Christmas Break

We sure had a great and LONG Christmas break. After a week of missing Jackson, we were ready to get to Arizona! We woke up the Tuesday we wanted to leave to a crazy snow storm. Matt had been staying with us and we had so much fun spending the weekend with him. He cracks me up... always telling jokes, dancing the "dougie", making up pick up lines... He didn't even have a coat, had a hole in his shoes, and kept making whistling noises at the snow "wooooo-eeee". Even though it was hard plowing through the parking lot, we made it out, only to go 30 miles an hour max for the next 4-5 hours. James was a trooper and didn't really complain about the horrible roads. Matt slept the whole trip and even when we got to Mesa, it was still raining. Poor windshield wipers NEVER turned off! We picked up Jackson and went straight to the Andersen Christmas party (minus Mom, Dad, and Elder Matt.) We sure had a good time being with everyone eating dinner, skyping Wilford and Kathleen, making gingerbread houses, and the Santa was amazing (he even made the big boys sit on his lap!)

The next night was Sam's missionary dinner. This is one of my favorites traditions the Andersen's have. Though the testimony meetings always go a little long... It is so neat to see how many missionaries their family has. Sam sure seemed older and ready to serve in Texas.

Christmas Eve was the Anderson party. Shaela even brought the new baby, Jace. We had the usual nativity (James was a wise men and I was a shepherd AND we got to sing silent night. we're so good at duets.) Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and the sister missionaries came. My dad read some journal entries on meeting my mom and past Christmases they've had together. That was sure neat.

Christmas morning (can you believe I didn't take ANY pictures?) Jackson wasn't too in to opening presents. Once he opened one, he just wanted to sit and play and eat chocolate out of the stockings. I suprised James with some published blog books and an ESPN jeopardy game. He gave me some games and a present in MY language of love (aka. mesa thrift money!). We got to play some fun new Wii games (including SING-IT, in which I lost every round). We took naps and went over to Nate and Andrea's house for the evening.

All in all, we spent LOTS of time relaxing and enjoying having family around. Mansi and Brianna were the best babysitters and Jackson became obsessed with Bubba (Matt.) He still looks at pictures of him every day (even though they're tiny blurry ones on my phone, he still gets so excited). He calls his name out constantly and wants to see him on the computer (skype). The sad thing is, he kisses the screen! He LOVED the trampoline, grass, and playing with Libby and Tippy. Although Tippy bit the neighbor girl while we were there and had to be given away. My mom lightened and cut my hair and already, my appearance improved 100 points. James got to play lots of basketball and we enjoyed the Darl Andersen family reunion. (That was a little much for me, I'd never even met some of the cousins, and they don't schedule nap times!) We celebrated New Year's eve first by eating hot dogs with my famiyl and lighting off firecrackers. Then, James took a good 3 hour nap while I drove Matt, Mansi, and Brianna around the neighbor lighting off firecrackers and smoke bombs at random neighbor's houses, including grandma and grandpa Anderson's. (can you tell it was the first year fireworks were legal in Arizona?) Then James woke up and we spent the last few hours at the Merrill's playing cards and eating candy, then making a bunch of "rukus" out on orange street.

8 hours later, we started the drive back to Utah and thus, the cold. It is so hard for me to find ways to entertain Jackson (the total outdoors boy) when it's so cold. He watches way too many "mee-s" (movies) and we visit the library twice a week for storytime. But all in all, another good vacation has come and gone.