Christmas & New Year's!

We were able to go back to Utah & Idaho this year for Christmas & New Year's. Our trip was again quite an epic event! You have to give us credit that there is NEVER a dull moment for our family, ha ha. On day 2 of our trip alone, we hit a horrible snow storm in New Mexico and slid all over the road. Since you can rarely find 4-wheel drive vehicles in Texas we were unfortunately far from capable of driving anywhere near snow! We drove 5 mph to the next town with chains. After spending an undisclosed amount of time putting the chains on (3 hours!!! But Ethan refuses to admit it took that long), it only took us 10 min of driving with them to figure out they were tearing the fender off. When we finally made it to Utah, Ethan was very anxious to do some hunting. The next morning he went up to my Aunt Sherrie's house to shoot some rabbits. Once again our car was not equipped for the cold, because our windshield split completely in half! From the driver's side across. After this incident we decided NO MORE driving!
We had a wonderful Christmas with my siblings and their families, and my mom. The kids got spoiled!!! And I am beginning to think we should have left the singing machine Grandma Jose got them there. ;) They made snow men & went sledding almost every day.
The day after Christmas a huge snow storm hit & we were not able to drive to Idaho. Ethan decided to go "look" at 4-wheel drive vehicles. Knowing my husband, looking would turn into a purchase. I was right. He picked a great vehicle for us though. A 2006 White Suburban Z71. My favorite feature is the seat warmers which get a lot of use! Especially when we would wake up and it was -10 outside there!!!
We did eventually make it to Idaho just in time for everyone to get the flu. I even had to go to the E.R. for a day to get things under control. Thank heavens we had family around to help. We each had our turn with the horrible illness and spent a few days resting. On one of the days of "rest" Bruce cut his leg on some barbed wire & because it was New Year's Day no vets were open. It just isn't a true vacation until you walk into the kitchen to find dead ducks in the sink, Bruce being held down by Grandma & Grandpa, & Ethan is stitching up Bruce's leg with an I.V. needle & sewing thread. It really was so nice to see everyone again, and meet a few of the new grandkids that we hadn't met yet. We wish we could have spent more time with them all.

 

Unfortunately we had to head back to Texas eventually. We stopped back in Utah for 2 more days & took some family pictures (which we hope to get soon), and then the long trip home. We all survived & made a lot of good memories! Thanks everyone! We love and miss you all!