Christmas in the Desert

This year we spent Christmas in St. George!  We drove to Grammy and Grampy's house in St. George with our family and Jen F.  On Wednesday morning Jono, Bud and I drove to Las Vegas to watch the Utes take on Boise State.  We shopped all afternoon in the rain and then went to the stadium.  It stopped raining by game time and the atmosphere was electric!  In typical Vegas style there were showgirls, fighter planes (so close and loud I had to cover my ears), Elvis impersonators and fireworks to start the game.  Boyz II Men sang the National Anthem.  We were on our feet cheering the whole game.  Unfortunately, we lost the game, but we had a great time!

The temperature in St. George was in the high 50's and mostly sunny so spent a lot of time outdoors.  The kids played soccer and Rosie pushed Coleman around the block in a stroller. The kids went swimming 3 different times at the indoor pool, and they all jumped in the freezing outdoor pool--crazy!  We also played lots of board games.  

Our favorite activity was fishing!  We went two different days and caught lots of fish.  The fish were white fish (one was an albino) or trout, and we were able to put them back in the water without too much stress to their little bodies.  I'm sure Bud stunned one fish when he was throwing it back and the fish wiggled and it hit the concrete before sliding in the water! Everyone but Coleman learned to put on the fish eggs (potskies as Grampy calls them) or the powerbait.  The bait was so stinky!  The men next to us caught five times as many fish as we did using their fly rods, so we will have to bring Jono's rod with us next visit.  We loved fishing!

The golf course was calling Jono's name so we spent several hours hitting buckets of balls and putting on the practice green!  The kids hit some good shots and hit some bad shots.  They haven't golfed in four months.  On the green, Jono gave the kids incentive to sink a putt by placing money in the hole.  Bud sunk a 15 footer for a $10 bill, but lost it playing 10 times or nothing.  Jono gave Coleman an exclusive putt for $100, and at only 2 feet away, Coleman made it.  Look at the excited look on his face as Jono hands him $100.  That kid loves money! It went right back in Jono's wallet for safe keeping.  Later, Jono played 9 holes and I drove around in the cart with him.

Last year we never went to the mall to sit on Santa's lap, so we really wanted to go this year. We didn't have to wait at all for our turn and they let me take as many pictures as I wanted with my own camera, both of which are unheard of in SLC.  Coleman asked for a shaving kit, Rosie wanted skinny jeans and Bud asked for legos.

We walked all around the Temple grounds at the St. George Temple the night before Christmas Eve.  It was so beautiful and we enjoyed the lights and mild weather.  We watched a movie in the visitor center and listened to carolers.  It was such a nice evening!

On Christmas Eve we ate a delicious lamb dinner and made brownies for Santa Claus.  The elves brought the kids a gift to open early; pillow pets!  Rosie promptly burst into tears when she opened hers and saw a unicorn.  Her soft-hearted daddy rushed over to Walmart 30 minutes before closing and switched it for a ladybug.  Bud got a dog, Coleman got a penguin and Jen F. got a bee.  They all went to bed early, snuggling their pillow pets to wait for Santa to come.

Santa had no problem finding us in St. George and he arranged all the presents around a medium-sized fake fica tree.  (There was actually one small mix-up, Santa delivered one of Bud's presents to our home in SLC, but Bud got a handwritten letter from Santa apologizing for the mistake!)  The kids got everything on their wish lists and more and were very happy.  It was a wonderful Christmas morning! 

We ate our traditional breakfast potatoes, scrambled eggs and grapefruit.  The kids played with their toys and we fished in the afternoon.  We loved spending Christmas in the desert! We spent time talking with Grammy and Grampy on the phone and are so excited that they will be home for Christmas next year.