The next activity was a visit from Santa Clause to our Family FHE party that my sister Kim and BIL John hosted. He told a story, listened to each child's wish and then made something out of balloons for each child. Holden...as you can see LOVED him! hehe Actually he really was excited and couldn't take his eyes off of him...that is until it was his turn to actually sit on Santa's lap- then it was a different story! However, Gabriel didn't mind at all! Holden also had fun with my niece's cat-Shadow!
Christmas in BOISE!!!
Then it was off to BOISE for Christmas! We had to go a different way to Boise because the roads were closed on our usual route. We headed to Wendover- YES!!! It was late when we got there and decided we were too tired to drive the whole way so we stopped and got a room there. It was my first time and it was hilarious! We got a cheap room but it was amazingly nice. It had probably the biggest jetted tub I've ever seen- AND that Holden's ever seen. We let him take his bath in there and it was like pulling teeth to get him out- after he'd been in there about an hour. lol Seeing how we don't have a bathtub at our house...let's just say he was in heaven! We got up the next day and made it to Twin Falls before Holden had hit critical mass in the car! We stopped at a Walmart to let him run around. Well, a 15 minute "run-around" stop turned into 2 hours after both of the kids needed diaper changes...one of them twice! Seriously! However, we won't go into detail why it took so long, but man, I bet the people watching us go in and out of the bathroom multiple times were thinking we were crazy...or getting there really fast. lol Anyway, we finally made it to Boise on Christmas Eve just in time to step in for dinner.
It was so special because we haven't seen Josh's brother Joey or his wife Maribel for 2 years, so we were excited to be there. We also didn't make it there this summer so it seemed like a long time since we had seen everyone!
We started the festivities at Mom Mercer's house for Christmas Eve dinner and opening presents. Mom Mercer made an amazing dinner that was sooo delicious. She and Maribel really did an amazing job on the food! We also found out that Josh's brother Joey and his wife Maribel are expecting a child at the end of May, so we decided to let them really enjoy our kids...if you know what I mean! hehe I felt kind of bad however because Holden had a really hard time adjusting to a new place and was a little...okay...a lot irritable just about the entire time. It made me sad cause I felt like my inlaws were looking at my sweet little Holden as if he was the most spoiled bratty child in the world...which is TOTALLY NOT how he is. hehe I think I scared them for when their baby comes! hehe Oh well. I think one day or another they'll get a taste of that lol! :)) jk However, that said, Holden had a blast with Joey rough housing- or it was Joey that really got a kick out of playing with him! So, we'll see how it goes for them! I think he'll be a great dad!
Maribel looks so beautiful pregnant and will be such an amazing mother! They will be awesome parents! Also, you gotta admit that Josh's Grandpa is pretty cool with his shades. lol He's the grandpa that was a casino card dealer in Panama and he also plays pool like you wouldn't believe! hehe Still a young man at heart!
The next day we went to Dad Mercer's house to open presents and we even did the pickle tradition that my sister Tiffany introduced to us. You hide the pickle somewhere on the tree and Christmas morning, the first one who finds it gets an extra special gift. She does money, we did Premium M&Ms mmmmmm :))
Holden got an EXTRA special present from Grandpa Mercer named BROBIE- the green dancing machine!! hehe This thing dances and taught Holden a few moves. From now on we will all LOVE the phrase, "I LIKE TO DANCE!" lol
After all of the presents were opened we hung out and played games. A little later, we had a turkey dinner! Great job on the turkey Dad!
Josh and I decided to only get the kids one present- but in the end, it was a good thing because they were spoiled by their grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and cousins on both sides! They don't know how lucky they are to be in a family where they are so loved. Hopefully one day they'll understand.
On the 26th we decided to go and see the lights at the Botanical Gardens. That is where Josh proposed to me and we have great memories there. It was so much fun but SOOOO cold! We bundled up the kids in the double stroller and thanks to Joey, we made it to the top of the mountain to the overlook! We enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies. The cookies were Holden's favorite part...as you can see! My favorite tree there was a purple tree- it was so pretty!
THE DIRTY 30's CLUB!
On Dec. 27th, I had my 30th Birthday! It was an absolutely perfect day! I had so many phone calls from good friends and family! Thanks so much for remembering me! I went with my sisters in law and got a manicure, then we went shopping for a while and picked up some lunch. We went home and Josh took me on a horse drawn sleigh ride through the mountains, up to a cabin where we had dinner. There was a cowboy serenading us the whole time and the food was amazing. There were red potatoes, steak, carmalized carrots, huge prawns (which I gave to Josh to enjoy!) and berry cobbler for desert. We went up with a small group of people and had a great time chatting with them. We listened to Cowboy poetry and stories. They brought out a birthday spud with a candle on it and the cowboy recited this HILARIOUS poem about birthdays. After the ride down the mountain, Josh and I went home and thre was a little party there. Josh got me an amazing Cold Stone cake- I highly recommend them! Then we just played games til all hours of the night. What a perfect day. A couple days later we went to The Cheesecake Factory where we had a great meal and they brought out a little dessert for my birthday as well. SO... I feel I am well into the "Dirty Thirty's Club". ALSO- NOT KIDDING- The day after my birthday, I SWEAR I found 5 or 6 new gray hairs. OH GREAT! hehe
Ringin' in the New Year- Panamanian Style!
New Year's Eve was spent at Josh's cousin's house- Jaime! He is recently engaged to a wonderful girl Maddie and we are so excited for them. They are getting married on July 4th! It doesn't get more patriotic than that! Jaime served in the Marines and has been to Iraq a couple of times- maybe 3. He is so amazing and reminds us of all of the sacrifices that are being made on our behalf. Anyway, we spent the night playing games eating amazing food that Josh's Grandma and Aunt made. The food was Panamanian and it was to die for! We introduced Josh's family to the game of Settlers and they were hooked, so we spent a good amount of our vacation playing Settlers and Uno! Good times! We also had a dance party at midnight and Holden had an absolute blast dancing...AND showing us the new moves he learned from BROBIE!
One of the last things we did while we were there was going to play Vollyeball with Josh's dad. It was so much fun. I haven't played in years! Josh was a trooper and made some nice saves! :)) Grandpa helped on kid duty while Holden ran around playing. Fun stuff!
We spent our last night there at the mall actually :). We decided to take Holden there to run off some energy for the ride home. It worked beautifully. We had such a blast and we were sad to have to come home. We had a fairly quiet trip home...besides the man that was stuck on the side of the road at 3:30 in the morning. We left at 10:00 pm at got home at 6:00 am. I stayed up with Josh while he drove until about 4:00 am and I coudldn't hold my eyes open any longer. Man, Josh is a trooper, but I will say it wasn't without a little help from some Red Bull. lol Gotta love it for those special road trips! hehe
We just wanted to thank everyone for an amazing time. Thanks to Mom and Dad Mercer for opening up their homes and being such gracious hosts to us. Dad sacrificed his room for over a week so we could have room to keep Gabriel with us. How awesome is that? These people are the kind that would do anything for you and not think twice. It was so fun to see Joey, Maribel and Jeana again. What examples of love, charity and just how to be a loving and awesome family! We will miss you until we see you again! We love you guys so much!
That weekend after coming home, we went to my parents house to open presents with them and my sisters and their families- cousin presents and name drawing presents. It was so much fun to be with them since we had missed them over the holidays. What a great family I have and it truly makes us so happy that we are so blessed to have such wonderful families!
