Vacation from our vacation

Ho Ho Ho 2007

Whew! I love the holidays, but it takes me about 3 weeks to recover afterwards. I'm still not quite there......Yes....it is Jan 8th and our tree is still up! OUCH! I figure as long as it's down by my B-day, we're all good.

So to start off our holiday season we went to SE Idaho. Since Mom annd Dad house is still being built, Justin and Tessa hosted Christmas! (Thanks guys,..it was so comfortable! We appreciate you sacrificing your sanity for a little bit in the name of family!) We did several things, but here are a few that stand out....

We drove to IdahoFalls and Kara had the cutest matching outfits for Noah and Elle as a welcome surprise! Thanks Kjo!

We ate at Johny Corinos as a fam,....almost completly funded by dad's coupons! WE love ya Dad! :)

We built Gingerbread houses.....

Noah hadn't pood in 7 days and I was STRESSIN' OUT! I was in tears at one point! :( It ended Christmas day when Noah gave me the best Christmas present he could possibly give (being 6 months old) A big diaper full of poo! I know,...gross,...but it's true! I was so relieved.

We went to the McKinlay extended family Christmas party.

WE almost went sledding, but there was TOO much snow!! It was a BLIZZARD the whole day on Christmas Eve. It was gorgeous snow though. PERFECT for Christmas Eve!

The boys played tons of "Happy Flop" AKA "poker". I don't totally support it,...but hey,...Brad won us a JAMBA JUICE gift card.

On Christmas Eve some of the family went to Outback Steakhouse and others had dinner with the other side of their family. We all meet up about 8 for our Christmas Eve Party. We opened a few presents including new PJ's for everyone! :) Fun Times!

Christmas morning we got up bright and early to celebrate! Noah lasted about 15 minutes before realizing it was way too early and got super cranky and went back to bed. Brad and I got super cranky about an hour later and decided to go back to bed too! :)

The best part of the holidays is being with family. It is so much fun to create such special memories. I know,...I am totally and officially a "MOM" but it's true.

Sometimes wish all the hussle of Christmas, I forget the true meaning of this speacial season. I am so grateful for Christ in my life. What an amazing blessing it is to feel of his love each and every day. Christmas snuck up on me so fast, I don't think I gave enough focus on Christ's birth and life. What a wonderful example he is to me. Next year I need to do something extra special to remember him throughout the whole season!

After the craziness of Christmas morning, we drove with my parents down to Utah and quickly stopped at my grandparents to crash the Leishman family party! :) Then we hopped on a plane and headed SanFrancisco to visit Brad's whole family. Kristi and Mike are currently living there. Now,...those days are just a blur! :) We all seemed to eat a lot, and lay around a lot! :) No, seriously,...there were a lot of us in a small space, so we all had to take turns getting ready and it usually took until about 4 pm before everyone was ready, taken their naps (babies and adults), and ready to head out. It was nice to be so relaxed though! I'm not complaining~

Here are a few memories from the blur of that week in SanFran! ---

The boys could usually be found every night playing Rook until the wee hours of the morning. What's up with men and card games?
We went to a "game zone". The boys played video games while the girls watched the boys in the ball pit.

We went bowling!

We went to a park and Noah went on his first swing ride. Momma was very protective and scared, but daddy wanted to do freakin' underdoggies!!!! Noah liked swinging a lot more than I thought he would. He kept laughing and laughing. Video footage below. :)

At the park Tyler and John fed the birds, but I'm not sure who enjoyed it more,...Tyler and John, or Brad and Mike.

Rub a Dub Dub!! Three Boys in a Tub!!!!! --Some of the funnest news of the season was that Lori and Steve announced they are pregnant! :) Yay! Maybe next year it will be rub a dub dub Four boys in a Tub?! ;)

We sat around and played with toys a lot! Brad and I felt so bad for Noah. We have been giving him stuffed animals to play with at home. We thought that's what age he was at. NOPE! He went to Kristi and Mike's and he must have felt like it was a fair! He was surrounded by fun toys and he LOVED it! His very favorite was John and Tyler's "push around buggy". We broke down and bought one for him as soon as we got back to Boise. We have since got him a few other fun toys and put the plush stuffed animals away! :)

We were spoiled with more gifts from Brad's family. Having two families is really the BEST!!!! A few of my favorite gifts from this Christmas were: Spa gift certificate, robe, BIG soup pot, jeans, coat, hummmm....I got spoiled! Noah got lots of books, toys, clothes, food processor, etc. etc. etc.! Half the fun was opening Noah's gifts! Just think, in a few years the whole SANTA thing will be TOO MUCH FUN!! :)

Anyways, I am still recooperating,...until next time,...