Christmas in Sandpoint

We had such a wonderful Christmas holiday. We spent it in Idaho with my family. ALL my family. We haven't all been home together in 5 years! (between missions, holidays being split with in-laws, and siblings living out of state), so it was so great having everyone together. Anthony and I flew to Sandpoint this time. If you recall, the last time we drove to Sandpoint...it took us 14 hours---what, with the missed turn, ending up in Oregon, and an 8 week old baby requiring freqent stops. No thanks. We opted to fly this time. And I am so glad we did. Liam did great on the plane. He made friends with everyone around him. He is so outgoing and vocal, so everyone can't help but interact and get to know him. I love that about his little personality.
Christmas was also wonderful this year, because it was Liam's first Christmas. It was more special for Anthony and I than it was for Liam. He didn't know what was going on, but still had a fun time tearing off the wrapping paper :) Here are some fun pics from Christmas.

On our way to church. I love that Christmas was on a Sunday this year. It is special to worship and remember Jesus Christ on Christmas Sunday.

We came home from church and opened presents. I think Anthony was more exicted for Liam to open his presents than Liam was. I love his expression. He is such a great dad.

Cute uncles.

They are BOTH single. Why that is, I don't know!?

I love this picture. Liam was excited about this present. Thanks grandma Marcia.

This trip was the first time that my brother Chad was able to meet Liam. He is such a great uncle. He loved playing with Liam. They were buddies. He will be a great dad himself one day.

A highlight of this trip was a special present from my dad. Love that man. He gave Anthony and me a present and when I opened it there was an envelope inside that said "Don't open until December 27th at 3:00pm."

It was hard to wait, because I am not good with surprises. I love being surprised, but don't like waiting to be surprised haha Does that even make sense? Anywho, we waited till the 27th at 3:00 to open the envelope. Inside was a message that said, "I know you tried to peek, so ask me for the real envelope." My dad knows me well...I did try and peek! So he gave me the real envelope, which was the first of seven envelopes. In the first envelope were movie tickets. In the second were dinner reservations at a nice restaurant. In the third and fourth were gift cards for me to shop at downtown stores. In the fifth was a gift card for Anthony to shop at a downtown store. And in the sixth was a reservation for a one night stay at a Bed and Breakfast!! And then in the last envelope was extra spending money. Really? My dad is the most wonderful dad. EVER. Anthony and I were so excited. My first thought was "I will get a full night's sleep tonight!" (because we were staying overnight at the B&B that night). But then I started panicking because that meant that I would be spending my first night away from my baby! That was hard to do! But I am so glad we did, because it was great for Anthony and I to have time to ourselves. That rarely happens.

Here is the cute B&B.

The B&B was really cute and quaint. There were two other couples staying there. In the morning we had the most delish breakfast. The owners made grilled grapefruit with cinnamon (try it if you haven't! So good!), southern style quiche, orange coffee cake stuffed with cream cheese, vanilla yogurt with homemade granola, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The breakfast alone made the stay! But there were so many other reasons why the getaway was amazing.

The yummy steak dinner...

 The cute room with cozy bed...complete with the most restful night's sleep I have had in a year! (We wake up with Liam multiple times a night still. Any suggestions on how to get your baby to sleep through the night?!)

The movie after we had dinnder...The shopping the next day...Pretty much a perfect getaway. Thanks dad! :)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our holiday vacation in Sandpoint.

Yes, those are pickles on our fingers! Remember the store we went to last summer? They had octopus tenticles last time! Now pickles. I wonder what they will have our next visit?

 He is a little pool shark.

 Loving his reflection. He can play in front of a mirror for days.

 Liam loves his uncle Chad.

 Look at that snow in the background! It was a picture perfect white Christmas.

It was the best trip. I love my family so much. My brothers are wonderful. And my parents truly are the best. My mom is my best friend, and I am always grateful when we can spend time together.  We are always so sad to leave.  But we are already looking forward to the next time we can all be together---my dad is already planning a trip to AZ this spring to see some baseball spring training. Yeah!