The Holidays Have Begun!

We had a  busy week this past week.  I spent most of the time cleaning and packing; getting ready for our trip up north for the holidays. The cat gets pretty anxious once he sees the suitcases come out, but Kylie was very excited for something else to play with.

I was also on the planning committee for the ward Christmas party which was Saturday morning.  I had fun running around preparing food and helping where needed.  Brandon and Kylie came and enjoyed breakfast, and then we went home, packed up the car and started north!  Kylie got her "Santa" present early this year:  a big-girl carseat!

She loves it so much.  It is so nice to be able to sit up front now and still interact with her, and Kylie just loves looking out the window.  Since we are going to be spending at least two weeks up north, we decided to take our cat, Charlie, with us.  He wasn't as excited with his carseat.

We encountered a little snow on our drive up, but not as much as we were expecting, thank goodness.  Our first stop was to see Grandpa Pete, Grandma Tess, and Uncle Tommy.  Kylie was SOOO excited to be out of her carseat after four hours.  As was Charlie.  We had lots of fun playing with them.  Kylie was, of course, into everything and loved showing how much she has grown.  She likes to try on our shoes at home, so when she saw Grandma Tess' roller skates, she couldn't resist.  

Kylie also showed everyone how well she can climb everything and take decorations off the tree.  After our visit we continued up to Grandpa Gary and Grandma Shari's house, where we unpacked.  Although it was near Kylie's bedtime, she was too excited seeing everyone and being in a new place.  So after playing with everyone we finally got to bed late.  And as is normal for a vacation, she ended up in our bed.  

Sunday was the main reason we came up so early for Christmas.  It was Uncle Dallan's farewell.  He is going to serve a mission in Riverside, California and leaves on Wednesday.  He gave a great talk and afterwards the house was jammed pack with all his friends and family.  Kylie just loved all the people and all the food.  She is such a social creature and it is so fun to watch her run around playing with everyone.  

Monday was a fun Grandma Shari day.  Kylie and Grandma just played all day long together.  She also played with Uncle Dallan, Aunt Kelsey, and Uncle Jordan too.  She just loves all her aunts and uncles.  And it is so nice to just sit back and not have to worry about keeping her entertained, because she has all these people to play with and new things to explore.

This next week will just be more fun!  A bunch of Christmas activities and hopefully playing in some snow!!