Christmas

Christmas this year was spent with the Mitchell family at a cabin in Island Park, Idaho. None of us had ever been there before, so we didn't really know what to expect, but it was beautiful.

Josh and I left on Saturday just before noon. We were expecting the drive to be about 5 hours there. I thought everyone would be leaving around the same time, but we found out later that no one else left until about 3pm. The trip was pretty uneventful, except a stop in Pocatello at Wal-Mart for some forgotten items. Let's just say, I wouldn't be sad if I never went to Pocatello again!! The roads were fine the whole way up until about 30 miles before the cabin. The roads were covered with ice so it was a little scary. If I would have had to drive, I would have been a nervous wreck!! Once we got to the cabin, we were able to get a few things arranged before everyone arrived. The front porch was completely covered with snow (up to my thighs at the bottom of the steps.) Josh shoveled snow, we fixed the fireplace that wasn't working, had to call on the hot water because it wasn't working, and shoveled a path through 4 ft. deep snow on the back deck. Charlie's family, Tami's family, and my mom and dad arrived a little later. We had a late dinner, and all settled in for the night. Camryn was sick, and many others were just getting over being sick. It seems like people always get sick around the holidays.

I woke up on Christmas Eve feeling sick. I threw up several times that morning, and had the worst headache that I have had for some time. We were getting ready to go to church, but my head was not having it. I made Josh stay home with me because I didn't want to be there without him. Camryn was still sick as well, so Amy stayed home with her while she slept. I laid down while Josh shoveled more snow, and then we played cards for a little while. That day was mostly lazy. The kids got their snow clothes on on went out to play, and then Charlie took them sledding. The boys went to go get the snowmobiles early that evening. Josh took me out on a short ride - it was so cold outside!! Janell and Kevin got there that evening, and we had Christmas dinner since we would be out snowmobiling on Christmas. The food was great - turkey, ham, potatoes, cranberry salad, stuffing, rolls....I can't even remember everything!! After eating, my mom opened her birthday presents and we sang happy birthday, had pie and a cake brought by Janell.

On Christmas morning, we opened presents. The kids raked it in, as always!! Josh got me a tripod, even though we weren't supposed to be getting presents for each other this year. He had already surprised me with a new chair for our office (which I love!!!) I felt bad because all I got him was a few wrenches and a dirt bike dvd. He always spoils me!! After opening presents, we got our snow clothes on and spent the whole day snowmobiling. I rode with Josh almost the whole day. I wish we could have afforded to get our own, but we still had fun. It was so beautiful. We went down the road to a place where the river had huge trout. It was pretty cool. You could buy food and feed them and they would all come around to get the food. We also went on a trail that went up a mountain. It was so beautiful. There was so much snow - the trees were covered and sagging. We wanted to go down to these waterfalls, but we ran out of time. I wish we would have been able to ride for 2 days! I rode with Josh when we went to return the snowmobiles. That was the only bad part of the day. We took a wrong road and were going where the snow was really deep. Garren was behind us, and we went to turn at a dead end, didn't make the turn and got stuck. Kevin came down to help as well, and I walked down the road to get out of the way. I took some really good pictures while I was waiting, so it wasn't so bad for me!! We were so tired when we got home. We took showers, played some cards, and then went to bed.

Josh and I woke up the next morning missing Max, so we hurried to get ready and to get on the road. I think we were packed up and left a little after 9. We stopped to get Max at the Harroun's on the way home, but he wasn't there. Josh called his mom, and she was at our house with the dog. We didn't know why she was at our house, but when we pulled in, we saw that both Josh's mom and dad were there. We walked in to a wonderful Christmas present - a new dining room table. I was speechless. We needed a table so badly!! We have been eating in front of the tv on the couch ever since we moved into our house. It is almost impossible for both of us to eat at the same time because we have to fight off Max, so the table was an amazing gift. I love it. I probably would have picked the exact same table. There were also more gifts under the tree that we opened that afternoon - a shop vac, some drill bits and some body spray for Josh and a rice cooker and some kitchen towels for me. We also got an outdoor butane heater. What a great Christmas!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

I am so excited - our bathroom is finally done (for now, at least.) Ben came over yesterday, and him and Josh put up the fixtures we have had for awhile now, and also a curtain rod to hang some curtains I have had and recently found packed away. The bathroom looks completely different - it's amazing what a difference it makes when you take a blanket off the wall and add a few fixtures!

We are trying to get some things done around the house while Josh is not working for the winter. It really feels good to be able to look and see things getting accomplished. Although the work is slow, I can't wait until everything is done. I love our house, and I think part of that comes from knowing that so much work has gone into it. I'm so excited for things to come together!

California for the Weekend

Josh and I went to California for my annual Christmas party for my company. It's always great to get away (and even better when we don't have to pay for it!)

We left late on Thursday night, flying into the Long Beach airport. After getting our luggage and our rental car, we headed down to Irvine to our hotel. I took the day off on Friday (I would have had to go into the StrikePoint office to work) so Josh and I slept in for a bit. After getting up and getting ready, we went shopping at a nearby shopping center called Fashion Island. We mostly just walked around, but we did buy a new shirt and belt for Josh. They have this beautiful, big Christmas tree (150 feet tall) so we took a few pictures of it. After shopping, we went to a grocery store to get a few snacks, then headed back to the hotel for a little nap and rest. While we were at the hotel, Josh's back started to hurt, so we decided to just relax the rest of the night, watch tv and order room service.

On Saturday, we got up early and drove up to Santa Monica. The beach was beautiful!! The temperature was perfect, probably mid 70's, so after getting a bite to eat, we walked for a long time - probably 2 to 3 hours just up and down the beach. It was wonderful. It was warm enough that we could walk in the water. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the Christmas party. Josh looked so good!! The party was in Laguna Beach. We had dinner (really good food) then there was some dancing and a casino night with fake money. Right as dinner was starting, Josh started to get sharp pains in his stomach - so bad that he had to get up and leave the table. They kept coming, and I could tell that he was really in pain, so we decided to leave the party early before the casino gambling. Poor Josh suffered the whole way back to the hotel.

We had most of the day to play because our flight didn't leave until 7:45pm. We drove up to Hollywood first, but after driving down Hollywood Blvd. we realized how slummy Hollywood actually is. Nothing was really open (maybe because it was early, before 10am) so we just drove through and decided not to stop. Josh wanted to see the Glen Helen raceway, so we headed down the opposite way to San Bernardino. There was four-wheeler racing going on, so it was really fun to watch. We decided that we want to go back when they have the motocross racing there in the summer. The day was dwindling away, so we headed to Long Beach so we could go to the beach again and so we were close to the airport. We walked on the beach again, and took a ton of pictures with the sunset. We were also pleasantly surprised because we saw dolphins swimming in the water. They never really jumped all of the way out of the water, but we saw 3 or 4 out in the water playing. They were out there for a long time, so it was fun to watch. After, we headed to fill up the car with gas (after all of our driving!) and back to the airport. On the flight back, though, I got sick with whatever Josh had the night before. My stomach hurt so bad, I got up to go to the bathroom because I needed to throw up, but passed out right as I reached the bathroom. The flight attendants were great, making sure I was ok and giving me ice to feel better. I headed back to my seat, and felt a little better the rest of the way besides the horrible sharp pains. Just a side note - we flew back on Jet Blue and both of us fell in love. So much better than any other airline I have been on. There is a lot more room, plus your own tv with satellite programming. It sure makes the time go by much faster!!