Christmas Vacation and Settlers of Catan.

Visiting family is always so wonderful, but Marcus and I have decided we are excited to start our own traditions for the holidays this year! This is a good thing since we will be away from family. We look forward to  having a real Christmas tree, and hanging lights on our home. I am excited to stuff and hang our own stalkings--4 this year!

Okay, on to how vacation was. The drive there was okay, but it was pretty icey in Utah and there were a LOT of crazy drivers that still didn't care about basic safety laws (like not driving in the shoulder to pass traffic). Luckily the person that I noticed being a real threat to everyone's safety was pulled over ten minutes after I decided I hated her. She was texting and passing people using the shoulder and driving way too fast for the weather conditions. When we passed her getting a ticket I felt a real sweet sense of  justice. It made me think about how life will be when Christ is ruling the world--the righteous won't have to deal with being tolerant toward arrogant jerks. It will be AWESOME. 

As per tradition, we stopped at the Mad Greek, a very delicious Greek restaurant in Baker, CA. It is a bit pricey but always worth the extra change. I highly recommend it. My family has been stopping here for years!

This is what it looks like. The big stick-like thing on the right is a thermometer. You can't miss it driving through this long stretch of road. 

When we got to my parents' they were totally surprised because we showed up a day early! I was so sneaky. 

We spent our anniversary at a nice restaurant and I ordered steak. I have been craving it basically every day of the second trimester of this pregnancy. I wanted to stay at a hotel, but our wallets have been thin because traveling is pretty expensive. It usually costs around $500 every time we make a big trip to one of our parents', and we had visited Marcus' last month, so that's already $1000. It's worth it to us to see family, but we probably won't have a romantic getaway for years because our family is getting bigger--which we LOVE. 

Here are some pictures from the rest of our stay.

Alicia at 34 weeks and me at 18 weeks. I am showing a lot sooner with this second pregnancy but I heard that is pretty normal. I also started to feel the baby move earlier too. 

This is my grandpa and step grandma Baumgarten. Grandpa told the story of the Sugar Plum Tree which I missed last year. 

Cousins Emma and Maddy cuddling on the mattress together. 

Madeline was a little sick the day after Christmas--she slept most of the day away. Mom got her this fun easel and she LOVES it. 

The finished masterpiece :D 

I learned that we can't play Settlers of Catan with my parents. Mom takes everything personally, and Dad gets pretty upset when he realizes he is losing. The first game was fun and the second was not. But I was proud of my win the first time. 

Madeline sat on the recliner and read Curious George.

The two loves of my life. 

Overall, it was a good time with my family. I hope they visit us when we're across the country...I feel like it is unlikely which makes me sad.