Brian and I kept going back and forth on whether or not we should drive back to Utah for Christmas. We’d do it if the weather was fine, we decided. And as luck would have it, the canyons were clear.
At 5 a.m. on Christmas Eve, we loaded everyone in the car and began the 12 1/2 hour drive. As we drove onto the freeway, Jeff stirred and asked if I would recite a poem he’d heard in school, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost.
“Because,” Jeff explained, “we also have miles to go before we sleep, Mom.”
Awww. I was impressed he remembered that poem. Many thanks to my smartphone for allowing me to look it up.
Was it worth the drive? Well, you tell me . . .
We made it to Uncle Pat and Aunt Deb’s house just in time for the family Christmas Eve dinner. The rest of the fam had just listened to my mom’s bell choir concert at the Rock Church on Capitol Hill. Can’t tell you how lovely it was to get out of that car and sit right down to a spaghetti dinner.
Katie and Cousin Emmy shared this little table. I think Kate was thrilled to find someone her own size to play with.
After dinner my mom got us to play a whole bunch of silly games. It was just the right amount of silliness for everyone. There was much kazoo-ing of Christmas carols . . .
. . . and whenever someone kazoo-ed a carol that contained the word “snow,” we threw around these fabric snowballs. This was difficult to photograph, but I randomly lucked out with this one:
I don’t know what I like better, the snowball magically floating over June’s head, or the expression on my dad’s face.
After the games, we gave the kids their new Christmas Eve pajamas and we ate Aunt Emily’s delicious yule-log cake. Once again, Kate & Emmy stole the show, cuteness-wise.
Mmmmm. Cake.
Casa Camisas 