Vacation (and recipes)

When I get lots of things I need to do, I make a list. For 4 days now, I haven't even dented my lists. But, the major things are done, so I thought I could spend an hour chronicling our vacation. And, since it was so wonderful, I'll just put pictures with minimal detailing.

Our family after church Sunday.



Our traditional Christmas dinner. My mom bought "12 days of Christmas" salad plates years ago. Whichever plate you have, you sing that # when we do the (loud) singing of the song.



BA Baracas and a few other adults took all the kids sledding. The moms spent several hours making bows.



The 24th was spend at BA Baracas' parent's home. We had pictures. Yep. The whole family. All 20 adults and million kids. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of it, although a video might be more entertaining.




Then, we ate at the church, as there are few places large enough to fit said number of people. Eating followed by talent show and nativity.




After clean up, we drove 45 minutes to my parent's home for the traditional opening of presents from Nana and my aunt.

Christmas morning found my dad waking us up at 7:30. The kids were thrilled about the Wii Santa left.

The cousins exchanged presents.

And, the men did a "white elephant" gift exchange. BA Baracas got this awesome BYU hat.

My parent's gave us this neat wood saying. My dad made it out of rose wood that was native in his mission (Brazil).

And, Sweet Pea loved her first major indulgence in sugar!




The day after Christmas, I got together with some friends from high school and our families. It was fun to get together and catch up. (Recipes are at the bottom, girls)



Later,we rode the train up to Temple Square with some of my family. Our kids love to ride the train. For the first time on our vacation, it felt almost cold enough to make me think we were home.


The morning we were going to drive down to check out the city we are thinking of moving to, I was sick. So BA Baracus took Ubby and made the trip. It's a done deal now. That's where we are going.

New Year's Eve we spent at BA Baracas' parent's home. I tried to go to sleep a little early (I'm sure that's no surprise to anyone who knows me) but BA Baracus woke me up right before midnight.

We left to drive home Jan. 1. Stayed overnight in a hotel. Our only drama on the way home was when Doe threw up all over himself as we were driving. Gross. Oh well, at least we weren't shocked.



* Recipes:

Avacado Salsa
1 can black-eyed peas (drained)
1 can white corn (drained)
5 diced tomatoes
5 diced avocados
4-5 green onions (sliced)
1 bunch cilantro
1 packet zesty Italian seasoning


French Bread and Dip
2 1/2 oz. dried beef (can be hard to find if you have never bought before--with the canned meat)
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped onions

Mix together. Hollow out a loaf of French Bread and fill with mixture. Wrap with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 200 degrees. Serve warm.