We had such a great Christmas break. Our kids got out of school on the 17th. Ivan had the 18th off, so we let them find their stockings which were stuffed with things they would want for our trip to Idaho and Utah. Later that day, I ran to KVOA for my 25th television interview in December.
The next day, I was blessed to attend Marty's baptism. Marty had been attending my Gospel Essentials class and I didn't want to miss his big day. So glad I got to be there for his baptism. I wish both he and Charity the best. After the baptism, I went home, finished packing the van, and started driving with all 4 kids to Utah. We made it to Ben and Ang's house in Hurricane super late but safely. We spent all Sunday with them attending their church and getting to see them sing in the choir. The kids loved going to Primary with their cousins. On Monday, the kids and I headed north. We drove around to see where we used to live and the hospital where 3 of them were born.
We found a hard patch of snow when we stopped by Wyview in Provo. The kids had so much playing in it. Poor Ivan was hard at work, while we were hard at play. After a stop at the BYU Creamery and Great Harvest Bread Company, we headed to my mom's in Pleasant Grove. I spent the night prepping for my cooking segment for Studio 5 and visiting with Derek and Valerie.
We did make it over to Chad and Camille's house so I could meet my newest niece (#39) Maleah. Spencer immediately fell in love with her. He wanted to be holding her or by her whenever he was around her.
The next day December 22nd I headed up to KSL in Salt Lake City to make the Pumpkin Triffle from my new 101 Things To Do With Pudding book. Every time I come back, it's a huge reunion. I really miss all the friends in the media that I have in Utah. They are as genuine behind the scenes as they are on camera.
On the 23rd, Ivan flew up with a stop in Denver and his first experience of watching his plane be de-iced so they could take off. We went to Cafe Rio for lunch and then headed to my brother Chad's house where he and the kids had fun shoveling the newly fallen snow at Uncle Chad's house. After they finished shoveling, we pulled out the inner tube so they could slide down the hill in front of their house. The kids loved it.
That night my parents, our family, Chad's family and Camille's mom, Derek and Valerie, and Troy gathered at Chad's to do our family Christmas party. We had pizza, cheese balls and crackers, and the pumpkin triffle for dinner. After opening gifts, my family taught us how to play Delmoody AKA "Scum". It was lots of fun. Liz (9) played with us and loved it.
On Christmas Eve, we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Ashcraft's home by Sugar City, Idaho. We had dinner with Debra, cousin Cameron, and Grandma and Grandpa. Then, we enjoyed watching the kids re-enact the Christmas story while Ivan read it from the scriptures.
Christmas was fun. Santa even managed to drop off a couple gifts for our kids in Idaho. We were excited to see Ellen and Don when they came over to visit that night.
On the 26th, Ivan and I were able to go to the Rexburg temple thanks to my fabulous niece, Breanne. We went with Ivan's parents, his sister Amy and her husband, his sister Ellen and her husband, his brother Brent and his wife, and his sister Debra. To me, this was the highlight of the trip. Afterwards, we celebrated Emma's birthday at Grandma's house. My brother Derek and his wife Valerie (also from Sugar City) came over to help us eat cake and play Delmoody. Liz by then had mastered the game and spent most of her time in the winning spot. She was loving it!
On Sunday, we went to church with Ivan's parents. It was -9 when we got in the car. I had forgot to pack the scrapper so Ivan scrapped the windows with our Debit Card and no gloves. What a hero! That night the Ashcrafts had their family Christmas celebration. Our family had to share a talent. Our kids put on a pretty cute play. You can watch the video to see their acting abilities. :-)
The kids favorite part of the trip had to be seeing and playing with all their cousins. Between that and playing in the snow and riding the snowmobiles, they had a great vacation.
On the 30th, we had the Ashcraft Couple's party. All of Ivan's siblings, their spouses, and parents get together once a year for a party. It was a lot of fun to visit with everyone. Ivan's brother Ben gave us one of his marriage classes from a seminar series that he is starting. It was really good.
We drove back down to my brother Chad's house for New Years Eve. We barely missed a big snow storm that stranded many of our family and friends in Idaho. We spent the night playing Del Moody. It was a lot of fun. I think I now have a new favorite game. At midnight, we celebrated with sparkling cider. Valerie and Derek made me laugh.
On the 1st of January we decided to go sledding along with hundreds of other people. It must be the thing to do in Provo. Who knew? We met up with our friends the Chandlers who lived below us in married student while we were at BYU. My kids had so much fun sledding.
After sledding, we had dinner with one of Ivan's old roommates whom we hadn't seen in years. Then, we headed to Payson to see Ivan's brother Dale and his family who recently moved there. It was great to see them. They were the only family out of the 9 kids in Ivan's family that we hadn't been able to see yet. Wish we could have visited with them longer. From there, we headed south to Beaver and spent the night in a hotel. On Saturday, we drove the remainder of the way home. It was a great vacation.
