Family Visits Are The Best!!

This last week we had a wonderful visit from some of our Missouri family:  Opa, Oma, Meemaw, and Uncle Justin made the long trek out to Idaho to celebrate Christmas with us.  We are so thankful they came out here and had such a great time visiting with them.  Of course, the big worry when driving out West during the winter is getting stuck/snowed in somewhere.  But, our prayers were answered, because they had pretty good weather on the way out here.  They only got stuck in Cheyenne, WY for a couple of hours because of "white-out" on the highway (where the strong winds blow a lot of snow over the highway, making it really hard to see).  And if any of you have ever traveled along I-80 in the winter, you know that only being delayed by 2 hours is very, very good and lucky.  Haha, I think Oma was a bit nervous about the weather and doesn't consider a 2 hour stop "lucky."  But, considering many of our friends out here have been stuck in WY for over 24 hours because of bad weather on multiple occasions, they were all very impressed with only a 2 hour stop.  Haha, so, we are calling that leg of the trip a very good success:)  We did get quite a bit of snow throughout the week of their visit here in Idaho Falls (about 6 to 8 inches), which made for a beautiful, white Christmas.  It did hamper some of our sightseeing plans around the area, but it allowed for maximum visiting, movie watching, game playing, and Mitchell spoiling action:)  To help curb Opa's cabin fever, he very sweetly offered to help fix some minor things around our house (put up some new window blinds, tighten some screws around the place, help Chris replace some thermostats, etc.).  We are very thankful he was willing to do all that.  Oma, of course, went to work in the kitchen making all kinds of Christmas cookies and treats.  We still have tons of sugar around here to finish off.  Meemaw did what she does best:  cooked all kinds of food (of course, including her famous pancakes), entertained Mitchell every second of the day (haha, although, I think he did his share of entertaining her), spoiled ALL of us, and even offered to babysit one night so Chris, Justin, and I could go see a movie.  It was just a fun visit full of laughter and good times.

Of course, we wish they could have stayed longer, but every visit seems to go by way too fast.  And for those of you wondering about the return trip... so far they have had great, clear weather (they left this morning).  So, to all of you thinking that traveling out here during the winter is crazy, you can eat your words:)  Haha, not that it's not a risky trip, but this time the risk paid off.  No excuses now for any of you... come see us anytime!!!

Beautiful picture Meemaw took during their trip out here.

Mitchell loved hanging out with Uncle Justin and playing with his iphone.  Haha, we're an Android house here, but I guess we'll allow this in the name of family:)

Meemaw helped Mitchell complete a puzzle that Opa and Oma brought him.  He was definitely spoiled, not only with gifts, but with Meemaw's love and attention as well:)

Of course, Oma did plenty of spoiling herself.  Here she is letting Mitchell play with one of Chris's flashlights (which is normally off-limits:)

And there was a visit from Santa Claus, who brought Mitchell some great gifts this year.  Not to mention, all the wonderful gifts that our family also sent our way.  Thank you all for everything!!

Besides playing with his toys, Mitchell also discovered another use for them... standing on top of them to get a better look out the window for Daddy coming home (Chris unfortunately had to work one day while his family was here).

Mitchell showing off his Clark Kent glasses:)  He loves wearing those things!!

Everyone relaxing in the living room Christmas morning.  Mitchell went down for his nap, so Opa decided to give Mitchell's rocking chair a try (the rocking chair Opa and Oma graciously gave him as a Christmas gift).

And of course there was snow, snow, and some more snow.  It made for a great winter wonderland.  But, as you can see, Mitchell likes snow about as much as he likes grass.  *Sigh* Maybe he'll be an outdoor kid someday, but not today:)

Thank you for the great visit family!!  Please come and visit us again sometime soon!!  XOXO