Christmas 2014

This year I had four straight days off starting with Christmas Eve.  It was just Eric at home with us for opening of Santa's presents on Christmas morning but the rest of the days were filled with lots of babies and grandchildren.  Whenever we got together with all six of the grandkids it was lots of fun but filled with noise and chaos.  The twins certainly add to the commotion as they are nonstop mischievous little rascals.  All are wonderful kids and a joy to be around.  I miss them if I go more than one day without seeing them.  The adults still were able to sneak in a few good games of Pounce.  The weather was a little warmer than usual and I was able to get out and climb and bike often.  However, as it often does this time of the year, a cold front moved in at the end of the month and brought ice to the golf course ponds.  We took a day to attend a football game in Las Vegas to watch the University of Utah play in a bowl game.  My parents came down for a few days and one morning I took my Dad for a ride on a "ranger" up on Sand Mountain above Sand Hollow State Park.  It was quite fun and very picturesque!   Marty and I enjoyed a great powder day at Brian Head as we braved the cold temperatures and storm to plow through the 34 inches of light powder.  This should be Eric's last Christmas at home for a few years as he will be leaving on his mission this coming summer.  No luggage for him though.  I'm not sure why Santa missed that one.

Thanksgiving 2014

We had a enjoyable yet quiet Thanksgiving celebration at our home this year.  There was only a small contingency present at our Thanksgiving "lunch" and I worked the 2 pm shift to finish off the day.  Nevertheless, the usual traditions prevailed.  Setting up Christmas lights outside, a game of basketball in the backyard some TV football game watching, lots of good pie, a wonderful turkey dinner,etc.  The next day was warm and sunny and we did hike on the east side of Zion.  Our hike was somewhat limited due to having the twin boys along, but we all still had fun.  A bighorn ram even welcomed us and stood guard over us.  A stop at Oscars along with some shopping at Zion Outdoor Clothing completed the visit to Zion.  We did miss all of my kids and grandkids who were other places this year.