Christmas 2016

We had the BEST Christmas this year, in Utah with the Neuffers!

My in-laws put on a truly amazing Christmas. Going to their house felt like stepping into a Christmas resort. :)

Two cats sleeping by the tree

I love that they already had a framed picture of Lydia 

Getting there involved a  lot of 'firsts'... This was our first time outside of Alaska since we moved there (almost a year and a half ago), and Lydia's first time ever out of the state. Her first airplane experience was smoother than expected, even though getting out of Fairbanks is tough! It was -30 when we left the house, and then we flew Fairbanks --> Anchorage --> Seattle --> Salt Lake, so we were in four airports that day (and on the way back). It was a long travel day!

When we landed for a layover in Seattle it felt like we were back in civilization!!

Sea-Tac has surprisingly good shopping - more than the entire city of Fairbanks - so we took full advantage, and even got a cute little clip-on party hat for Lyds because her half birthday was the next day!

It takes a team :) 

She was a happy little traveler!

After the long day of travel when we arrived at Heidi and Mike's, after saying hi to everyone, we introduced Lydia to her Great Grandma Neuffer! She is the first great grandchild so it was really special for them to meet.

Lydia reached right out to her (you can see it in the video) which was so sweet! Her Great Grandma was one of the select few she'd let hold her without screaming during those first few days.

Wish we could know what she was thinking.

There was constant activity for our whole trip, starting the moment we landed! We got to see lots of family members and friends from the area and visiting. Another draw, besides baby Lydia, :) was Zac's BYU graduation and commissioning!

Matt got to swear him in which is a big deal. We actually changed our travel plans and came a week early specifically so he could do this:

Matt was honored to be involved in the ceremony,

and it was a great way to kick off our trip!

Congratulations Zac! 

The commissioning was also the first time Lydia met her Uncle Zac and Aunt Whitney! She loves them obviously and was so comfortable with them from the start. :) She's lucky to have these two as an aunt and uncle!

That night there was a big get-together at the Neuffers to celebrate, and Lydia got to meet more family members - and Bethany!

Bethany is an honorary aunt and I'm soo glad they got to meet finally!

We hadn't been together in almost two years so I was SO glad we got to see each other before she left for Christmas!

The night of the graduation party also happened to be Lydia's half birthday so we took a quick picture to celebrate. Our baby is already half a year old! 

The next morning we had brunch in downtown Provo. After chatting with cousins, aunts and Great Grandma, Matt, Lydia and I walked around the new Provo City Center Temple. We'd watched it being built when we lived there but it opened after we left, so it was good to see it completed!

Lydia loved Tara!!

Later we got to do a session there which was wonderful (we live 6 hours away from the closest temple in Ak, so we try to visit one every time we're out of the state). 

That weekend Bethany and I snuck away for a day in SLC. A full day of shopping and eating amazing food was SO necessary!! (Utah friends, do you realize how much good food you have all around you?:) 

I missed this girl so much! We chatted non stop the whole day and could've kept going but B had to fly back to Oregon! Boo!

Right at sunset in SLC we came around a corner to this view - the sun setting and the Temple Square Christmas lights on! It was unbelievable and so much better in person - I wish these pics would have done it justice. SO beautiful. 

We even got to see the northern lights together! 

Just kidding. :) We were HERE, passing through on our way to see this:

Meanwhile Lydia stayed home with Matt and her grandparents and had a great time!

The week leading up to Christmas was a blur of activity. We stayed busy and had a lot of fun. One day Heidi and I went to a yoga class - the same class I used to teach at the Provo Rec - and I found out one of my former students now teaches it! That was really fun to see!

After yogz we took Lydia swimming. :) Another first! We bought her swimsuit before she was born so it was really fun to finally put it to use!

Heidi, Jenica, Whitney and I went to see The Nutcracker which was really well done - I was totally enchanted by the sugar plum fairy scene! Plus Rockwell's for dessert which had been on my list since hearing about it open. 

One day, before it got cold and started snowing, Matt and I took Lydia to Rock Canyon Park to enjoy the sunshine and (relative) warmth! 

Sock monkey slippers :D 

It was great to take Lydia out in the sunshine - I think that's important for babies and we won't get much of it in Fairbanks until April or May!

I felt a little guilty breaking up this scene in order to take her, but our opportunities to take her into the sunshine were limited!

And they made up for it later on!

One of the most fun nights was going to SLC with Matt, Zac, Whitney, Jenica, Heidi and Mike. We took the train up and spent the evening eating at a great German restaurant Matt took us to. There was also shopping, seeing alpacas, getting hot chocolate at The Roof restaurant (luckily we got around the 2 hour + long wait list!), and walking around Temple Square to see the incredible Christmas lights!

Dinner at Matt's favorite German place in SLC 

I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause an alpaca!

Sibs :)

L sleeping through Temple Square:

Hot chocolate at The Roof

Here's my favorite picture of the trip again because I can't get over how well it turned out!

Lyds was the HAPPIEST baby on the train ride home. Even though it was 11:30, and she must have been hungry and exhausted (although she did sleep through Temple Square haha), she was giggling and smiling!

Look at that tummy

Finally on to Christmas Eve :) We had a big breakfast,

Waiting for breakfast to start - and J’s pug shirt!

baked cookies,

Christmas shapes plus Jenica's smily face

Close up of my masterpiece :) 

had the Neuffer’s traditional clam chowder for dinner, which Heidi made from scratch as always (it was delicious!)

and each opened one present from Heidi and Mike. :)

 

They gave us all matching Christmas jammies!

Matt's:

Aren't these perfect for someone in the Army in Alaska? :)

We stayed up eating way too many Christmas cookies and watching Polar Express until we (at least I) couldn't keep our eyes open any more!

Finally it was Christmas morning. :) We woke up to 4 inches of snow - a surprise because there’d been no snow until then! We had a white Christmas for Lydia's first Christmas. ❤️

Lyds in her reindeer footsie pajamas

Rental car? You under there?

We said family prayer and it was time for presents. :)

There was a brief pause to get Skype set up to talk to Daniel…

And then we dove in!

Matt made this gift for Zac and Whitney

L got a big haul!

Somewhere in the middle of gift opening, Daniel Skyped in from his mission in Ukraine!

All eyes on Daniel :)

When we showed him Lydia, he said, "she looks like Laura now!"

Showing him what Matt made for Jenica

After catching up with him, we went to church with Heidi and Mike’s ward and it was AMAZING.

First of all, Elder Bednar was there, and we got to meet him. He even ‘chatted’ with Lydia!! Besides that it was an amazing musical program and H&M’s choir that they were part of was really impressive.

Here’s L blowing raspberries to the family sitting behind us. :) 

 

We also walked there and back in the snow (they live super close) which was incredibly pretty! I was a little hesitant about this but it wasn't at all like the slippery, icy snow in Fairbanks.

By the time we got back from church Lydia was totally exhausted from her first Christmas.

Thanks Grandma Trudy for L's perfect first Christmas dress ❤️

During this whole trip I had a running group text with my family, sharing pictures of each others' Christmases. When I sent the previous pic, I got this one back. :) Twins?

The rest of Christmas day involved relaxing, cuddling Lydia, and enjoying new Christmas gifts!

   

-       

Lydia had fun reading all of her new books :)

The day after Christmas, Matt, Jenica and Zac spent the day skiing at Sundance. Matt has been really into skiing lately so he'd been looking forward to this!

Beautiful Mt. Timp in the background

I love the clouds in this picture Matt took:

There was also shopping,

At a great little toy store... the contest was to make Lydia laugh :)
Whitney succeeded! 

And quality time with grandparents. :)

Other things from the trip...

Lydia slept in the same Pack 'n' Play that Matt's siblings used :)

Thanks for the pink Nikes Sarah!

Taking pics of Lydia in her jumper:

There were tears at the start of cookie making so L ended up napping through it :)

Sitting in the high chair... with a little help!

I could have easily stayed another week (Lydia was just starting to groove in... she had a difficult time adjusting to the crowds and new people, which sadly lasted most of the trip). But it was time to make the long trip home!

A small propeller plane (our 3rd flight of the day) flying over Fairbanks.

Thank you to Heidi and Mike for hosting Christmas this year! It was perfect. :)

THE END!