A week after Tyler left, Rachel and the kids packed up to spend a week in Utah. We were there over actual Christmas even though we had celebrated a couple times already. Rachel was glad the plane ride was only and hour and a half, but the kids did really well. There was a medical emergency on the plane as it was about to land and that was scary, but besides that, the trip went smoothly.
This was an amazing view from the plane.
We arrived Monday night to the townhouse Rachel's parents rented in Orem. Here Sylvia is with Grandma Tuell.
After a good night's sleep the kids were ready to play! The house was so comfortable with plenty of room for everyone. Here they are with Aunt Cami.
Sylvia playing with Grandpa
You can see in a lot of the pictures to follow, Andrew is cracking up and loved playing with his grandparents, aunts, and uncle.
Aunt Cami
The kids loved reading lots of books. The house had lots of books to read and a fun downstairs playroom. That was were Andrew had his pack and play.
Grandma reading Brown Bear.
Grandma and Sylvia
There was a hot tub on the back porch and so we decided to try it out. Look at those snazzy robes.
It was VERY snowy and some might call us crazy for venturing outside in bathing suits.
It was snowing while we were in the hot tub, but it was very fun and quite relaxing.
Breakfast time! We had tons of delicious food and breakfasts were no exception. This day was yummy blueberry pancake day.
Grandpa is so silly!
It was a perfect day to go sledding! The house was right across the road from a park and fun sledding hill.
Mommy and Andrew sledding. It was a little scary for Andrew and he was hesitant to do it again after that.
It was a beautiful sunny day.
Grandpa is flying down the hill.
We convinced Andrew to go down alone, not sure if he enjoyed it too much though. I think he is trying to bail out in this picture.
Here is a nice group shot, except for Grandma Tuell who was inside while Sylvia napped.
We even had some sledding races. I think Camille won this one.
What a nice picture!
Wipe out for Bennett
Andrew maybe didn't enjoy sledding but he really loved playing in the snow. We built a snowman, dug around, and Aunt Cami taught him to make snow angels. He loved doing that and left behind a lot of little angels in the snow when it was finally time to go inside.
Uncle Bennett and miss Sylvia
Cuties!
Andrew said he was cold so Grandma snuggle/carried him into the MOA. There was a Norman Rockwell exhibit there and it was so awesome to visit. We had Norman Rockwell books at the Judd house growing up so we had always admired his artwork. It was very cool to see more of his work and watch a video about his life and career.
Grandma and Sylvia again
Story time
What nice hugs
Another day we went up near Sandy to see Gardner Village. Camille had been before and said it was very Christmas-y with lots of fun shops. This was our view on the way up.
It was very cold but sunny.
You can see the some of the fun shops behind the girls.
There were lots of little elves set up throughout the shopping area. It was a really fun place to visit.
This was inside an amazing baby boutique.
And of course we visited the Bakery. Andrew got a gingerbread man to eat.
We also got a huge coconut macaroon to share and some little honey gingerbread men for everyone. Looks like Sylvia enjoyed the snack too.
Ducks!
This was a cool toy store that Andrew did not want to leave. We had to go back there again because Andrew wanted to play a bit longer. There also was a small sand box with construction vehicles that he found enthralling.
On the bridge
Andrew found a choo choo. He was disappointed to figure out he couldn't fit inside.
Uncle Bennett played Star Wars with Andrew and that just made his day. What a cool uncle!
This is our traditional Christmas Eve meal. It was very good. We had our own Christmas devotional that night as well.
We watched some nice family movies together too. Andrew loved snuggling with Grandma.
Don't forget the tree! We had to make all of the ornaments and Andrew loved helping with that.
Christmas morning!!!!
Andrew knew the routine by now, and knew Santa had left him something in his stocking.
Sylvia needed a little help, but luckily Aunt Margaret was there. Then Sylvia helped Margaret with her stocking.
Present time!
Andrew was very excited and had a lot of fun eating chocolate and getting new toys. His new clothes didn't seem to excite him as much even though he got some cool outfits. Sylvia finally got the hang of opening her presents and had a fun time too.
Andrew's biggest surprise was opening up Buzz Lightyear and Woody from the Toy Story movies. Every present after he was expecting to find more Toy Story characters. Sorry Andrew, we didn't get you Ham (the piggy bank character).
The biggest treat was probably being able to Skype with Elder Judd! He is doing well and we are soo proud of him. He is learning a lot about humility he says. His Spanish sounds great and you can tell he loves the Chilean people.
Andrew helped Bennett build some Star Wars legos.
Aunt Cami playing catch with Andrew.
Making cookies together.
We also decorated gingerbread houses. Andrew kept sneaking the candy to eat.
Looks pretty good!
Good morning sunshine
Is the week over already? We also did some fun things not pictured: visited the BYU Bookstore, ate Christmas brunch, had Margaret's sister and her boyfriend over for dinner, Rachel met up with some college roommates, we had the Burkes (family friends) come visit and played games together, and Rachel and Cami tried going running in the morning even though it turned out to be too icy or slushy most mornings.
We had a really fun week and it was time to say our goodbyes.
Aunt Cami dropped us off at the airport and we continued on home. This leg of the trip was a little rougher than the first. Neither kid slept at all. We had many, many kind strangers offer help along the way, which was a great blessing. From the flight attendant, to the lady at Starbucks who gave us free milk for Andrew to drink, to the shuttle driver who took us directly to our van, we appreciated their kindness.
Here Andrew is looking cute in a new raccoon hoodie.
This is a selfie of celebration because I was so glad we made it! This was on the drive home and finally Andrew slept for the 15 minutes it takes to drive home from the airport. We survived and it felt good to go home after a fun trip.
Surprisingly enough, Rachel's parents and Grandma missed their connecting flight and were stuck in Denver. We were more than happy to host them for the night and had some fun bonus time with them.
