Giving Christmas away w/ a Getaway to McCall

12.16-12.20 {Friday-Tuesday} we took off with the Peterson family to McCall for a few days.  It is always a blast being with them.  We get along pretty dang well the majority of the time and it makes being together for several days a much anticipated experience.

We spent time playing farkle {a new favorite-for us-game}, building puzzles, eating, watching shows, and laughing.  Lance & Kels brought toy guns for the boys which were a HUGE hit and we loved watching them play together.  There were a few normal squabbles, but for the most part, they are really good buddies and I sure love that they are growing up together.  We split the meals up into days & we did a yummy hamburger soup.  Taylor made enchiladas, Kels & Lance did omelets & Mom & Dad did ribs & all the fixings.  Of course we were well fed.  It felt good taking some pressure off mom this trip for cooking & it seemed to work well the way we split it up.  Definitely a keeper-tradition.

We all went in to town one morning and walked around a bit & got cocoa at Moxie Java.  A favorite for everyone.  It was freezing & Grayson wanted "banilla ice cream."  His favorite.  (:  To each their own, right?

The weather has been crazy this year and definitely unusual.  There wasn't a ton of snow & it didn't snow while we were there.  We made the most of what we had a few times.  The guys shoveled a bit and we took a few turns sledding down the driveway.  Gray went down by himself once & got to the bottom super fast where he catapulted into a snow drift face first.  He immediately stood up & said, "I'm okay!"  But he wouldn't go down again after that. (:  Beckham went with me three times before he decided he didn't love the snow spraying him in the face at the bottom.  He loved being pulled back up on the sled though & it was a great workout for me.  The evenings were always spent chilling with games and/or shows.  One night Bex & Jaeger plopped down to enjoy Toy Story.   Pretty soon Beckham was standing behind Jaeger massaging his head!  Totally cracked us up.  They play better and better the older they get. 

Saturday night was spent wrapping gifts for the family we were giving Christmas to, and enjoying each other's company, as well as decorating & filling their stockings.  It was such a fun thing to be wrapping for another family as a family.  I felt so blessed the entire evening to be with these great people.  Surrounded by parents and siblings who are my friends.  People who love my children despite their overtired outbursts.  And, I'm thankful for my boys.  They were really great.  Of course we had some normal stuff, but I was really happy with them.  They slept really well for the most part too, which is always nice.

Sunday we went to the 9:00 ward and enjoyed a great Sacrament meeting.  The bread used in the sacrament was wheat and I knew Grayson might say something.  He ate it & I was watching him and he got this silly look on his face and said, "What is this stuff made out of?!"  Haha!  Zac & Lance got to help with the sacrament because they were low on young men which was a cool experience for them.  We spent that afternoon resting and then had the Rib dinner that evening.  Afterward we decorated gingerbread mini houses & men and had a family home evening put on by Grami with the Nativty on her flannel board.  It was so cute.  Grayson was especially enamored and interested with it and loved hearing the story.  He had questions and thoughts that were so cute and was quite concerned that everyone/thing fit onto the board where they should.  Such a fun thing.

Monday morning we got to deliver Christmas to an amazing family.  It was the coolest experience I've had in a long time.  So fun to be able to meet the family and really know that we'd chosen an amazing & humble family.  They were sweet, welcoming, and incredibly righteous.  I left wanting to be a better person and uplifted by their amazing spirits.  I'm so thankful Mom & Dad had the foresight to suggest this idea.  I'm thankful my boys could witness such an incredible blessing.  Grayson was so excited placing gifts around the tree.  Such a cool, cool thing.  I know the excitement & blessing of doing this was at least as much-if not more-for us, than it was for them.  I teared up a bit at the end & had to leave pretty quick.  We headed back to the house & played & cleaned for a few hours.

That evening, Bishop Holland & his family came for pizza dinner.  What an amazing family.  We fell in love with them and all clicked really well.  Such a great night.  Grayson immediately attached himself to their 7 year old boy and Bex played with the littlest.  They were fun to visit with.

Tuesday morning we finished our clean up and headed home soon after.  What a great way to welcome in the Holiday feeling of gifts & love.  With our family who loves us.  With service and food and laughter.  We feel incredibly blessed.  More than we could ever express.