We spent from December 15th to January 6th in Utah visiting family for the holidays. The only way we could get the flights we needed to make the either free or cheap was to split Brian and I up and I take both kids. What a joy I tell ya. If I can ever avoid that again, I will.
The kids and I flew out the morning of the 15th and it was one heck of a ride. They were okay for the flight, but Kenya was a lap child and wanted to be everywhere except my lap and Ian wanted out period. Luckily we made it to Utah with minimal screaming.
Brian flew out and joined us on the 18th (hallelujah!) and I had my second half to battle the crazy schedules and upsets of the kids. (I never have done well with the short periods of single parenthood, but thankfully I have a wonderful husband who definitely contributes his best qualities to his family. :))
So, Ian is really into airplanes and has been for a long time. Brian and I decided that we would take him to the Hill AFB Air Museum to see all the planes. It was probably one of the coldest days there, which was perfect for touring the museum. Ian loved it and got so excited every time we'd round a corner and see another big airplane. He kept saying "Look a plane! Look a plane!" It's amazing to see his little character come out and grow! Here are a few pictures at the museum.
Ian was pretty excited to get to climb around in the largest helicopter they had.
We were all over the place the entire time that we were there. We'd jump from family to family and then around to all of our friends. It was great to see most of them and for those we didn't get to see, hopefully we'll get to be closer to home soon.
We also took Ian to see all the lights at Temple Square, which he really enjoyed. He kept yelling, "Look a light! Look a light!" Cute kid.
It snowed a bit while we were there and Brian was extremely anxious to build a snow man, so he, his brother, Ian and I took on the task. These pictures will have to show the adventure of building it for you. :)
We also enjoyed the opportunity to go sledding twice while there. The first time we were less than prepared for the wet cold and the kids didn't really enjoy it too much. Kenya did enjoy going down the slope with Brian or myself, but Ian wouldn't even sit in the sled at all. The second time we went Brian's brother and wife and 3 kids joined us. They let us borrow some snow pants and boots so that our kids could stay warm enough. We really enjoyed the second time sledding and Ian actually went down on his own a few times (just little hills though). Kenya also went down the little hills on her a own a few times and by the end of the day all the kids were laughing and playing in the snow and loving every minute of it. Kenya was even crawling around in the snow just because she purely enjoyed it. Sadly, there is really no way to play in the snow and take pictures of it, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of this joyous occasion.
We spent several nights hanging out with Brian's brother's family. Their kids and ours are around the same ages and really enjoy playing together. It's become a tradition with our families to have a late night game night on New Year's Eve, so we were with them that night too. Here are some pictures of the kids playing at the cousins home.
While we were in Utah and staying with my in-laws, Kenya learned to walk. She was all over the place and learned so fast it amazed me. One day she was taking just one or two steps and the next she was walking across rooms and around things. She's now probably one of the fastest members of our little family. :)
We learned a new thing about Ian while on our trip. One morning Brian was watching cartoons with Ian and Thomas the Train was on. After the show was over Ian got this terribly sad looking face and started crying that he wanted to "watch train". We had no idea that he would/did like trains so much. It was quite interesting. Now he can't get enough of Thomas the Train or anything train for that matter.
Christmas Day was lots of fun. We spent the morning at my parents house opening presents and having fun. And then in the afternoon we headed back to Brian's parents to spend time with all his siblings and family. It was a good day.
Ian really got into opening presents this year, but after opening his first one, a wooden train set, all he wanted to do was play with it (his new favorite thing).
Kenya was kinda oblivious to all the toys, but once we got them out and on for her she became much more excited about it all.
Brian got a few really fun games that we all ended up playing later in the morning.
Kayla (me) got a Cricut Cutting Machine from her family (a scrapbooking machine that I've been wanted to get my hands on). It was awesome!
We had a great time seeing all our family and enjoying the holidays. Brian returned on a red-eye flight on the 4th of January and the kids and I returned on the 6th. The return trip was harder on the kids than the flight out to Utah, but we made it home. As much fun as we did have, it's good to be home and it our own beds and getting back to a normal schedule.
I hope everyone had great holidays!
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