Happy Holidays, Good Memories

This Christmas season has been such a joy and very eventful! We began our journey by plane from Chicago (with lots of prayers that Hudson would act on his best behavior instead of terrorizing the plane and everybody on it!!!), with a layover in Denver and then reaching our final destination in Salt Lake City. Fortunately, Hudson was a gem on the plane and watched Bambi in my lap and then passed out??? What? After all the games, activities, books, snacks and coloring books I packed to keep him entertained... I couldn't have been more relieved. Such a blessing to have a sleeping baby instead of a screaming hooligan! Turns out the Sunday previous to our flight, Hudson picked up a bug on his first day of Nursery...Gotta love that petri-dish off fun:) His sedated nature was the onset of a nasty croup. Sad.

Lisa and Taylor were so kind to pick us up from the airport and house us for the week we were up north where we enjoyed spending our time with them, family Christmas parties, friends, playing in a fresh snow storm with Taylor, Lisa and Rockwell, seeing the lights at Temple Square and City Creek with James, Jami, Lincoln and Winston, and having get-togethers as often as people were able. Hudson getting croup wasn't the best part of our stay---I guess when you pray for months beforehand that the airplane experience will not be a total disaster, you might be praying for a sick child that is sedated...but just doesn't feel so hot:( No fun.

After staying in Draper for a little over a week, we ventured south to St. George to spend time with the Montague side of the family. Hudson got this sweet ride from Grandma and Grandpa Montague and hasn't quit running it around the house since:)

We had a gingerbread house contest, which turned into a pretty intense competition involving Ash and Sydney's Christmas Zoo (including animals constructed from gum drops), Thomas' community home...Dad and Spencer's Nation's Capitol, Aaron's cathedral and Geoff and Em's Recreation Hut:)

After Christmas morning we got to talk with Uncle/Elder Stephen, who is currently in Brazil on a mission. It was so fantastic to Skype with him and see how great he is doing! Afterward, to brighten our spirits and soften our missing of Steve, we ate our tradish Greek breakfast and Hudson was crazy about the hashbrowns. Potatoes help almost anything!

It was a fight to keep Hudson away from the Christmas ornaments!

The Lights at Temple Square! It was beautiful (as always)!

Grandpa and Hudson in the CROCS Club. Hudson got some micrscopic black Crocs for Christmas so Grandpa and Hudson posed for a little picture, on the new favorite Buzz Lightyear car of course:)

The day after we arrived in Draper, and Thomas flew in after finishing his last test, we got to enjoy several inches of fresh snow!!! It was so much fun! We threw Rockwell and Hudson behind the fourwheeler and these two just bounced in the back like two little black beans. Taylor and Thomas built a massive snow fort in the backyard and felt like kids again.

Here we are taking a stick to the tree branches and watching all the snow come crashing down.

Squished... While down in St. George, we were able to get out and enjoy a bike ride in the pleasant weather with Ezra (one of Hudson's newest cousins). Isn't he a cutie?!:)

Playing with his new trucks.

Uncle Spencer and the two Montague cousins. Thanks Geoff and Emily for having Ezra:)---now Hudson has a cousin to play with when we go down to St. George!