And, we're back! {A few pics from our Idaho Christmas}

So, after 11 days of sleeping in, staying up late and eating countless calories, January 4, 2010 is upon us and we're back in our old routine... as if we never left! We had a lovely Christmas and New Year vacation in Idaho Falls, surrounded by family and friends. We are very grateful for the blessings that are ours. So here are a few of the highlights, for those of you who are dying to know how we spent our holidays.

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Cousins Galore!

Kate was in absolute heaven playing with all her cousins. We got to meet cousin #7: Danica Lynn Whipple. An adorable cutie-pie who melted my heart! Sarah, Mia, and Kate

The girls!

Here's all the cousins minus Danica.

Kate and Trevor (the darling boy to her right) hit it off amazingly and were so cute together!

We visited with Mike's aunt and managed to snap a picture with all the children (minus Matt who was working) and the grandchildren.

Too Cute Not To Post:

One night we picked up Mike's mom from work and let Kate see the Omniflight helicopter. She was very impressed! :)

Snowstorm... yeah!

So after a few days of nothing, we got a little bit of snow! And by a little, I mean a lot.

This is how you "go sledding" at the Sharp house:

Our New Year's Day adventure

On New Year's Day we thought it would be fun to drive to SLC to see the lights at Temple Square and just get out of town for a bit. Here's a little nugget of information: don't go New Year's Day expecting to see lights at Temple Square. They were turned off. And the visitor centers were closed. Hmmm. It was a nice idea in theory. And we still had fun!

Grandpa's airplane

We braved a big fat snowstorm to drive to Salt Lake City. On the way we stopped in Blackfoot to check out Grandpa's airplane that he is working on. So cool!

Mike loved it too!

I picked up a new hobby on the drive: crocheting! Mike's mom taught me and I love it! I am extremely proud (perhaps a little too proud) of the baby burp cloth I did for our little one. Thanks Lynette!!! No lights, but still a spectacular view of the Salt Lake temple.

Kate, double-fisting it at a restaurant. So proud of my little girl's many talents! Grandpa and Grandma, in a shot taken by Kate herself. Not bad!

Hill Air Force Base

On the way home we stopped at the Hill Air Force Base museum.

It was cool, and considering how many times I've driven past and never been, it was high time we paid a visit.

We enjoyed spending time with friends and family in Idaho Falls.

A few other highlights included:

-Sugar cookie making with Kris and Libby and children. Such fun, and such a mess! :)

-NYE with the Holversons and Andersons. Always good food (the wings were to die for!) and good conversation.

-Round after round of "Ticket to Ride" which, if played under certain circumstances, can be as stressful as a game of "Risk"

-Lots and lots of food... oh my gosh I'm scared to get weighed at my doctor appointment this week!

-Movies! We saw Avatar (not me, just Mike), The Blind Side (not Mike, just me) and Sherlock Holmes. It's one of my favorite things to do and we don't do it very often, so three movies in a week was a big treat!

-A fun visit with my cousins, the George family. They are awesome!

-Relaxing! Sleeping in until 9a.m. or so got to be very comfortable indeed.

-Watching my baby bump grow by monumental proportions. I'm getting HUGE! And so excited about this baby boy!

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So, now we're back home, and aside from a mystery on our hands (what the hickory heck happened in our back yard? and how did Kramer manage to pull out a drawer in our kitchen containing my parents' car key? and where did the car key go? and how did Kramer manage to dig a hole under the fence and get out? and why is one of our screens popped out of our window? and did someone try to break in? or is our dog just bitter and slightly devilish when left to his own devices?) we are happy to find our house relatively in tact and our dog healthy and happy.

We owe the White family in our ward HUGE for making this happen! :)