playing catch up.... i think this is the longest post EVER!

Hello!  now that life has some form of normalcy i am going to try to update everyone on EVERYTHING!!  first, we had the GREATEST family vacation EVER!  we loved every second of it, even the 3 days, each way, in the car.  the kids were EXCELLENT little angels and it was a rather enjoyable trip, except New Mexico is so boring!!!!  no offense to those who love it, i think i am a mountain and trees kinda girl.  when we drove through Colorado, i almost died cuz it was so pretty.

Well- here is us driving.

  

  Chunk is blurry cuz he is so wiggly.

Jellybean all relaxed......

and a happy monkey! (you can see a bored chunk though!)

and our fearless, fabulous, HOTT driver!  ;) (that is beef jerky- teriyaki to be exact....)  he would have one ear bud in, and he would be listening to his books on his shuffle.  i think he rather enjoyed it!  it really helped the time go by faster for him.  i was the one dealing with the kids and snacks and stuff.

Anyway- here is me and chunk and jellybean at the enterance to the Caverns.  chunk was kinda concerned that the bats that live there in the summer were going to fly out and get him, it took a bit to convince him that they had already left, and that we were 'super safe'.

sound in the carvens can be heard from over a mile away, so we told the kids that they could only whisper and they had to hold my hands or daddy's hands.  well- monkey- HATED the cavern, absolutely detested them!  it was weird!, so since we couldnt get him to stop crying and sound traveld so easily, joe basically sprinted about a mile with baby in arms to get to the end, and left me with the big kids.  he met us up top in the gift shop with a still crying boy!  it was so sad, and i think all that it was, was his shoes, they were too tight!  we felt really bad about that, but i told him if he used his words, we could have helped him lots sooner.  ;p  but these two were so good!!!  they can tell the difference between stalatites and stalagmites and they thought the 'popcorn' walls were hilarious!

i LOVE this picture of them!  how cute are they?

a nice little man took a picture of us, this part was right next to the great room, but that was another .4 miles and we were done and tired.

then we kept driving and we made it to the 4 Corners.  the kids didnt quite 'get it' but they were good sports even though it was REALLY cold and windy. (i love to see monkey looking up at his daddy so lovingly).

so then we spent the night in Farmington New Mexico, and  that third day, we all awere starting to feel it.  jellybean and chunk both had upset stomachs, and therefore we were making frequent stops, and we were all getting tired of being in the car.  but still, there was hardly any whining and just a tad bit of grumpiness.  we thought about going to Arches, but with how we were all feeling decided against it.  so joseph saw that at 'Hole in the Rock' they had a little zoo where you can feed the animals, and they had a zebra, and buffalos, and deer and pigs, and a camel, and bisen, and cows, and albino raccoons (a very rare thing), and stuff, and thought that they kids would love it.  and they did.  they fed the animals, animal crackers!  i think that is HILARIOUS!!

chunk said this was his new truck.  it was made from license plates, really cool.

we then had the pleasure that week to enjoy such good food with even better company!  Clinton made his FABULOUS turkey that i end up craving every year, and cait made rolls, and rachel did a great job on everything else!  the food was so good and we all ate so much!!!  the only damper on the meal was that Kelsey, Brandon, Jessica, Josh, Clint, and Laura werent able to be there.  we definately could feel there absence and they were missed.  after that, the coma started to sink in, but we could only let the turkey coma in for about an hour, becasue we had to go to another party!

'Mabey Thanksgiving'

the Darais Thanksgiving Party was fun as always!  it was so good to see everyone, it had been 2 years since we have been to a party with them!  it was crazy to see who has changed and who hasnt really change that much.  i loved to able to catch up with my family that i have missed so much.

'Darais Family Party'

after that we went to granddad and grandmoms to put our exhausted chillins to bed, and take it easy for the night with the Murrays.  friday morning we went black friday shopping in the afternoon, and then go to dinner at brick oven where we were able to spend MORE time with the Murray's!!!!  it was great to see them so much!

"Murray Party"

Saturaday, we drove to BC in time to watch the great BYU vs UTAH game, which we won, and that was great!

we also got to spend so time with dallin and his girlfriend mallory- it was so great to be able to get to know her, and actually hangout with my brother!

Dal and Mal- he really does like her..... promise

                                        

(this is where things get kinda outta order i think)  we also rode the TRAX from ogden to slc.  and the kids LOVED it!  they thought it was so cool that they were riding a TRAIN!!!  and when we got there, we met up with joseph, who was busy all day working, and we had dinner, and then went to Temple Square to see the lights!

here is jellybean and grams.  i LOVE this picture!

and pa and chunk- again LOVE this picture!!!

and me and monkey.

(he wanted to crawl around, but didnt think that the safest thing in the world ya know, since we were on a rapidly moving train and all.)

then one night, true to tradition, we MADE GINGERBREAD HOUSES!!!!!  it was awesome.  that night we made Grandmom and Grandads, and Tasha, chris' ADORABLE girlfriend, house.

here is momma building.....

                                                      

here is post candy-ing, now 'snowing'.

and here is the finished house!  i love making these!!!

and that ADORABLE girl, Tasha, here she is with chris!  arent they cute?

on the way out we stayed at grandmom and granddad's one last night.  we then decided to take pictures.

Jellybean, granddad, grandmom, monkey, and chunk.

jellybean, monkey, grams, and chunk

jellybean, granddad, emma the dog, grandmom, me, monkey, joey, and chunk

we had such a great time!  we are SO blessed to have such a wonderful supportive family, both sides.  we then headed on our journey home.  the 3 day journey.  it wasnt too bad!  the kids were sooooooo good!  again!  they were exhausted, medicated (chunk had an intestinal bacterial infection and therefore on medication, monkey had a cold, one that was so bad we took him to the dr just to be safe (that is why he is crying in the other pictures, i was not there holding him) and jellybean still wasnt 100%), and ready to be home.  so we drove and i taught them Christmas songs, jellybean needed to learn them for school, and we colored, and ate, and this is when we broke out the 'suprises' that we packed.  they really came in handy!

even though she wasnt feeling the best- she was still very pleasant.

"cool-cat-jellybean" (if you are wearing sunglasses, you are a 'cool-cat')

poor monkey- you can kinda see how he isnt feeling gross

"i not want my picure taken mom!"

so this was the best i could get.....  =)

all in all it was a wonderful vacation.  full of food, good people, child's pepto, dr visits, friend visits, trains, lights, throw-up (sorry mom and dad!), laughter and mermories upon memories.

THANK YOU to all who let our sick little family stay with you, all those who came to visit, and for loving us!  as jellybean says:  "it was the greatest vacation EVER!!!!!"