So, that was Christmas.

Christmas 2011 was quite the eventful holiday for our crew. We trekked out to Utah and basically contracted every illness on the planet while we were at it. Piper got an ear infection right off the bat, so we spent the morning of Christmas Eve in insta care. That was so much fun! Little did we know, the fun was just beginning.

We had a few days of pretty good health. It was wonderful to be with family and enjoy all of our favorite Utah haunts. We got to build a few good fires in my sister Marcie’s fireplace, which is always a treat and I was able to have a fantastic night out with my mom and all of my sisters. I was spoiled with beautiful gifts, including some amazing leather boots and a new guitar and we had a chance to suffer through attend a church service that was supposed to go for one hour, but miraculously managed to go for two. Oh, Christmas miracles.

Playing with toys and a Christmas day walk.

By far, the most memorable part of the trip was the drive home, and the few days after. You see, Piper started puking about 30 minutes into our 10 hour drive, the poor little soul. Needless to say, getting home was stressful, painful and messy. Piper was sick with her stomach bug for about 36 hours. About the time she started feeling better, I decided to start throwing up. Then Jared felt queasy for about a day and a half (no throw up for him, thank goodness). I must say, I’m glad it’s all over and that we are all on the mend. Christmas really put us through the ringer!

Sick little Poo Bear.

Let’s try and end this on a positive note… It really was wonderful to see our families. It’s hard to miss them so much, spend a week with them and then go back to missing them all over again. I suppose it’s all a part of growing up, though. In the end, I’m thankful that we were all together for Christmas. Sick and all, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Back in California and on the mend.