I really would have written sooner in the month, but I have just returned from being out of town where my computer access was very limited.
First, we had a wonderful Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve with our Opp Family at the Chinese restaurant and as unorthodox as that is it was an absolute blast! It's fun when no one has to worry about cooking or cleaning. We had the missionaries with us and one of the Elders is Alan Osmond's sons (from the Osmond Brothers) and no he wasn't on the Oprah special because he was on his mission (I hear that question a lot!). After dinner we got a guitar in his hands and man he could play! Then later on that night we got home and I spent until the wee hours of the morning wrapping presents. The next day we woke up and got Madeleine up (actually I believe she got us up). We said a little prayer thanking Heavenly Father for the birth of our Savior and Andrew went downstairs to turn on the Christmas lights and to see if Santa had come - HE DID! So Madeleine got to play with all the toys that Santa had brought her - a johnny jumper, a new piano, teddy bear, mirror, new bibs, a bunch of little rattles and plush toys and her big present - a Fisher Price Laugh and Learn House that she'll get to really enjoy over time. She acted so excited every time she got to play with a new toy - almost like she really knew what was going on (at least that's our story and we're sticking to it!!!). We then packed up all our other presents and headed over for a Mills Family Christmas celebration which included a yummy breakfast with dad's homeade biscuits, opening lots (and I mean LOTS) of presents, and watching several movies (my brother Ryan bought my parents a home theater projection system - it was awesome!). We thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas holiday.
We celebrated our five year wedding anniversary two days after Christmas by having Madeleine sealed to us as a family (A sealing is - An ordinance performed in the temple eternally uniting a husband and wife, or children and their parents - you can find out more at Mormon.org). It was such a special day! Who knew that five years previous our lives would have been blessed by that experience. Madeleine smiled the whole time, like she knew what was happening. Afterwards we celebrated at Andrew's parents with my Cafe Rio concoctions - everybody left stuffed!
Madeleine has been growing leaps and bounds and the most exciting thing is that she can sit! I just tried it one evening while wondering what she would do - she sat marvelously until she would teeter to one side and fall. That has been a big thing as she is able to sit and play with her toys and bounce a little as she does. She has also started to shake her head like no - it's pretty darn cute, but drives Andrew crazy! She loves to laugh and smile and is thankfully a very good-natured happy little girl. We're working on the solid foods and we've found she really likes carrots and squash she'll even eat the whole jar!
It has really felt like we've been gone most of the month of January - which we sort of have! We took a nice little vacation out west to Utah and Idaho to ski and visit family and friends. When we arrived in Salt Lake it was white with snow and cold! Andrew and I ended up taking separate flights - he let me take the direct flight with his Delta ff miles (so I could take Madeleine) and he took a Frontier flight with a connection through Denver. We arrived within a little over an hour of each other picked up our rental car and we were off! First stop was to drop off the skis to get tuned up and ready to go and then we went to lunch to - where else - Cafe Rio! I have to say my recipes are pretty darn close to the originals which made me pretty happy - it was good! We checked into our hotel and my old roommate Kim was in town visiting her family and stopped by with her cute little girl - Addy (yep, so there was Addy and Maddy). It was so fun to see her again.
That night we went to see Emily (Andrew's sister) and our nieces Gracie and Megan.
The next day we made the mistake of attempting to ski. It was absolutely a mess! Our first clue should have been when we couldn't drive up into the canyon because it required snow chains or 4 wheel drive so we attempted to take the bus up there. We waited over an hour for a bus to finally pick us up and we were packed in like sardines! We finally made it up the ski resort (we ski Alta) but the bus dropped us off at the wrong end so we had to take the wretched rope tow to the other side - I thought I was going to die! Oh and I should also mention that it was like an absolute BLIZZARD up there! After all that we ended up skiing down only once, the visibility was so bad you couldn't see but a few feet in front of you making it difficult to see if you are about to ski off a cliff, definitely not my favorite. As I was skiing down, I went off into a major snow bank and got completely buried!!! I thought I was just on top of the snow but as I tried to pry myself up, I was quite a bit deeper! Losing your skis in deep powder is quite exhausting and I was beat! We later learned that Alta got 25" of snow that day - no wonder!
Luckily Emily was able to watch Madeleine for us (Big thanks to Emily and Spencer) and even though we were the concerned parents, Madeleine was so happy to spend some time with her cousins she almost seemed disappointed when we came home she was having so much fun playing!
We decided the next day we were going to go up and see Temple Square. It is so beautiful there I absolutely love it and never seem to tire of it. Later that day we went swimming in the frigid indoor hotel hot tub, but it was still fun!
Then of course we had to do some shopping! Andrew loved the REI in Utah - quite a bit bigger then the one's we have in Georgia. Plus we were able to go to Deseret Book, get some Lion House rolls, go to Downeast Outfitters and hit a nice Old Navy Sale! Emily and Spencer took us to this really great BBQ place and somehow was able to convince the waitress that it was both Andrew's and Emily's birthdays for the mud pie (they said they were twins - big laugh!).
We also attempted skiing again and we hit the jackpot! It was gorgeous! Beautiful sunny skies with occaisional snow through the sun, fresh powder with some groomed trails we had such a nice day skiing.
That night we drove down to Orem and got to have a mini Ricks Reunion with my roommates and friends from my second year at Ricks. It was so fun to see everybody and to laugh at old pictures - thanks to all who took the time to attend and for they pictures and a big thanks to Melissa for hosting us and pulling it together!
We also got to spend some time with one of Andrew's old missionary companions Elder Perry and his family. We celebrated by going to (can you guess?) Cafe Rio!
Andrew then left to come back home to work and I ended up extending my trip and drove to Idaho to stay with my Aunt Susan who lives in Idaho Falls. Andrew was so worried about me on the drive up and I kept thinking - give me a break, I've lived out here for 3 years - I know how to drive in the snow! So I dropped him off at the airport and started my journey north. All was smooth sailing until I hit the Malad Pass - holy cow! It was a complete white out with drifting snow, I couldn't see past the hood of my car. I would be lying if I didn't say I was terrified! The speed limit was 75 mph and I was going like 30! Luckily I made it through and as I drove further north the roads were no longer a problem - I seriously thought I would be staying up there until spring! It was so much fun to stay with my Aunt Susan and to spend some time with her and my Aunt Sherry and to see and spend time with lots of cousins up there.
One thing I was really excited about was getting to go back to Rexburg to see the new temple. My trip just so happened to coincide with the open house of this new temple so we were able to go on a full tour - it was absolutely breathtaking. Right when I walked in to the chapel for the open house I ran in to a counselor from my old bishopric when I was up at Ricks (Brother Southerland) it was nice to see a familiar face and even after 10 years be recognized!
That same night we went to a restaurant I had always wanted to go to while I was at Ricks, The Loft (now the name has changed, but I was still very excited). All of my Aunt Susan's kids and their spouses (or significant others) and grandchildren and my Aunt Sherry and Uncle Will and my cousin Emily's little girl Bailey were all able to attend. It was so special to be able to spend an evening with family I don't get to see very often - I was so thankful that I was able to see everyone.
Also while I was in Idaho my old roommate Renae (from my 1st year at Ricks) came up with her little girl Marinn (who was adorable!). I hadn't seen Renae since Elsa's wedding 7 years ago.
That same day it snowed like 2 feet in Idaho Falls and I was to be leaving the next morning early - I was terrified! Luckily the Lord heard my prayers and I made it back down without incident - the Malad Pass wasn't even bad. I made it to the airport somehow was able to carry my four bags and push Madeleine in her stroller, amazingly I made it to our terminal. The flight home went without incident until we made it into Atlanta. I gate checked her stroller and car seat in Salt Lake and in Atlanta, unfortunately only the stroller showed up - I was livid! The airline gave us a crummy replacement and the witchy agent in baggage services said it should show up in five days (yea right!). I was tired and exhausted but very thankful to make it back home. I have to say, I was getting a little homesick. We will definitely miss our family and friends, Cafe Rio, and yummy Arctic Circle shakes! Thanks again to everyone who made it such a wonderful trip, we truly had a great time, definitely a good vacation to remember!
