Most of December was spent in Utah. The first few days we were in Breckinridge, then I hurt my back, and on the 9th my mom drove us to Utah while Hyrum finished up another week of work.
The drive was mostly uneventful. The kids did well. I enjoyed relaxing in the whole empty back row. (And it felt extra luxurious because the van has a 3-prong outlet plug back there, so I could plug in whatever I wanted-- phone, heating pad, etc. What more could I need?) Tiago was getting over a stomach bug, so he miraculously fell asleep in the car. Unfortunately, it was during our normal stop at McDonalds in Rawlins, so instead of a long stretch there, we instead stopped at Little America a few hours later. Tiago hadn't eaten all day, but was convinced he needed his own chocolate ice cream. Then he ate at least half of it and had all the energy in the world.
Once we arrived, they were right at home. They spent hours playing with toys, and for the first time, Tiago was really into the tiny legos. (Of which there are plenty!) Of course, they used to be Matt's. (Technically still are.) So when Matt came to visit he helped Tiago build some vehicles. From that point on, Tiago saw him as a lego master. "He even built it without any constructions!" (Tiago's version of "instructions.")
For the first week I was there, I tried to take it easy physically. (With the exception of going out on Monday to get an hour-long massage.) I didn't want to drive much because that irritated my back, so I just stayed home did nothing. Luckily, Amie is on maternity leave so she came to entertain me a few times.
And of course we went to Chick-fil-a because that's just what we do. It didn't take long for Siena to become obsessed with Grandma. She was always sitting on her lap, insisting she be held, and drinking her soda. If she got hurt, forget about Mom, she just wanted Grandma.
After a week of doing nothing, I was so bored. While my mom was working at the temple I had to get out of the house or the kids were going to drive me crazy. First, we went to the thrift store, because my mom has the best one near her house. We got some vehicles for the Little People, and books. All for less than $10. (Contrast that to our thrift store here where I recently spent $50 for not a whole lot more.)
Then we picked up sodas at Sodalicious and stopped by Jenna's office to say hi. They got to go out on the snow-covered balcony, with a view of the freeway. Plus, there was dance music, soda, popcorn, and fruit snacks. So that was fun.
Last-minute my sister got us tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. I got a babysitter and enjoyed the kid-free evening. The music was alright, but the real star of the show was the organ solo. That guy is amazing.
My kids got a lot of grandparent attention. Baking, crafts, yard work, toys, errands, etc.
The first Friday I was in Utah was my brother-in-law Helaman's graduation from Weber State. I was a little late arriving, because we were stuck forever in Ikea's check-out line, but I made it for the actual graduation. I was expecting a large setting (because BYU does graduation in a stadium built for 30K people.) Instead, it was in the small-ish basketball arena and we were only a stone's throw from the graduates. (So we could see their faces instead of them just being tiny dots on the floor.) I got to see all of Hyrum's family and then hang out at their house after for a bit.
That night, Hyrum arrived. He had been working crazy hours all of December, so he desperately needed a vacation. The first thing we did on Saturday was go visit Abuela and Abuelo. And of course Tiago ate his fair share of "choquito" and even an ice cream cone. No shortage of spoiling there.
Tiago also had his first positive hair-cutting experience. Normally he resists, but this time we left him in the chair by himself, and watched at a distance as he chit-chatted with the stylist. I think she was particularly good with kids, but he told her about his favorite TV show and about school. Progress!
Saturday night was the Hatch Family Christmas Party in City Creek. We went early to walk around the mall. There's a small stream through the middle, and regular fountain shows. The kids enjoyed that, plus it was starting to snow a little.
My aunt and uncle host the party every year. Like always, there was great food and fun games for the kids. It's nice to see extended family, but it was also nice to catch up with all my siblings.
After the party we walked across the street to Temple Square to see the lights. It was cold but we put so many layers on the kids I think they were probably hot. Tiago still talks about the time (2 years ago) that Hyrum took him to see the lights, so hopefully this trip was just as memorable.
Christmas-y clothes for church!
The whole next week was pretty relaxed. I was able to get around a lot better, and Hyrum was around to help watch the kids. We went to the temple together on Tuesday, so it wouldn't get postponed later in the trip. He went out one evening to play soccer with all his friends and had a great time. (Even though it started snowing like crazy.) And I was able to go eat limit-less sushi with my mom and Amie. I also helped Tiago make a gingerbread house, which I think Hyrum was a little skeptical of, but once he saw it he thought it was pretty cool.
Talie came over and my mom made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate. Let's say... they didn't quite get it. Most of the snow flakes ended up drenched with sprinkles, and most of the weren't the kind of sprinkles you want to eat a lot of.
These pictures below illustrate how clingy Siena was with my mom. "Hold me! Hold me!"
Most of December my parents' basement looked like this. But occasionally we cleaned it up, just to get messy again. There are so many toys!
I didn't take any pictures, but I was able to meet with my friend Leslie at Chickfilet before she left to Colorado for their own Christmas vacation. I love that the kids can play and mostly entertain themselves while we catch up. We weren't able to all meet up at the same time, but the week after Christmas Becca also came over to hot tub and tell me about her upcoming wedding plans.
More Christmas prep-- baking and visiting Santa. The kids were not that into it, and wouldn't sit on his lap. They barely whispered what they wanted: light saber, beauty and the beast dolls, and minnie/mickey dolls.
Courtney and Peter arrived in the middle of the week, just in time to come along on the Yellowstone trip. When we were home, they were great at entertaining my kids and getting them to laugh for pictures.
We took these on Christmas Eve, when the girls looked particularly adorable in the dresses Grandma made them. Unfortunately, they left buckets full of glitter around the house-- on our clothes, the sofas, carpet, etc. But worth it. (Also, the nursery in my parents ward is amazing! On Christmas Eve they made up little gift bags for the kids, and included my girls.)
The day after Christmas we went out shopping to a few stores--I bought a sweater and a new pair of shoes. (Which I probably didn't need... But liked...) And a pair of jeans, which I did need. That afternoon my mom watched the kids while the rest of us went to see a movie. There's a theater in Kaysville with cheap tickets, so we were able to splurge on a $5 bucket of refillable popcorn. Really healthy and delicious. Meanwhile, the kids build snowmen. (We had a white Christmas!)
Since we had some free time, Hyrum took the kids on one-on-one dates. He took Mila to Station park to get ice cream and walk around. (She had been particularly miserable for a few days and we hoped the extra attention would help. It didn't.) And he took Tiago to the airplane museum at Hill AFB.
He also went to play soccer again with his friends. Most of his family also ended up going so he was able to get a lot of quality time in. They went out to eat after.
My girls are obsessed with lipstick. They often point at my purse and request "lips!" And then there's Siena playing with the make-up they got for Christmas, putting on neon blue eye shadow.
I found out that a recent convert from my mission lives only 15 minutes from my parents' house. He was baptized before I got to his area, but he came to teach a lot of lessons with us, and then we helped him prepare for a mission. He left for a mission just a few weeks after I got home from mine, and I was able to go with a few other sisters from my mission to see him enter the MTC. I haven't seen him since then... January 2009. It was so fun to catch up, and meet his wife. And hear him speak perfect English. (I don't think I ever spoke to him in English on my mission.)
My mom usually hosts a Christmas dinner for just the adults in the family some time in December. Because she flew to Colorado to save me earlier in the month, she had to cancel the original dinner. Lucky for me, it was rescheduled for the week after Christmas and I got to be there. We had delicious soup (avacado, thai, beef stroganof, etc.) and cupcakes. And best of all, we all got to chat without the distraction of kids. The men got stuck in the dining room discussing bitcoin for probably longer than they wanted, but overall it was such an enjoyable evening. (Glad my kids go to bed at a reasonable hour!)
I didn't end up getting to visit with everyone I wanted during our trip, but we saw enough. We wanted to go see the Jones, but Polly and Jordan were out of town. Instead, we met Scott at his work and visited for about an hour. I'll have to find the picture we took.
We ended up going twice to a trampoline park in Kaysville where Elliot works. The kids were able to jump for a solid hour and wear themselves out. The second time we went was the day before we left Utah. Most of Hyrum's family came and visited. After, we shared a classy meal at McDonalds. (We were short on time.)
And on the 31st we drove home. The car was completely packed. We had Tiago wedged in the back-seat where he was pretty content. I ended up sitting most of the time in the middle row to more easily help the kids. They did okay on the drive. For the last 2 hours they were distracted: Tiago was watching a dinosaur movie using the car headphones (which he thinks are the coolest!), Siena was playing Tiago's tablet, and Mila was watching a movie on a portable DVD player using headphones (which she also thinks is the coolest.) Hyrum and I had quiet time to read a book out loud in peace. That never happens.
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