Christmas

One good thing about law school is that Boyd has a lengthy Christmas break. This year it was a whole month, so we took off to sunny CA for three weeks. Only outside it wasn't too sunny for most of it. They got tons of rain, which turned into enough flooding to take out some roads. They even got some snow.

We are so glad we got to spend so much time with Grandma and Grandpa Black! We just don't get to see them often enough.

Boyd and I made JB a train table for Christmas this year and got him some trains to go with it. Grandma made it even better by adding more Thomas and Friends trains to his collection. He loved it! You know it's a great gift when it provides hours (that turn into weeks) of entertainment.

Bryce, Katie and their kids moved into the Yucca house a few weeks before we got there, which means we also got to spend a lot of time with their family. Between birthday dinners, Christmas, New Years, Sunday dinners, and just-because-visits we got to know them better (ok, Boyd probably knows them a lot better than I do). And it's always nice for the kids to get to know their cousins. JB and their little C definitely had a love/hate relationship. Just a little friendly competitiveness, right?

One of the things Boyd always looks forward to doing when he goes home is going out shooting with his dad and brothers. This time he also took JB along. He really liked being out in the desert, but what boy doesn't like being allowed to get good and dirty? He even got a turn on the 4 wheelers with some of the other cousins.
And here's just a cute picture of GB in a pair of overalls I wore as a baby. Isn't she darling?
Trent, Christy and family moved to San Diego about a year earlier. They also came up to Grandma and Grandpas for a handful of days. When it was time for them to go, we piled into the car and went with them. Bryce and Katie also came. Their new house is as cute as can be - but how could it be any different with Christy being the decorator? It was super fun to get to know her better. They lived in Maine previously so I haven't had a chance to get to know her very well. I had probably only seen her less than 5 times before this, and not for any extended period of time. She saw my good side, and a little of my bad. But we became friends, and for that I am grateful.


The weather was beautiful in San Diego. We went to a seal beach and let the kids run around in the sun. That same afternoon we also went to to tour the Mormon Batalion exhibit.


We had a fabulous Christmas spending so much time with family. For a few weeks it got to feel like we lived right around the corner. How glad we are to have strengthened friendships and give our children the opportunity to build new relationships. Maybe some day we won't live so far away.


A couple of cute random photos from the break: