Our Christmas Break

The last month has been a whirlwind of activity. Here's a brief rundown of what we did:
(small sidenote--Tyson gave me a new DSLR camera--a HUGE surprise!--for Christmas, so if these pictures look better than previous posts, it's thanks to the camera! Thank you Tyson!!!)

--Left Boulder December 13 just after Tyson graded his students final and drove to Utah

--Arrived in Utah, Tyson replaced a transmission in just a day

--Went to Idaho for Colby's (Tyson's brother) college graduation

--Went back to Utah, did more car work, celebrated Christmas with Jones Family.

--Saw Andy (Cambria's brother) arrive at the airport, coming home from his mission

--Drove to California immediately after leaving the airport. Our starter went out in Las Vegas. Fortunately, Tyson had his tools and we were 2.3 one-way-walking-miles from an AutoZone. Five hours later we were back on the road.

--Arrive at DISNEYLAND and meet up with Cambria's whole family. First Christmas time in seven years that we've all been together due to missions and us living in Hawaii. Spend four days in Southern Cal.

   

--Leave late Christmas Eve to go to Tyson's parents' house. Spend Christmas with with them (we celebrated it a day late). Tried to avoid getting sick.

--Waited for a week at the Hazards' for the kids passports to come so we can go to Mexico. Jeffrey's and Amri's arrive, but we get a letter saying that Jacob's first and middle names are too long (can't be over 18 letters) and we either have to 1- chose a shortened version or 2- pay an additional $65 to get the full name on it. We chose the former. Who knew that silly rule? I'll keep that in mind when we name our next boy (due May 3). Tyson does more car work. Also enjoy four-wheeling, leave dumping, tennis, and skiing while we're there.






--Leave New Year's Eve for Utah since we can't go to Mexico. Drive through Death Valley on the way (actually really scenic). We were driving somewhere through Cedar City at midnight.

--Attend Andy's Homecoming at Church, go to a Jerusalem reunion, and get a few more things done in Utah (like sledding ;).

--Celebrate Cambria's birthday

--Drive to Colorado with Donny (Tyson's brother) and Alyssa (Donny's wife) with some stops along the way: Moab so Donny and Tyson can repel off an arch; Telluride to visit a friend and ride the free gondola over the mountain; Montrose to visit Tyson's aunt; and Mesa Verde, to see the cool ruins there.

The arch in the background is the one they rappelled off of---160 feet high.

It's SO GOOD to be back in Boulder and our little home! And it's been fun to have Donny and Alyssa here. So far with them we've toured CU campus, visited Eldorado Springs, saw Buffalo Bill's Grave, and explored the South Platt River. We're excited for the New Year and all the changes it's going to bring to our family (new baby, Tyson finishing his Master's, seeing where we go from there). Hooray!