Christmas Visitors!

We were fortunate enough host to several people during the Christmas break.  First, my sister and her husband came with their 5-month-old baby, Whit.  They stayed for 12 days and we loved it!  It's been hard for us to be so far from family, and having such a long break with no means to travel was a depressing thought.  Ben (my BIL is also a Ben) and Suz were awesome to come stay with us for so long, and we did our best to make the most of it.  Unfortunately, seriously cold weather all over the state prevented us from doing the traveling we wanted to do, and businesses being closed for holidays interfered with other plans, but we still managed to have some fun.

The kids were ecstatic to finally meet their baby cousin.

Cat held Whit as soon as she got the chance, but he wasn't quite as excited,
especially after a looooong day of traveling.

Someone took someone's glasses...

We embraced the cold and grilled hot dogs and brats one night.
Or, the Bens did, and the big kids kept them company.

Ben and Ben made big snow barricades that faced each other,
and a significant snowball fight (with my kids and our neighbors) ensued.
Ben and Ben also took my kids sledding a couple of times,
which the kids absolutely loved.

With the weather being SO cold and snowy outside (we're talking below freezing and LOTS of snow)
we got out of the house by going to the local fun center, which we have free passes for,
to play some indoor black light putt putt golf.
Sorry the pictures aren't too great.  I'm blaming the dark black light atmosphere.

BIL-Ben took Whit out for his first taste of The Best Snow on Earth.  Literally.
Isn't he an adorable baby??  I love it.

Those are just a few glimpses of our visit with Ben, Suz, and Whit.  More to come with them.

My grandparents also came up from St. George just a few days after Christmas.  I'd like to think they came up to see me and my family, but really I know they wanted to Whit, and maybe Suz and Ben a little too.  :-)  Either way, we had a great time with them.  Oma, Opa, Suz, and I went to see Les Miserables together, we had a yummy dinner prepared by Suz, and the adults stayed up late making sushi (oh yeah!) and playing Up and Down the River - my family's signature card game.  Somehow, this was both Bens' first time playing the game, and it got a little heated, but everyone had a good time in the end, haha.

Opa, reading a book I made of stories from his childhood (read about that here) to Cat. 

Opa hanging out with Whit.  I believe this little guy won a special place in Opa's heart
as soon as he was named; "Whit" was my grandfather's nickname in his youth.

The last group of visitors we had was my awesome friend Kathryn, who was moving across the country the week after Christmas.  (They were moving back to Jacksonville, FL, where we met 8 years ago, lucky thing!!)  We were so happy to host her family for a quick stop-over during their drive.  They arrived early enough for dinner and Cat had some play time with Kathryn's girls before they all camped out in sleeping bags in the basement, including Jack and Eliza.

Us with Kathryn, Jon, Raeya, Kinsley, and Layton

Raeya, Cat, and Kinsley

Kathryn's girls received the same Art & Story Inspiration Kit I made for Cat.
They used Sharpie markers to decorate the white boxes that night.

I kept Kathryn up way too late talking, then her family left super early for a long day of driving.  I was thrilled that they worked it out to be with us for a night.  As much as I'd like to dream we'll be back in the south soon, I just don't know.  I am so glad I was able to see them one more time before they became Easter Coasters again.


Once Kathryn's family left, it was just us with Suz's crew for a few more days before they headed back to North Carolina.  We felt so lucky to get to have so many great people around during our break.  It was wonderful.