We managed to have an experience we've never had before while traveling to see husband's family: almost being stranded in the middle of nowhere in WY on the side of the road because we forgot to fill up with gas when we stopped for lunch. The fuel light came on and said we had 18 miles to empty and 35 miles until Rock Springs. I pulled behind an RV going 55 miles per hour and we made it to a Conoco in the middle of nowhere with one mile 'til empty.
As far as child happiness goes, all but one hour of the trip we were able to keep our littles happy with nutella to go (and other snacks), listening to "Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" and watching Pixar's Cars & the movie Elf. Natalie cried for an entire hour and didn't take the entire time. I couldn't believe a two-year-old could be strapped into a car seat for that long and never fall asleep once.
This year we stayed at S & B's house and got to meet their puppy, Porter. He is such a great dog and provided a lot of entertainment for us during our stay. We felt so loved and spoiled and had a great time in the W. home.
Family picture heading to church the last Sunday before Christmas. This is one of the few pictures of D you'll see in this post because he is getting way too good at avoiding the camera!
Party party at hubby's grandma's house! I was happy his Aunt K and Aunt M made sure to have everyone use the photo wall K set up. When I see those two women together, it makes me wish I had a sister.
After partying with family I got to spend some quality time with two of my besties and had a wonderful time catching up in person. I missed seeing Emily this year due to her cancer treatments and Kelly due to car troubles. I suppose this means we will have to visit UT again someday. (;
(above: my girls loving meeting baby Kelli)
Instead of exchanging gifts between hubby and his siblings, we grow ups went out for a fancy dinner. We laughed so much my abs hurt! Although the restaurant service was awful, the company was great! Then the next night ALL the cousins got to exchange draw name presents with each and had a blast. Everyone did a great job picking things out for each other and it was neat to see how happy the children were when they made their assigned cousin smile. D and B were especially thrilled they got to pick out presents for each other and gave each other the greatest hug!
And just like that, it was time to head home. Since there was a heavy storm threatening to close I-80, we took the I-70 route. The kids were excited to try a different highway (they hate WY), but that excitement wore off towards the end when snow and an accident almost shut it down. Eleven hours after leaving, we finally arrived home. Thank goodness for fast food joints to give us a break while getting something to eat! And no, we did not ever forget to fill up the gas tank on the way home.
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