Family Fun in Utah & Idaho!

Before Christmas we traveled to Utah to visit my Mom, Stepdad, sisters and their families. On the night we arrived, we saw my mom's side of the family, who I haven't seen in a long time. My Grandma Angelbuer and Brendan really hit it off :).








The next day we drove into Idaho, where we rented a 30 person cabin in the mountains. It was so beautiful! Beautiful mountains and glorious snow!




























The cabin was very homey and roomy. There were 14 adults and 10 children! All the kids got along wonderfully, despite the fact there was a fair bit of crying. Let me tell you, this is one beautiful bunch of kids. ( I don't have to tell you, just check out the pics!)































We went sledding! It was so much fun, I haven't been sledding in years. We went sledding in the near by National Forest and next door to the cabin. We also did some turbo-sledding--a tobggan roped to the back of a pick-up! Don't worry, we were safe.


















We had a delicious holiday meal. Afterward, the kids put on a Christmas program-- an adorable nativity. Garrett slept through it, though :). Then we opened our stockings. Yes, everyone had a stocking. My very crafty mom, with the help of Stu (my stepdad), put together all the stockings.

The adults played games, including the Newlywed game . We didn't when the Newlywed game, but we were pretty right on.





























We all had a great time! It was awesome to see everyone together-- quite a feat to pull off. We hope to have many future family trips, if the stars align in our favor :).
























































The cast of characters present at the cabin include Kim, my mom and Stu, my stepdad. Also my stepsisters Natasha (Corey, her husband and their four girls, Mandy, Abby, Grace, and Anna), Katie (James, her husband, and their two boys, Tristan and Avery), and Sierra (and her husband, Chad). My sisters Michelle (Aaron, her husband, and their three kids, Kent, Evelyn, and Oliver) and Nicole (and her husband Frank). Did you get all that? Whew. We're a big family!

Before we flew out, we went to Temple Square, downtown SLC, with my mom. There were thousands of Christmas lights and many beautiful nativities from around the world. It was so beautiful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Garrett and I went to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. We stayed with Grandpa Roger and Grandma Gayla; Garrett loved playing with his grandparents. On Thanksgiving Day, 21 family and friends gathered to enjoyed my Dad's delicious cooking (Gayla and Aunt Lisa, too). The food was sooo good!

( Cousins Megan, Levi, Maya, Lucas, Garrett, Colton, and Austin)






(sweet and mischievous)





And with six little kids, things got interesting. Garrett loved playing with his little cousins: Levi and Lucas (both a little bit older than him), Austin (4), Colton (7), Maya (7). It was so much fun seeing the littlest ones all together; they were very sweet to one another.






(Megan looking really pretty with Lucas)




(Two pretty girls: Maya and Baby Grace)



On Saturday, we drove to Texas to see my Grandma DeHart, Uncle Bob, and Cousin Kellie. We had lunch at Red Lobster. It was a short but sweet visit.

(Grandma DeHart, Gayla, Alexis, Garrett, and Kellie)

(Grandma Bennett, G, Cousin Kevin)


(Grandpa Bennett, Levi, Austin)














(Sleepy Time for Grandpa B and Lucas)

On Sunday, Garrett enjoyed lots of undivided attention and playtime with Grandma Gayla and Grandpa Roger. He thought Grandpa was delightfully silly. Garrett loved spending time with the dogs, particularly Daisy, who was not as thrilled. Garrett kept Grandma Gayla on her toes.
We had a very fun trip!

Daddy and Sweet Bean

Garrett loves his Daddy very much, and vice versa (and Mommy, too) :). Garrett loves playing with his silly Daddy, and the occasional eye gauging/ nose pinching of Daddy. Garrett will ask for DaDa when he's not home.

Garrett enjoyed watching Daddy leaf-blowing the other day. At first, he didn't know if Daddy was crazy or what. Later he helped by sorting a few leaves.

Garrett is definitely getting more expressive with his affection. He'll come up to you, sometimes and give you a hug. He loves cuddles and hug-a-loves, as we like to call them. Garrett will give his stuffed animals hugs too. The other day I puckered my lips, and he copied me, giving me a kiss.

He's our sweet man. The sweetest man in the world; I tell him that often.

Shenanigans with the Stephens Cousins

So, I'm a month behind the times. A lot of things of been happening in our lives. . .

Brendan recently spent a month away from home. First, preparing with some of his unit in Kentucky, and then went on to Egypt to document US training of Egyptian soliders. He got jump out of airplanes and heliocopters. Brendan also got to see the pyramids! He got a little sick, but is all better now. All and all, it was a good trip. Garrett and I missed him very much.

When Brendan got back in town, we spent the weekend in Knightdale, NC and stayed with Tim and Hannah. Garrett loves spending time with his cousins, Mia and Vincent (Cousin Vinny). They played really well with each other, minus normal little people toy stealing, occasionally.

We went to Marbles, the Children's Museum in Raliegh. It's a really sweet kid's museum. Aunt Amanda joined us (check out her karaoke in the "cousins playing" video :) ).We all had a blast, but no one enjoyed themselves as much as Garrett. Garrett was in rare form. He loved having all the free rein to explore and perfect his walking skills. He played until he dropped; when he got tired from walking, he crawled. Check out all the great video from the weekend: "cousins playing". One of my favorite exerpts is Vinny in a blue tutu!

When Garrett and I were in Oklahoma for Thanksgiving, Brendan spent more time at Tim and Hannah's. Brendan and Tim took Vinny and Mia on a little swap adventure. Mia found a great cattail. Later she had fun spreading all the cattail fluffies around the yard.

Happy Halloween!

Garrett was an adorable alien! I didn't take him trick-or-treating. We stayed home so he could enjoy all the trick-or-treaters.

Our house was on the neighborhood trick-or-treat trail; we had a sign in our yard. Unfortunately, our dead-end street is a little too dark and scary. We didn't get many trick-or-treaters.

Garrett is starting to get a hang of the walking thing, but if he wants to go fast he crawls. I can tell he's going to be a handful-- wait, he already is :).