Christmas With the Martins

It was once again our turn to spend Christmas with Michelle's family.  Everyone, but Jill and Brian, and Cameron and Rachel were able to make it this year.  Grandma and Grandpa Woolley also came down to Orem for Christmas Eve. 

We had a lovely dinner and then heard a wonderful Christmas message by Carol.  We ended up skyping with Cameron and Rachel so they could hear the message.  After the message we all sat around and talked while the kids played.   

We then had our traditional Christmas games.  The first was pin the nose (gum) on Rudolph.  The one where you get to chew your own piece of gum and then try and play a pin the tail on the donkey type of game.

Then Carol pulled out a homemade piñata she made with her cub scouts that looked like Santa Clause.  It was the perfect thing to do.  Try and break open Santa’s head to celebrate Christmas.   

The children started first and then the girls.  Unfortunately Nettie hit the jack pot and cracked his head open first before the guys got a turn.   

We all raced to get the candy after we gave the kids a few moments themselves.  We took a quick picture and then headed back inside to enjoy the warmth and continue to chat it up.   

Before going to bed we all open up the gifts given to us in the sibling exchange.  This year Russell and Nicole had us.  I got a gift certificate to use on iTunes and Michelle got one of her favorite gifts, a red lifeguard sweatshirt.  She was so excited when she opened it.  

They did a good job.  After one last look at all of the presents under the tree we got a good night’s sleep.

On Christmas morning before we opened up all of our presents we put together one of Drew’s so he had something to play with.  It was a little walker that turned into a little car. 

Since he was getting tired we put him to bed while we finished opening all of our presents.  Michelle’s parents like to give us a check for Christmas and ask that we buy gifts with it, wrap them, and then put them under the tree so they are surprised.   

After Drew woke up from his nap we let him open his presents or at least try and open them himself.  We can’t wait till he knows what is going on and will get excited.   

We lounged around for a while and got ready for the day before we went to visit Nana and Grandpa Bill at their house in Murray. 

We then went to Grandma and Grandpa Woolley’s house to visit with them and get together with our other cousins and also visit with Uncle Dan’s family who was in town for the holidays. 

The day went by with a flash and can’t believe it is over.    The New Year will be here before we know it.  Where did the time go?

Martin Side Christmas Party

As is tradition we got together with the Martin extended family for a little Christmas party.  All the cousins and Aunts and Uncles got together at Glenn and Carol's house to have a little food, and fun, and celebrate the Christmas season.  

There was a lot of good food and it was nice to see a few cousin's we don't see much of, but the best part had to be the visit from Santa Clause.  It was fun to see the kids get excited and just stare at him while they waited to see what he brought them.  

It was Drew's first time meeting the man in the big red suit and we weren't sure how he would react, but he did quite well. 

He didn't really get excited, but he wasn't scared either.  His other two cousins weren't so sure about Santa, but I guess that is most little kid's responses. 

We are thankful for Nana who made all of this happen.  She has a great posperity and we hope to have many more times together as a family.

The night turned out to be a blast and with all of the decorations around the house we thought we would get a family picture.  The best one is of Nettie with Teddie.  

I think she should just have him live with her. I don't think it will happen, but I know Glenn and Carol wouldn't object to it one bit.  The evening was a great way to celebrate the Christmas Season.  Till next year.

Michelle's High School Friend's Get Together

On Sunday Michelle, Drew, and I met up with several of her high school friends down in Spanish Fork for a little reunion.  We had a lovely Mexican inspired dinner and had lots of conversation and fun.  It was fun to watch everyone catch up with one another and hear the different stories from the past and what was going on now. 

After dinner we took down the tables and chairs and Nettie helped get a game of duck, duck, goose going for the little kids.  They were having a lot of fun and they even followed the rules most of the time.

We then decided we should get a picture of all of the kids together.  I think they did a pretty good job of keeping it together.  At that age it is hard to keep them in one spot for very long.

The real test was to get everyone in the shot.  I set up my camera, but what I thought was the number of seconds for the timer, was really the number of pictures to take, so after the first flash about 9 others came.  

The evening was a hit and we decided we should do it at least twice a year.  Kiffin thanks for letting us use your house and thanks for the good times.

24 Hours in Idaho

Michelle's brother Cameron, who lives in California, was asked to baptize his wife Rachel's nephew in Ashton, Idaho.  Since the two of them and their little girl Candice were only going to be a few hours away we decided to make a quick trip up north to visit.  Glenn, Carol, Nettie, Michelle, Drew, and I got into the Martin van and started on our journey.  We were able to leave just a little after two in the afternoon and the weather was a bit rainy.  Before getting to Ashton we had to pick up Cameron from the Idaho Falls airport.  Rachel and Candice had flown in a week earlier and they would all leave home together on Monday.  The airport is so small and it took forever for him to get his luggage.  We arrived at Rachel's mom's house late, but not too late for everyone still to be up and spend some time talking.  After getting a little sleep we woke up and made some breakfast burritos. After getting ready and making a few final changes to the program we headed to the church for Bryer's baptism.  It was  a small group, but it was a nice little gathering.  Michelle was able to play the piano for the hymns and I got to be her page turner.

After the baptism we had a little luncheon of soup and the headed back to the house for some fun.  In no time we all got dressed in our winter clothes and got ready to play outside.

We borrowed a snowmobile from a neighbor and took turns going around the snowfields.  It was my first time riding one and I liked it a lot.  They are a little hard to steer in the fresh soft snow, but with all of the open space it wasn't a problem and I could go pretty fast.

Michelle and Nettie stayed inside for a while to watch Drew.  He was being such a good and happy boy, but as soon as he went down for a nap it was time for more snow and fun.

At the end of the night we headed to dinner at a local burger joint and enjoyed some awesome 1lbs burgers, drinks, fries, and tots.  It was just what we needed before heading back out of town.  It had started to snow and it was getting a little hard to see, but I held strong.  Michelle hates to drive in a car while it is snowing and she gets very uptight and always thinks I or anyone else is going too fast.  At one point during the trip a jackrabbit hopped into the middle of my lane and Michelle all of the sudden starts to scream, "Don't hit the rabbit!, Don't hit the rabbit!" over and over again as I am attempting not to hit the rabbit if I didn't have to, but I ended up hitting it anyway because I couldn't focus with all the yelling.  Michelle then tells me she wanted me to hit the rabbit, but the words didn't come out right.  Her reasoning behind the yelling was to make sure I didn't try to maneuver around the rabbit and get us in an accident.  I don't think she realizes just how hysterical she can get.  Lucky for her I have practice with this kind of thing and was able to get us out of the situation in one piece, unlike the rabbit.  Before no time we were close to home and after a quick break, Glenn drove us the rest of the way.  It was a quick 24 hour trip, but we had a lot of fun.