christmas in utah

utah and idaho summer trip!

we LIVE for this trip each year.  i have now been sick and pregnant for three summer trips and i can honestly say my burden is significantly light with grandparents around to help with the girls.  hazel and cora automatically go up to my parents room at 6am every morning and i can't say i'm upset about it.  this sick momma needs sleep!  and jolly ranchers.  lots of jolly ranchers to keep the nausea at bay!

hazel LOVES wakesurfing.  she continues to be a little daredevil every year.  

we went horseback riding, and to wade lake... and of course the fourth of july fireworks playlist was on point this year.

 cora did not like wakesurfing.  she is not a daredevil like hazel.  but i was SO PROUD of her for being brave and trying it!  

a quick trip to utah

we took a quick trip to utah last year for i can't remember what reason.  posting retroactively these two pics of our hogle zoo trip, and hazel's first time skiing.

we had a blast. i am so proud of her!  she was a little afraid skiing by herself so we just did the pizza wedge together all the way down the hills

utah summer

we hiked up in sundance for the brunt family reunion.  hazel hiked almost 7 miles ALL BY HERSELF

my sister got engaged to the greatest guy, and i got to hide in the bushes and take pictures!  (edit:  1.5 years late and i have yet to edit and deliver those photos to them. FACEPALM)

we went to wheeler farm with cousin claire, i took hazel and cora to the greatest (and most dangerous) parks from my chilhood.

we went on several trips to the cabin, daily to the swimming pool, and for a hike around silver lake. 
look at this pic of cora and pop pop.  i. die.

a quick winter utah/idaho trip

there's nothing like snowmobiling in idaho in the winter.  or hanging out with family and eating delicious food.  john built a snow cave at the lake house, and hazel is definitely a thrill-seeker.  she begged to go on a snowmobiling ride every day.  cora was surprisingly easy - she is great at keeping herself entertained.  and it is clear that she is partial to grandpa and pop pop neff.  she is talking more and more and it's so sweet!

ski day!

this christmas season felt a little bit different than most others.  in all our 6 years of marriage, i have done a pretty decent job getting john a few good presents.  (like the banjitar two years ago... that was pretty good.)  

but this year... i worked SO HARD to get john and NES classic.  i woke up 6(?)ish times bright and early and went to the stores hoping that the line wouldn't be too long and i could hopefully snag one... but to no avail.  so under the tree was a board game, (which is an awesome board game, albeit creepy, if you're in the market ;) and an envelope that said, "let's go skiing!"  FAIL. i know.  

in my defense, john's birthday is only five days before christmas, and he got band of horses tickets for his birthday.  aka. WIN.

so, despite my lack of being prepared christmas morning and having an awesome gift for john to open, we had an amazing day of skiing.  it has more or less confirmed my suspicions that EVENTS make way better presents than THINGS.  

a utah christmas

before the holidays, i felt like a nutcase.  or a circus performer.  or something.  between church, school, work, friends, and family engagements, we felt spread pretty thin.  some things i brought upon myself (ie. christmas cards... let's face it, i could have bagged that this year?) and other things were out of our control (ie. visiting and home teaching?  i mean honestly, we can't skip out on that in december!).  everything was 60mph until we arrived in utah.  it was such a relief to not "have to" do anything there (okay, still some things).  it was a true vacation.

cora is loving pop pop these days.  and we went sledding, and played hours upon hours of games!  aj and my dad went skiing with us (more on that later...) and we even got my parents to play some games with us... (backwards charades and betrayal at the house on the hill) which, let me tell you, is an enormous feat.  i was proud of them.  

 elf pj's for the win!

thanksgiving recap

well, we're back!  what an awesome break it was.  nothing better than cousins to entertain our two busy girls!  it actually felt like a vacation for me.  wahoo!

we spent most of the time in idaho with the brunts, but a few days in utah on each end with the neffs.  hazel and i had perfect snowman-building snow to play in....

we opened christmas jammies early this year, so they could be enjoyed through december rather than opened christmas eve and only enjoyed a handful of times.  i'm pretty sure cora has worn it during the day several times already since we've been back!

some highlights:
hanging out with the girls in mimi and grandpa's new hot tub
petting horsies during our family photo shoot with randi
my turkey relish tray
the blow-up playground mimi and grandpa got for the occasion that kept my girls busy for hours
seeing my girls in their new superhero capes from honey
making a snowman with hazel

utah!

well, i'm back. we've been traveling the past couple of weeks and i haven't had a chance to sit down and blog in quite some time! but here's a little recap of our brief visit to utah! (is a week and a half brief? to me it is.)

we flew to utah because a couple of John's nephews turned 12 this year and wanted to go to priesthood session with their dads and uncles. it was a fun excuse to visit family. 

while we were there we jumped on honey's trampoline, ate raspberries, and swung on the swings. we spent several days with both the Brunt's and the Neffs. we watched conference, went to the cabin, and played at the curiosity museum with cousins. hazel and avie are such good playmates, it made me sad that we don't live right next door to each other. maybe one day!

our summer vacation thus far

1. cora, pointing at a bird
4. throwing dirt in the air
7. the curiosity museum with cousins {it was awesome!}
8. her new cheese face
9&10. swimming every darn day
12. musical duets

utah part dos.