Thursday, December 29, 2022

Related to the Best People

(December 22nd-24th, 2022)

Around the holidays, we always want to find a little time to spend with family. That gets tricky when some live farther away. (Sorry Dargans, hopefully we'll see you soon.) Idaho isn't too far to drive, so we try to make it up there. We were able to sneak away for a couple days to see family and some soon-to-be family!

Analena was able to come with us. And sadly, Ivory wasn't able to come. Ives had work that she couldn't cover. Analena didn't replace Ivory, since there is NO replacement for anyone in our family, but it was nice to have a pretty full car. I'm going to be sad where there are too many empty seats.



We drove up in the afternoon and had some time to chill with Granny V. We played some games and she cooked us a super tasty meal. She had Tyler use her insta-pot since she wasn't sure how to do rice. There was a weird burning smell, but the rice turned out okay. Turns out that the instructions for the insta-pot were still inside, under the pot. I've heard of cooking instructions, but I didn't think it meant to cook your instructions...

We planned to get together with the Ks the next evening, but they all came over early and it was great to hang out and meet Ellen. Ellen is Kaysen's fiance. They are getting married in February. Ellen is delightful and will fit right into the family. We played a new game called Stupid Deaths. It was pretty fun. Only Tyler and I escaped the Grim Reaper. Yikes.


The next day brought more adventures. Since both Analena and Beau spend time sketching models for the art school, they thought KJ would make a good model. There was much debate about how much clothing should be worn, but fear not, KJ was perfectly decent in running shorts. Beau left them out of her drawing though and Granny V was a little worried. I like what she said, "I understand it is art, but NOT when it's my grandson."


The rest of us chilled and there was much loving on Arzee. (Thanks Ivory for staying home and taking care of our quadruped.) We also got ready to go outside and it was definitely cold in Idaho. 



To thank KJ for sitting still for a few hour, and to reward ourselves as well, we all went to City Bagel. That place is just the best. I got hot chocolate this time around and it was phenomenal. 



Despite all the snow, we walked around and did a little shopping. KJ recommended a toy store that was super fun, and Granny V took us to Poppy & Pout. I love me some shopping!


Then we grabbed some grub on the way home, since we were going over to Kat's for dinner. So much snow guys! It is beautiful and cold.

We had such a fun time over with the Ks. Dinner was delicious. I love Kat's Santa tree. Kaysen and Ellen were super cute. I can't remember, but when Tyler and I were engaged, were we touching all the time? 



We played the Candy ball game which is always a huge party and we played the name game as well, which involved so many laughs. Kaysen is particularly good at the Charades part. :) It was so great to see the boys and Kat. 


Then the next morning, we had to head home since it was Christmas Eve, and we needed to open some jammies. Analena did Pearl's hair before we left. She showed off her five strand braid skills the day before, but I had no idea she could do it Dutch as well. Blows my mind!


Funny end to the trip. We have this chicken that is frequently outside our house, near the apple tree. I would say that she is there 85% of the time. It is so normal to see her standing there and she isn't skiddish unless you try to catch her. Well, while we were gone, Ivory left the garage door up and she went inside. Then Ivory had to leave in a hurry, so she closed the garage door and planned to get the chicken out later. Well, she forgot, so when we came home, the chicken was not under the tree. It was in the garage!

We didn't get to see the Js until after Christmas, but I thought I would add them in here as well. They came over for dinner and games and we had a wonderful evening. I can tell because I forgot to take any pictures. But Tyler did take some video as we played the Name Game, so I stole a couple. Jack and Rozz are so big. Rozzlyn will be 18 in just a couple days! And Henlee and Grand are growing like weeds too. It was so cute to see Henlee jump up and imitate Rozz while she acted out clues. They are such a great family and it was so nice to see them. I have a New Year's goal to see them more often.



I hope this holiday season has blessed you with being able to see family, or not. Sometimes that is a blessing too. ;)

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