Christmas

Christmas was so awesome this year. Brian and I got to go to Idaho to be with my family. We flew out of New York on Christmas Eve. After two flights and a four hour car ride, we finally made it to our destination. Even though the day was long and extremely tiring, we were grateful that it all went smoothly.

My Mom, Dad, brother Luke, sisters Annie and Kiley and brother-in-law Scott were all there for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Us kids all bunked in one room where we stayed up late talking and laughing. I love my brothers and sisters and in-laws so much. I hate that we don't live so close to them anymore! It was so wonderful to be home and away from the big NY. We got up around 6:00 am to open presents, which was much better than the 3:00 am wake up call that Annie, Luke and Kiley swore they were going to give to the rest of us.

It was a nice day. Fun and relaxing and everything that Christmas should be. Here are a few pics of Christmas morning.

Annie and Luke (he wouldn't smile)

Scott and Kiley (sorry it's blurry)

Mom and Dad

Annie with her bumpits that Brian and I got her.

Luke with his new .22 rifle. Its barrel is so short!

Brian got a few books about the history of spies which he spent a lot of his vacation time reading. I got a pair of knitting needles, yarn and an book about knitting. I spent a bit of time teaching myself to knit. This is as far as I've gotten and I'm not sure what its going to be other than a sampler of my first stitches. I'm pretty proud of myself.

During the break I was able to teach my Mom and sisters how to crochet. It was really fun and we had a lot fun crocheting and talking. Brian snapped this picture of us one day while we were gathered together crocheting.

My brother Tyler and sister-in-law Kelsey were in Utah during Christmas Day, but they came back to Idaho while we were there. I didn't get a ton of pictures of them (none of Kelsey, whoops!) because I was too busy hanging out with them and having fun.

My parents bought a Wii for Christmas and we all had fun playing it. One of the games they got was the "Just Dance 2" game and it was so fun. It was hilarious to watch everyone dance. Brian and Luke danced to the song "Viva Las Vegas" and it was funny. I was laughing so hard during the entire song. They did a great job though. I took a video of their performance, but was only allowed to on the condition that I didn't put it on the blog. Sorry folks, that one is reserved only for close family members.

 I don't remember what got this started, but somehow it came up that I had written an article about how to tie a scarf into a turban. Luke and Tyler thought that was the funniest thing so we all had to make one. I love my brothers!

There was lots of game playing and just hanging out for the week between Christmas and New Years. It was such a nice week getting to spend some quality time with my family.

Two of my most favorite people.

Coming back to New York was very bittersweet. It's nice to be back in our own apartment, but I really miss my family. It has always been hard to come here, but for some reason this time has been the hardest. The first trip here was for Brian's internship and we were planning on moving back after four months. The second time we came back from Idaho was in May and we knew we would be going back for Christmas. This time however, we don't have any set plans of when we are going to get to go back and visit. I think that is why... I don't have a date to look forward to when I get to see them again. Also, Christmas is over and I'm experiencing the let down after the holidays are over. Oh well, I'll get over the worst of it after a week or two of being back into the swing of things. I'm grateful that we have been able to go back and visit the two times that we have. Being able to look forward to a break away has really helped me survive city life.

Anyways, we had such a wonderful time and I miss my family so much already. Love you guys! Thanks for having us and taking time to hang out while we were there.