Mom's class for the third hour. It was so great to be in there with the girls I used to babysit 10-15 years ago!! Anyway, it was great fun and I look forward to the rest of the week! So far this trip is off to a great start!

Backtracking.....July 7,2008

After we got to Oregon, we visited with G'ma & G'pa Jackson for awhile before Paul's mom, dad & brother made it there. We went and watched the fireworks show in Le Grande that night. The boys loved it and quite honestly, it's one of the best fireworks shows I've been to in awhile. We attended church with them on Sunday and then bright and early Monday morning, we got ready for the second mini-trip of our vacation (Boise being the first).

We had planned to go camping at a place called Parish Cabin outside of John Day. Paul's mom, Evelyn, grew up in John Day and so they vacationed and went camping out there a lot while Paul was growing up. It was a three-day, two-night trip (pretty much all I can handle camping with the boys at this stage) and it was beautiful country! Evelyn stayed home with G'ma so that G'pa could come with us. It was G'pa & Jeff (Jeff is Paul's 12 yr old cousin who's being raised by his grandparents) Paul's dad, Ron, and his brother Kendall, and then us. The boys loved the dirt and the little stream that ran alongside the campground. And I loved it too, except for the mosquitos.....I have a problem with mosquitos! Even with repellent I got eaten alive.

**Ben & Ryan playing in the dirt.**Here are the boys chillin' in Papa's (Ron's) hammock at the camp site.**

**Ben was eating off of G'pa's plate and G'pa thought it was pretty funny!**

The guys all hiked up to the top of the stream did a little fishing. I tried but Ben wasn't really enjoying it much so I ended up taking him back to camp. One day at camp we had a forest ranger truck come through to pull water out of the creek. There was a nearby fire they were working on controlling. That was fun for G'pa because he worked for the forest service in that region for years and years before retiring. He chatted it up with one girl in particular. She even knew who he was! She remembered him from her early years when she was around 18, though he didn't know her at all. They chatted and he got to catch up on a few of his co-workers/friends that were still in the service.

**This is Kendall, Ben, & Jeff waiting for Paul to finish fishing.**Ben fishing with G'pa Jackson.**

**Papa pumping water for Ben.**Ryan jumping off the picnic table. (Like he jumps off everything!)**

**Paul found a rounded branch which he wrapped some grass and flowers around to make me a "forest tiara". It fit perfectly!!**

Backtracking.....July 2, 2008

July 2nd was Paul & my 4th anniversary! Yay for us! It's been a wonderful 4 years and I have a lot to be grateful for! He's an awesome daddy and a great husband. We've had our moments of learning and trial but overall it's been a pretty positive four years! And things really do just keep getting better!

SO, this year for our anniversary we started the longest vacation of our lives, or marriage at least. That day, Wednesday, July 2, we started our trip to Oregon after Paul got off work. We traveled for about 5 hours until we reached Boise where we detoured for a couple of days. The boys did awesome in the car! They napped for a little bit but when they were awake, whenever they would start to get bored they'd come up with some new game to play with each other from their carseats in the back. Their favorite game was to throw their teddy bears toward each other, over the ice chest in between their seats, and then quickly pull them back...they thought that was just so funny! I didn't get a picture of them playing unfortunately but I did of them sleeping!

We stayed in Boise for two nights at the Residence Inn because on Thursday the 3rd, Paul worked out of Digis's newly acquired Boise office and we didn't want to have to worry about checking out while Paul was working. The boys & I hung out at the swimming pool most of the morning and then we went back and took naps in the afternoon, or really, they napped while I read the Twilight book my mom sent to me and urged me to read. (The funny part of that story was that I was the one who recommended it to her before I'd even read it! All my friends were reading it and thought it was a great book but I had never personally read it. After Mom read it, she figured it was my turn since I had recommended it so she sent it with Christa, who had been in California for the weekend and was on her way back through to Idaho.)

Of course, to be able to go swimming was a challenge in and of itself! The swimming diapers got left in Paul's car and he had the car. I was quite frustrated at that point because I very much had looked forward to swimming that day. After complaining to my friend Kari, online, about the situation, she was smart enough to use the internet to check out the nearest drug store so I could buy some. (Sometimes I pride myself on my resourcefulness; other times, I'm not so bright!) So the boys and I walked down to the nearest Albertson's, half a mile away, and then walked back. I didn't have a stroller either (also in the car), so I carried Ben on my shoulders the whole way. Ryan was a great little walker though and he kept up the whole way! When we got back we had a great time in the pool! Ryan acted like he's been in the water everyday and used his floaties all the way down to the deep end without fear! He would jump in at the shallow end, swim down the the opposite end of the pool, hoist himself out of the water, walk back to the shallow end (& I stress walk because he really wanted to run!) and then he'd do it all over again! Ben, on the other hand, sat out and watched most of the time. He never has been a big fan of the water. But he seemed to enjoy watching and occasionally he'd get up his courage enough to jump in for a minute or two before wanting out again.

After Paul got off work he wrestled with the boys for a minute before we took the boys to a matinee of Disney's WALL*E which the boys seemed to enjoy. Ryan was pretty excited about it because when we finally saw the rest of the family in Oregon the next day, it was the first thing he mentioned! Then we went out to dinner since Paul & I really didn't get to do even that on our anniversary, and when we got back to the hotel, followed the evening up with a little more swimming (and I did not get one swimming picture the whole time, bummer!) before putting our boys to sleep. It really was a full day of FUN!

**Ben has this thing about putting Pull-ups on his head! I have no idea where it came from!**

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and continued our journey to Oregon to visit Paul's grandparents and the rest of his family which showed up later that evening. In Paul's haste to get everything before we got out, he grabbed the wrong pillow and left my pillow there! Funny stuff!