It's 2016!! Time to leave Utah and go home

We got here on a holiday and we are going to leave on a holiday.  It was such a fun week and we loved visiting with family and friends.

Maxwell and Maryn had fun throwing up the confetti from last night.

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Blanks' for one last visit on this trip.

Playing their "trumpets"  (taihat have been at Grandma's as long as I can remember)

Showing Grandpa some love

Group pic courtesy of Peter's iPhone and Apple watch

At the airport in Vegas on our layover, Maxwell wanted to be the one to ask if the flight was overbooked (he remembered what happened in Phoenix on the way here).  It was super cute, he went up to the counter to ask and the gate attendant was so sweet and asked him if he wanted to look and see and then she lifted him on her lap and showed him where to look on the screen.  

We had quite a long time waiting for our next flight so we were trying to keep the kids happy.

Thank goodness for electronics and open spaces for the kids to run around in.

We got Emmalyn this yogurt and she was really enjoying it.  

Then, all of a sudden, I look over and she has a funny look on her face and is coughing and upset.  I couldn't tell what was wrong so I gave her some water and thought she wanted a drink.  That didn't work and she kept being upset and then all of a sudden she starts throwing up just at the time Peter was looking at the yogurt and noticed a piece of the spoon was missing.  She had broken the spoon and partially swallowed a sharp piece of the spoon!!!!  Luckily she was able to throw it up (it was a huge mess -- yogurt throw up everywhere).  It took me awhile to calm down because I just kept thinking "what if"...  What if she had swallowed that sharp piece of plastic and it cut her throat or her stomach or intestines???  What if when I gave her that water it had washed the plastic down her throat?  What if there had been serious complications while we had been up in the air?!

Everything was okay (other than the big mess to clean up) but it was scary.  I'm sooooo glad things were okay,

Changed into a new outfit, binky to keep her happy, and a momma not wanting to let her go...

She was so tired on the plane but struggled to get comfortable.  It's a little blurry to see but she's laying head down on the tray

We flew over downtown Dallas - - gorgeous!

I was worried about how it would be to fly on the holidays but it was great.  It was a little rushed on Christmas morning but I would still do it again.  

We spent a lot of time in the car driving around in Utah and it was fun because both kids were singing to all the pop songs on the radio.  I was amazed how many they knew.

Emmalyn was nervous being around so many new people.  When I was holding her and she was nervous, she would put her hands on my cheeks and keep saying "Momma".  

Emmalyn started being a pest to her brother and kept pestering her brother when he would want to be alone.  She knew exactly what she was doing.

Utah trip - New Year's Eve + More Sledding!

We had so much fun tubing yesterday that we talked Tammy, Nathan, and Maryn to go tubing/sledding with us early this morning.  (Plus, after all that hassle to get all the snow clothes, we had to put them to use again!)

Emmalyn all bundled back up again.  She wasn't too happy about it again.

Max and Maryn were very excited!  We went to a big hill just a couple minutes away from their house.  It was basically a big field, so there was only frozen dirt underneath the snow/ice to "cushion" you.

The adults had no problem getting into the fun too.  (Although we tended to like the inflated tube rather than the plastic sled!)  I went a few times but I'll be honest, it made me quite nervous.  I was so scared each time I got to the bottom that I would bounce off with every bump and break something.  (that rush isn't as appealing at it was 20 years ago)

Max took about 2 minutes to get over his initial fear of this big hill and then was ALL about it.  He went down by himself a few times and went with everyone else but by far, his favorite was to go with Uncle Nathan.  They were a good partnership.

Emmalyn all positioned to go down (from halfway up)

Video - Emmalyn and Maryn going down together.  Emmalyn was not enjoying it.

Aunt Tammy racing Mawell and Uncle Nathan

Emmalyn playing a little bit with the snow.  She didn't want to participate much after a few runs down the hill.

We made her go down with daddy though.  :)

Partners!  Nathan was so great to keep going with Maxwell... over and over... and over and over... I can only imagine how bruised his tailbone was that night!

Maryn, Maxwell, Nathan, and Tammy

Maxwell had to basically crawl up the hill on all fours to avoid slipping back down.

Nearly there...

...Made it!

Video - Maxwell going down all by himself and wiping out at the end.  (You know, that moment when, as a parent, your mind flashes through all the possible injuries that could have just happened and you almost hold your breath as you run to your child to see if they are okay...)  Luckily he wasn't too hurt and quickly recovered.

He would have kept going for hours and was really upset when we had to wrap it up and keep going with our plans for the day.

We stopped at the store and picked up stuff to make lunch at Sharee's house for everyone.  Not everyone was home at her house but Maxwell had a really fun time hanging out with Quaid.  Emmalyn fell asleep in the car on the way here so Peter stayed in the car with her while she slept.  (He's such a trooper and played nap chaperone in the car multiple times during this trip.)

Emmalyn snuggling with Aunt Sharee

We really enjoying visiting with Paris, Willow, and Sharee.  It stinks that we live so far apart.

After we left Sharee's, the family was hungry (sort of) so we stopped at Cafe Rio for one more visit.   Plus we ran around returning the snow gear to my high school friends (so grateful for their generosity given that we haven't seen each other for 10+ years).  After that we went to Katherine's to see Nana and Katherine's girls - Ari and Adi.

Adi, Emmalyn, and Ari.  They were both sweet and loved to mother her.

Maxwell and his favorite One-Eyed Jack Nelson!

I was impressed with Maxwell's coloring job on this.  He usually just scribbles all over the place (because he doesn't care to color and would rather just get it over with) but he did a nice job with this one with staying close to in the lines.

He was wiped out and fell asleep in the car on the was to Alex's which worked out and I stayed in the car this time with the kids while Peter went in to pick up the pizza's for our New Year's Eve party at Alex's.

Fun with Aunt Aja!

And now fun with Aunt Tawny!

Mr. Grumpy Pants

And now fun with Uncle Alex!  (see the pattern here?  she's very popular) :)  

Tackle uncle Alex!

Outside to watch the fireworks (it's now legal to shoot fireworks in the air in Utah which was NEVER allowed when I was growing up!)  Maxwell loved the fireworks, which isn't normal for him.

I then took the kids home to go to bed and left Peter there to hang out with his family.

I put Emmalyn to bed while Maxwell played a little more with Maryn, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Tammy.  They played glow in the dark bowling with these pins (water bottles with glow sticks)

When midnight came (and both kids were in bed), we did a confetti cannon

What a mess!  It was fun. 

Happy New Year!!!

Utah Trip - Tubing!

I was so pumped for today!  (Aside from the hassle of getting everyone equipped to play in the snow and the super pain in the butt that is when you are looking for clothes to fit a non-size 6 body... Oh well, I made it work.)

We went up to a tubing park up by Park City with Peter's siblings and nieces and nephews.  I've never gone to a place like this so I was excited to try it and to have the kids try it too.

Clockwise from left: Korben, Payton, Jaxton, Jordan, Maxwell

The kids all hung out with me in a heated hut while the rest of the adults bought the passes.

And now the girls (and a few boys)

Jaxton, Payton, Harleigh, Emmalyn, Mariah, me, Felicia, Madison, Lola

All bundled up (poor Emmalyn could only move her fingers and her eyes).  Cute little snow kids!

Emmalyn aka Stay Puffed Marshmallow girl.  She couldn't even really sit up, just sort of lay against the chair.

Hitting the hills - - -you stand on this conveyor belt and it takes you up.  No big deal until you are trying to keep your balance, hold onto your tube, plus hold your puffed up daughter all at the same time.  It stressed me to no end.  After the first time, I let Peter take Emmalyn.  (Which left me with Maxwell which had it's own complications as I tried to help him successfully get on and stay upright on the belt.)

Maxwell and his tube

Everyone had to have their own tube, so Emmalyn went down in an adult tube because she fit better inside it than a smaller one (plus I felt it was safer in the wider base).  I didn't realize when we showed up that she would have to have her own tube and couldn't ride with Peter or I.  That made me incredibly nervous.

Video - Emmalyn going down the hill for the first time.  She wasn't sure what to think and you can see how she changes her mind a few times.  I thought for sure she'd love this since she's usually so bold and brave, but nope...not this time.

He was so happy and having a lot of fun.

Daddy's girl

Waiting in line to go up the hill.  The first couple times went really fast but after that, there were a ton of people you had to wait a long time.  That made it not so much fun for Emmalyn and Maxwell.  

Brothers and their daughters

I thought snow tubing was awesome (and I only did the little hill...that was plenty exciting)

It was a lot of fun having so many family members there.  We didn't stay together as a whole big group but there was enough of us that you frequently ran into someone.  After two times going down,  Emmalyn did not want to go anymore.  She decided it wasn't fun and was too scary for her.

At that point I took both the kids because Max was tired of waiting and starting to get cold, and Emmalyn kept saying she was poopy.  UGH!  That meant I had to trek all the way back to the car, holding my daughter who had doubled in weight thanks to all her clothes... get a diaper and wipes and trek all the way back to the bathroom.  On the way back, I grabbed our stroller so at least I didn't have to hold Emmalyn but that was tough too because the ground was snowy/slushy/icy.

Alex watched Maxwell while I took care of Emmalyn.  I think the diaper change took like 30 minutes because I had to take all the layers off and then put all the layers on.  And to top it all off - she wasn't even poopy!!!  She was totally lying because she knows that we act pretty quickly if she's poopy.  She was clearly trying to manipulate me and get out of having to go down the hill again.  Sneaky little girl.

Once Maxwell had some hot chocolate in him, he was ready to play on this mound of snow with Lola.

Sliding down on his rear

Trying it with a tube

Emmalyn was happy to just sit in the stroller and hang out.  She was so fussy that I gave her the binky.  I didn't put all of her layers back on after the diaper change so she was a little less puffy and I hoped still warm enough.

He was LOVING playing in the snow.

Nothing emphasizes how short one is better than wearing big bulky snowpants.  :)

She fell asleep (which made me confident she was warm enough - whew)

Maxwell tackling Korben.  They had fun playing together.

While I was with the younger kids, everyone else was having fun going on the big hill.

Group picture (minus Alex)...

...Oh, there he is

The area is just so beautiful!  I miss seeing these gorgeous mountains.

We all headed to McDonalds for lunch and then went our own separate ways after that.

Max and Lola buddying up

Emmalyn's cousins were so sweet with her :)

Peter and Madison

Peter, Madison, Mark, and Alex w/ Morgan in the front

Group picture with everyone this time

After we left, we headed to Sandy to go to my step-sister Katherine's grand opening of her esthetician salon.  We got to see Nana, Uncle Derek, Aunt Katherine, Aunt Marabeth, and Aunt Sharee.  We didn't get to spend much time with them because everyone was busy with the opening but I was able to help a little big and Maxwell and Emmalyn got to see Nana, which they were so excited for.

There were a ton of people there - it was crazy!

We were wiped out after our long day.  We stopped at Arctic Circle on the way back to Tammy's for another shake (I got cookie butter again because it was so yummy).