Christmas in Utah

We left on Friday, December 17th at 3:45pm. Our minivan was packed full and we started the long drive to Utah! Yes, we were a little crazy to drive in the wintertime, but luckily everything turned out well for us. Equipped with 21 hrs of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on CD the time went by quicker than expected. Merrick was a trooper and kept driving until midnight and we made it to Lincoln, Nebraska that night. The hotel stay was not so pleasant because Avery was sick and she woke up crying at 4:30am and was able to go back to sleep but Camryn was wide awake at that point. We checked out of there by 6:30 and were back on the road. 13 hours later we rolled into Merrick’s parents house in Bountiful, Utah. The weather cooperated beautifully and there were only a few spots along the way that had some snow flurries but even then we still were able to cruise along quite well.
Sunday we went to church with the Smith’s and got to enjoy a beautiful Christmas talk by President Henry B. Eyring. Then we drove over to my Grandma Haws’ house to say hi to my whole family who had arrived as well. There we met my sister Ashley’s fiance Andrew Wells! Seemed like a good guy! Then we went back to Merrick’s house for dinner.
The next day was the Bridal Shower for Ashley at my Grandma Haws house. This is a picture of my younger sister Katie and me at the shower! My sisters Britney and Katie and I got there early to make food and set up with my Grandma. There was a great spread of food! And we had a good turnout with fun times. We played a few games and enjoyed great company but whew!  I was sure glad to have that done so I could enjoy myself the rest of the trip! :) That night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner out with my whole immediate family at Macaroni Grill. Yum!
Tuesday was a nice day spent with Merrick’s family. We went with his parents and his sister and brother-in-law to go do family name sealings at the Bountiful Temple. Then we did a family picture and went out for Chinese food at Joy Luck. The kids had a great time playing with Taryn’s dog Calle. Camryn led her around the house on a leash and they were pretty cute.
Wednesday was the big day! Ashley’s wedding! Merrick and I went to the Salt Lake Temple and enjoyed seeing all of my extended family. The sealing went beautifully and Ashley looked amazing.
You’d think a December wedding would be snowy but it was actually a 40 degree rainy day! Luckily the rain held off for most of the outdoor pictures they took. Thanks to Andrew’s sister’s Facebook for these pictures!! :) This is all my family that was at the temple (below) and pretty much the only picture I have of me so far.

We had a wonderful luncheon at the Grand America Hotel and here’s the happy couple enjoying a little rest and meal before the festivities continued:

That night the reception was in Provo at the White Willow. It was a beautiful place! Here are a few more pics I found:


You can kind of see how beautiful the room was in this picture above. This is when she was throwing the bouquet. All 8 bridesmaids wore the red dresses. It was a beautiful night!
Thursday we drove to Midway where my parents had rented a condo for us all to stay in for a few days. My mom and older sister Britney and I all had sore feet from the previous day so we went to Heber for some pedicures! Such a great idea! It felt great! We had a nice rest of the day playing with video games and cousins and relaxing.
Friday was Christmas Eve and we spent the morning in Midway and then drove back up to Bountiful for the night. We had a nice dinner made by Merrick’s siblings and we all dressed up as characters from the nativity. Avery was Mary, as usual, and Camryn was a shepherd girl. She loved her costume up until the program started and then she ripped it off real quick. Oh well. :) Merrick was a wise man and I was an angel. It was fun and the kids enjoyed it.
Christmas Day was a whirlwind of presents with Merrick’s family in the morning and presents with my family in the afternoon and lots of yummy food and great company. Thanks so much to our families for all the fun and your generosity! We had such a great trip.
We left the next morning and drove all the way to Council Bluffs, Iowa and enjoyed a relaxing evening in a hotel there. The kids slept great and at 8:30am I finally woke everyone up so we could get out of  there! It took us 7 hours to get home and the house was freezing and the car was a disaster! But it was nice to be able to stretch out and relax!! And the girls were most excited to finally unpack all their toys and play play play! They’ve been playing ever since!!
I hope your Christmas was nice too. We had such a great time and wish we could have stayed longer! I’ll try to upload more pictures as I get them in. Happy New Year everyone!