Holdays in Utah

So, I suppose I will post a bit about our trip to Utah. Why not? I have to admit that I took a very few pictures considering the amount of time that we spent there. This is basically how it went. I arrived December 14th after a long day of traveling. James only slept about 1.5 hours the whole time but didn't have a "meltdown" till we landed in SLC. We landed and he pretty much broke down right then. It was sad. Then when we got to my parent's house he perked right up and played with everyone for a couple of more hours before I put him to bed. It took us a few days to really adjust. (Personally, I feel like it was worse adjusting to Utah than back to Geneva.) We pretty much spent the first week just chilling at my parents house with occasional visits from my brother and sisters. The next week Brian was supposed to come into town but he got stuck in Boston overnight. Luckily he made it out on the first flight the next morning. We spent all of his time in town at his mom's house. Well, we slept there during that time. We did visit my family a few times in there. Like for Christmas dinner and we celebrated New Year's with them as well. Christmas was really nice. It was just us with Brian's mom and brother.Talk about relaxing. James was much more into the present thing and actually attempted to open his presents this time. (Of course, last year he was only 6 weeks old.) He mostly liked playing with the toys. One of Brian's sisters came down on Christmas for just a quick visit and we were happy to get to see them. I got Brian a new watch which I think is super cool. (He likes watches and has started quite a collection.) I also got him some coins to keep his collection up to date. Brian got me my favorite perfume and a Flip camera (a tiny camcorder that fits in your pocket). It has come in handy already. Later that day we went and had dinner at my parents house. There were a lot of people and it was nice to have everyone together. It was also nice to not have to cook the dinner. We arrived about 30 min. before dinner. It was great. We had all the traditional items plus a few raw, organic, super healthy items for the super healthy people in the family. Everything turned out yummy. I brought Shelley's (Brian's mom) amazing fudge covered brownies at the request of my super health nut sister. After Christmas, Brian's other two sisters came down to visit with their families. It was fun to see all the kids but more fun to see the adults. We played games and just generally relaxed. And Brian went Skiing at Snow Basin with his sister's husband, Alex and our nephew, Max. It was a beautiful and very cold day.Brian and I also did a whole bunch of shopping for things to bring back to Geneva. We got our favorite toothpaste, ranch dressing mix, peanut butter and various other items that I wanted. I also got a whole new wardrobe!! Thanks Mom!!! It was very fun to go shopping and to eat fast food. Yes, I was totally into fast food. I officially gained back the 10 lbs. that I had lost since moving here. Totally worth it!! There was a new Steak restaurant opened in Bountiful by my parents house and I think we went there at least 5 times. (No this isn't at the restaurant but since we're talking about food...)Plus we has some Thai, Mexican, Chinese and other kinds of food. James with my older sister, Karen and two of her kids, Alex and Elsie.I got to satisfy all my cravings that I have had since moving. Me and James with my mom and my brother, Boy (Yes, we really call him Boy.)Brian went home on Jan. 6 to start working again but I stayed. I went back to my parents house after he left as Shelley had to go back to work. There was a new (replacing the old) recreation center built by my parents house with a fun pool and I think we took James swimming about 10 times. He had so much fun! (And now everyone knows why we call my dad "Edthiopian".)He just loved splashing and screaming at the lifeguards and walking in the pool and going down the slide (the baby one) and going around the lazy river. (Turn down the volume a bit for this one.)
And we always went just before bedtime so he was good and tired by the time we got home. He slept like a rock. We also pushed his bedtime back to about 7:15 to 7:30 and it just made him sleep in longer!! We went and visited my sister Karen at her house in Eagle Mountain (it is in the middle of nowhere). We took James and some of his cousins to the Living Aquarium in Salt Lake where James totally loved watching the fish. He also loved playing in the water. James with my dad (Edpa as the grandkids refer to him.)

We went shopping some more and we finally had James 1 year pics taken (at 14 months). James got his first haircut and started walking (althougth we are still working on perfecting that one).

All in all, it was a great trip. Lots of family, food, fun, shopping and lounging about. I even got to read 3.5 novels while I was there! I never get to read while I'm in school, except for school books. I reread the Twilight series but didn't quite make it through book 4. James' cousin Jaxson got this Thomas train for Chrsitmas and James loved it. Except for when it "accidentally" ran over his finger. We also got to go to a few movies. I love going to the movies! I will post the photo shoot pics in another post for another day. Maybe tomorrow. Depends on my homework load. Here is James at one of his favorite times of the day. Bathtime! He loves it.Who ever knew that a straw and a cup could be so entertaining?