It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Wow, it has definitely been way too long since I've written! Three of my favorite holidays have come and gone since I last wrote. Since playing catch-up is really hard, I'll keep it short.

First, Thanksgiving. We almost flew home to be with all of Shawn's family, but tickets were outrageous! Apparently, it's the most traveled holiday of the year...including Christmas! So we stayed out in Boston again. My dad's cousins were so nice and invited us out to spend the day with all of them. We ate lots of turkey, spent hours talking, and had a great time! 

The next couple weeks after Thanksgiving flew by. Shawn's younger sister and her husband came out to visit for a few days and we had blast showing them around our city! We saw the Freedom Trail, New England Aquarium, Modern Pastry, Castle Island, Boston Temple, Boston University Dental School, and so much more. It was a ton of walking in one weekend! After they left, it was pretty much time to finish up work and get packed before we headed home.

Finally the day came to go home and we couldn't have been more excited! We hadn't seen our families in five months, but it felt like five years. So we hopped on a plane and seven hours later we landed in Vegas where my parents were waiting to pick us up! We spent the night in Vegas since it was too late to drive to St. George. The next day we did some shopping and of course, ate at CAFE RIO! Wow it had been TOO long! I appreciate it so much more now that I only get to eat it a couple times a year!

We got into St. George the next day and it felt SO GOOD to be home! I used to always complain about how St. George was too small and I wanted to live in a bigger city, but after the craziness that is Boston...it was so great being in that small town! We spent the first half of our trip with my family since it was their year to have us for Christmas. My older sister and her family got into town about the same time we did and it was fun to all be together again! Man I missed my cute little nephews!!! And of course, they had gotten so much bigger since I'd last seen them. 

Our first weekend in town, Shawn actually had to go back down to Vegas to meet with a dentist for a few days about opportunities after school, so I stayed and partied with my family. We built gingerbread houses, and since Shawn wasn't there Andersen got to be my partner! Although he was more interested in eating the candy and using his bulldozer to dump it on the house, I had a blast! He is so sweet and made the whole experience great! I personally think our house turned out the best because it was made by the hands of the cutest three year old ever. 

Once Shawn got back, we all went and saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens!!! Let me just start off by saying I had SUPER high expectations...let's be honest, we all did! In my opinion, this movie had some big shoes to fill. The Star Wars movies are epic! That being said, it was still really good! I loved it because of what it is...Star Wars...a new saga....new characters and old...the magic was definitely there! It will be exciting to see the other two movies in the trilogy.

The night before Christmas Eve, we all went out to eat at Cracker Barrel then took Andersen over to Temple Square to see all of the lights and the Nativity. He loved it! The spirit that could be felt there was so overwhelming and perfect for that time of year. On Christmas Eve we had our traditional Belgian Waffle & Ham dinner. Then Santa (Shawn) came to visit the kids. Andersen loved it! Shawn was able to borrow his dad's (originally his grandpa's) Santa suit and surprise the boys. They didn't recognize him at all and they didn't cry so I'd say it was a success! After they went to bed the adults participated in what should now be a Plumb Family Christmas Tradition, an Ultimate White Elephant Gift Exchange! Each person randomly draws three numbers (there enough wrapped gifts for every person to have three). Once the order of picking presents is determined, the person who drew number one starts. They pick a gift and open it. The next person can then either pick a gift or steal the gift from person one. This continues until the person who drew the last number has picked or stolen. The catch is that there are money and gift cards hidden in some of the presents, but you don't want to tell anyone or they might steal it! It was hilarious. I made out like a bandit with hemorrhoid cream, half of a plunger, and a water proof phone case...oh and a gift card to Red Robin! So much fun!

On Christmas morning, everyone was awake accept Andersen who likes to get his full twelve hours of sleep in haha! So Shawn and I open the door and go lay down next to him. Shawn says, "Hey Dude, guess what day it is?!" Andersen still half asleep replies, "Huh? What?" so Shawn tells him "IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!!" and he perks right up and is ready to go! It was so fun watching him open his toys and the happiness on his face. After all the presents were open we made a huge breakfast/brunch...family traditions are the best! The rest of the day was just lounging, watching Christmas movies, playing with our new gifts and toys, and just enjoying being together.

Later that week my friend Dani came down from Cedar to see me and spend the day with my family! Andersen totally loves her! 

Before everyone left, and Shawn and I headed over to his family's house we took family photos. They turned out so cute! 

We headed over to Shawn's parents the day before New Year's Eve when all of his siblings were arriving. We got to meet our two new nephews on his side that were born a couple months ago!

So between a baby blessing, playing games, watching movies, taking family photos with them too, we stayed busy! Shawn's family aren't big picture people, so unfortunately I don't have any photos to put on here.

It's always hard to leave and say goodbye for another 6+ months! I'm just happy that our families, or at least part of them are coming out to visit this summer! We can't wait!