Our Spontaneous Drive to Utah...

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So what was so spontaneous about our 4,000 mile round-trip to Utah? The fact that we decided last minute to go, packed up in 4-5 hours and drove as quick as we could to surprise my family on Christmas Eve. Here are a few pics from our fun-fill drive, complete with over 4,127 miles racked up on our car, 62 total hours of drive time, 4 new tires, 2 oil changes, 2 sick kids, 4 hotel stops, at least a dozen gas stops, followed by at least another 2 dozen potty and food breaks and one new Garmin GPS to help us get there safely. What a ride!

John drove just about the entire time! I can not stay alert at the wheel any longer tan 2 hours...no matter what time of day.

Amelia was an AMAZING baby for this trip....really...I say she gets a gold star for the least complaints.

Ben and Bella enjoyed the endless movies and snacks...however, they both had their share of car sickness, pink eye and uncomfortable seating to add to their frustrations. But for the most part, they did pretty good despite all the above mentioned stuff.

Just in Time for the Coleby Christmas Eve Party!

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Delicious Dinner with my Family...(everyone accept my brother Craig and his family who had their Baby Noelle the day before...we missed you guys!)


Reading of the Birth and events of Christ:

The kids tying to pay attention, but really just trying to be patient to recieve their Christmas Eve gift from the grandparents:

Christmas Morning!!!

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The night before: We let the boys sleep in the basement together (Ben's first ever sleepover, if you can call it that). My sister wanted to make sure the kids didn't wake up early and sneak to open presents before we were all ready, so she and her husband barricaded both stairwells with mattresses so the boys couldn't escape. So smart!


All the kids waiting on the stairs for the signal to see what Santa brought them:



And....CUE the Camera's battery dieing...No joke! So I borrowed my sister's camera a few times to take some photos until my retarded camera charged.

Sadly, this is the best photo of the family on Christmas morning that I got...sorry John...not your best side. :)


Ben wasn't too surprised by his Santa gift because he KNEW that Santa was going to deliver...(and if it wasn't for a last minute sale at Toys R Us, Santa would be getting a very long letter from a very upset little boy right about now)


Bella was very happy with all her Tinker Bell and Barbie toys.

Not that we don't love Amelia to bits, but when your kids are too little to notice, you can save on the budget and just get them a little number like this one: HUG ME, HOLD ME, KISS ME!


CHRISTMAS PARTY WITH THE COUSINS:
That evening we got together with my dad's side of the fam for another little party and games. It's so great to see them all....it's been quite a while!



Shari-Bari!
Cousins Shari, Tami and Kristi, and sisters Anelga and Becky.


Second cousin Addison

Cousin Tami with her husband Jason

A week Filled with Fun Acitivites with the Fam!

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With a house filled with family and kids, there was a lot of fun activities going on. Whether it was a trip downtown to see the Lights at Temple Square, snow sledding, visiting the Train Museum, swimming and hot tubbing, endless nights of playing Settlers and Poker, movies and a fun night out at Classic skating and bounce-house....we had a fabulous week!

Lights at Temple Square:

Waiting for the Trax Rail system to take us downtown

My Brother-in-laws singing the "popcorn popping" song to entertain the kids who are having a hard time waiting patiently in 15 degree cold weather for the trax.

Ben and his cousin Jacob




Bella telling me it's too cold to smile...I guess it's time to head home for the night.


Sledding:











Swimming:





Visiting the Train Museum




Bounce and Jungle Fun:










Yeah...we had fun to say the least!