The most wonderful time of the year

I better write everything down before I forget the details... Not that it was a forgettable holiday - Because it wasn't.

Erin and I - after Christmas Around the World in early December

Christmas is wonderful. It's a bit stressful, chaotic, busy, expensive a times, but so so wonderful. My parents flew into Salt Lake on December 18th. Bob, my Dad's brother, was also flying in that day so they waited for him, dropped him off in Highland, then borrowed his car to get around Utah during their visit. Thanks, Bob! I think they got to our house around 10:00pm. We visited for a while then headed to bed. I'm so glad we have a guest room for them to use!

Our Christmas tree with gifts to and from all different people.

The next day was my last day of work. While I was at work, Dad drove to Provo to get Erin, who was packed up and ready for Christmas AND Florida - she'll be at Disneyworld for the next semester. I left work around lunch and ran errands with Paige and Mom. We had to get groceries for the cabin - which meant we were at WalMart for a good 2 hours. Austin and I had to finish packing a bit, then we headed over.

Cabin in Midway, UT - December 19th - 22nd
When we arrived, there were a couple of cars in the driveway. I made Austin knock on the door to make sure someone else wasn't scheduled to rent it out too! Ahh! It turned out the owner was only having inspections done before the holidays. Phew! It was so fun to be at the cabin again. We've only been there once before but it felt so familiar! We unloaded groceries, worked out our rooms, sat and chatted, then had dinner, made my Paige and Lorin.

Bruce, Erin, Polly, and Mom decorating our mini Christmas tree.

All the gifts under/around the tree

Thursday, our first full day at the cabin, turned out to be pretty relaxing. I think we only had to leave for a few things (good thing Paige and I both live fairly close). Austin and I let the kids open their Christmas gifts early. I knew they would be getting pretty much everyone else's on the same morning so we thought we could spread them out a little bit.

Bruce got a racetrack with two cars

Polly got a brand new (maayybe hand-me-down) pink ipod with Hello Kitty earbuds

Polly did a half day at school so she wouldn't miss her Christmas party. Ben and Courtney got to the cabin around 2:00 or 3:00pm. I was so excited to see them and Clara again. They lived in Provo until Ben graduated, then moved to Arizona. I miss them being so close, but I'm so glad Ben has a good job!
That night, Santa (Austin's dad) came! Paige had a bag ready for him to hand out gifts. It's so fun seeing the kids (mostly Bruce's) reactions to Santa coming just for them! After he left, we made Christmas sugar cookies and reindeer food. It was SO cold outside. We only spent a minute or two leaving food (oats, glitter, sprinkles, etc) for the reindeer.
We took cute family pictures in our matching pajamas, too! We started a tradition that each year, someone else gets to pick our pajamas. We'll go in age order so, Paige picked them this year. The girls got leopard print and the boys got plaid (a usual favorite). We did our white elephant game that night, too. It's always fun seeing what everyone brings.

Lounging around the cabin. Polly, Bruce, and Hazel were in bed and Ben and Courtney were putting Clara down.

 All the kids' Christmas presents set out, ready for morning!

The next morning, we were all up fairly early. Paige had all the gift set out and even used the kids boots for stockings (as seen above). Their Santa gifts were wrapped so it took a little time for them to open all of them. I think it's fun having them all wrapped. We planned on doing Santa gifts, eating breakfast, then doing our gifts to each other. But, we just ended up opening them all. I love Christmas morning.

All the goodies - ready to be opened!

Dad reading to his book-loving granddaughter.

Sliced oranges with pomegranate seeds and powdered sugar

Quality breakfast picture

Once all the gifting was done, Dad made our traditional Aebleskiver breakfast. I feel so bad Courtney was feeling sick. I think she ended up feeling better throughout the trip. Either that, or she was a total trooper. Or both :) The rest of the day, we just hung out and played with the new toys... For lunch, we went out for Mexican food - for Paige's birthday (which was actually on that day - the 21st).

This is my favorite picture from lunch. Hazel was snuggling him, then lifted her head up and gave me a huge smile.

When we came home, we made gingerbread houses. It's fun to see everyone's creativity but, next year, I think we may end up doing one big one.

Austin and I made an African hut. The wreath on the door was my touch.

Miss Hazel loved all the sugar

That night, we watched Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Carol. I did nails for Clara, Polly, and Paige. The next morning, we got up, ate a yummy breakfast, packed up, got ready, and cleaned up the cabin for check out. Mom, Dad, Ben, Courtney, Clara, and Erin all headed up to Logan. Austin and I went to his parents here in Heber, and Paige and Lorin headed home for the next few days.

Heber, UT - December 22nd - 24th
We ended up meeting Austin's family in Provo for lunch at India Palace - my favorite! It was so good to see everyone again! I wish Max and Elizabeth could have made it out but it sounds like we may get to see them soon! After lunch, we headed to Grandma's (assisted living home in Provo) to visit for a while. She stayed there and we all went to see the Hobbit together. It was a really great movie!

This was the only picture I got during the day

I don't know much about those books so I was worried I wouldn't like it but I actually did really enjoy it. Gardner and Jessica then headed back up to Heber for a party while the rest of us stayed to walk around the Riverwoods for a while. It was so pretty with the lights! I had a lot of fun there, walking around, taking pictures, talking. We grabbed Subway on the way home and, about halfway up the canyon, I started to feel sick and knew I just needed to go to bed.

It was dark out and my phone has a weird flash so this picture is really grainy. I still love it.

The next morning, we went to church with Jerry, Sherrie, Ben, and Joy. The ward was having their Christmas program so the primary and ward choir sang. After church, we had biscuts, gravy, eggs, and hashbrowns for breakfast. We all tried to nap but, right when we all fell asleep, Sherrie decided we should play a game. We played ticket to ride in the basement while snacking on treats and chatting. Gardner and Jessica won - of course. I knew they would. One day, I'll win a game.

We really did all have fun. Promise.

We had a yummy Mexican food dinner then watched Meet Me in St. Louis after Ben and Joy headed home. Austin and I stayed there that night on an air mattress in the living room. I'll tell ya. I don't like sharing an air mattress with that boy. It doesn't work. haha. I did some laundry, including a load with just one pair of red pants. Sherrie had been draining her washer and forgot to tell me about it. Luckily Austin walked by and saw the red tinted water leaking out onto the carpet. ahh!! We all rushed in to get the stain out but it didn't really work. Sherrie was so nice about it and said she'd figure it out. I felt so bad! Austin helped them move some furniture upstairs then we headed for Logan.

There was a warning for chains and 4 wheel drive before we entered Sardine Canyon... Whoops.

Logan, UT - December 24th - 27th
Despite the bad roads, Austin and I arrived in Logan in time to help with dinner - a roast with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was just the "Jake and Lesa" Emmett family with my Grandma. We ate, then played a game - where Grandma's love for Justin Bieber came from. It was pretty funny. We got to bed fairly early because the next day was Christmas.
We woke up early enough for breakfast before we headed over to the Freeman Christmas party. We were the first ones there which means we got first dibs on the food. Yess! Shrimp cocktail, chips and 7 layer dip, lunch meat, cheese & sandwiches. It was so great to see everyone. Austin got to actually meet a lot of people he never had before. Grandma ever recorded A Rootbeer Christmas for me - which ended up being re-titled "A Christmas Wish." It was filmed partly at the Model A Cafe, in Mapleton, UT. I was working there and got paid to sit around and hand people props.

I only took like, 3 pictures the whole time we were at the Freemans. This is my favorite.

Anyway, we headed back to Grandma Emmett's in the afternoon to get re-vamped for the Emmett family party that night. Amanda and I decided on a song, we ate, visited, and caught up with our friend, Tina, from Illinois. She was baptized while she was going to EIU. My dad was over the Institute then so we got to know her pretty well. She moved to Utah a few years ago and became good friends with my cousin, Kristin.
After we all ate, we gathered in the living room. We all watched as the younger cousins did the Nativity. It's always pretty cute but I think this was the best year I can remember. Erin and I sang "When Christmas Comes to Town" with Polly. Then, I sang "Angels We Have Heard on High" with Amanda. There were probably 6 or 8 other talents, we all sang some more, then Grandma opened her gifts.

Nativity at Grandma's. Polly and Clara are the middle & right angels. Bruce is the sheep wrapped in "fur" behind the left side of the "cradle." Hazel is a wise man, sitting on the floor on the right side of the cradle. 

We stayed up and visited with the Lundbergs before bed. Austin and Lorin went skiing with a lot of the other family members while the rest of us stayed home, relaxed, went shopping, then met up for lunch. When all the skiers got home, we headed to the movie theater for Les Mis! I think there were at least 20 - 25 Emmett's sitting in a group at that theater. Such a good movie. That night, we had pizza and enjoyed each others' company.
Thursday, we woke up, got ready for family pictures, ate lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Freeman's, changed clothes, then got the pictures done. It was snowing a pretty good amount and the kids were freezing so we hurried through them. Austin and I headed out pretty early because of all the snow.We followed Paige and Lorin up through Temonten and luckily the roads were great!

On our way to get our pictures taken! Bruce was really excited to ride in the front of the Tahoe with his Grandpa and Austin

Only 3 cars got stuck in this parking lot while we were there. Good thing we had 4 men in our group to help them out!

The snow was crazy! Who in their right mind would take family pictures during that storm?! We did.

We stopped with Paige and Lorin to drive through the Christmas lights (twice) around Wilard, then grabbed McDonalds before heading all the way back to Heber Valley. The drive was nice and quick! Then again, I slept almost the whole way.

The best picture I could get in the dark car, driving through the lights. At least Hazel has her eyes open! The flash was pretty bright.

Paige and me, crammed in the back seat with 2 carseats. Good times :)

Heber, UT - The rest of the break
On Friday, Austin and I both had to work. Mom & Dad dropped Erin off at the airport around 1:00pm for her to fly home to Illinois. They, along with Ben, Courtney, and Clara, met Paige and her kids in Park City for some lunch and shopping. That night, we all hung out at our place, ate pizza, watched movies, and enjoyed the last night we had before Ben and Courtney headed home. Aside from Hazel teething/not feeling well, it was a really good night!

Clara with Grandma and Grandpa Emmett

Poor baby. We all took turns holding her. As much as I hate her being sick, I love when she's snuggly!

She's so precious! Don't worry. She's feeling better now :)

My last picture with Miss Clara before they headed home.

The next morning, the "Arizona Emmetts" headed out early to try to get home before too late. It was sad to see them go but we had such a good time while they were here! Austin got up early to help his parents move the first half of their house to a storage unit. My parents and I went grocery shopping and they were SO kind to help me take down our Christmas tree.

Apparently, watering your tree helps keep the needles from totally crumbling after a month! huh.

We spent our Saturday eating lunch at Don Pedros in Heber, then headed to Highland for some shopping at the outlets (including a quick stop at Cabellas). We decided that, although it was cold, we still wanted to go to Salt Lake to see the candy displays and Temple Square so we were on our way. We parked at City Creek mall and walked around, all bundled up. The displays and lights were so pretty! I'm really glad we went. After checking a few different places with one and two hour wait times, we decided on Iggy's for dinner. Their service was actually awful (I'll spare you the details) so Austin wrote them an email describing the whole thing. He got a phone call from the same manager he was complaining about and we should be receiving a gift card in the mail soon. Booyahh!

Shopping at the Traverse Mountain outlets. Tired girl.

The Fotheringhams in front of one of the window displays

This girls loves being outside! Even if it's freezing :)

Again with the weird flash on my phone. But, it's still a cute picture of Polly and Paige!

I don't know why Paige wanted this specific picture of Polly but it's cute :)

The next day, we all went to church together at Paige and Lorin's ward. We even got to hear Bruce say the opening prayer in Primary. He's so cute :) Mom, Dad, Austin, and I headed home to get lunch ready for everyone. We had a yummy roast to fill us up for the rest of the day while we spent time together. We played games and chatted until it was time for bed.

Dad making his granddaughters scream and giggle

and a little relaxation.

On Monday, Mom, Dad, Austin, and I got up early for a breakfast at Kneaders before they had to fly out. We all, of course, got the all-you-can-eat french toast... and no one had room for seconds. Austin and I both had to work that day so Lorin picked them up from our house and took them to the airport on his way into work. I'm happy to say they made it home without any major delays or lost luggage. Phew!

I love the holidays so much. I've always loved being able to spend time with family. Maybe it's me being pessimistic deep down, but you never really know when it'll be your last chance to spend quality time with someone. I hope we'll all have many more years together but, I hope to make each and every visit the best one yet. I love my family. We all have so much fun together.
I'm so grateful for all my parents (and siblings... and in-laws... and extended family members) do for Austin and myself - as well as each other! I love the great relationship we all have with each other. We can all count on each other for the love and support we need. I'm so grateful for that.

Austin and I celebrated the new year with the Fotheringhams. We had a yummy dinner, treats, and watched come movies. On New Years Day, we went sledding, went out for lunch, and spent the rest of the day relaxing before school and work came again.

2012 was a great year. Austin and I only moved once (thank goodness). We both started new jobs, which we love. We made new friends and strengthened the relationships we have with old friends. We both have such wonderful families who we love and they love us. We saw our families grow. We have so much to be grateful for and, as this new year is beginning, we have new goals to work towards. While we can all set goals and change for the better on any given day, this is a good turning point - a good starting point. I'll miss 2012. I've grown so fond of the memories we made. It's hard knowing things will change - even the things you love so much. But, there is so much good waiting for us. I'll look forward with anticipation. For new beginnings and the end to old, bad habits, I'm really looking forward to 2013.