Christmas Break, New Year

We had a smooth drive to Rexburg in the Yukon with a short stop to see Samantha Foote and give her some elk meat. That evening, Samantha (Head) had a little bit of a fever, but she was fine when she woke up on Christmas Eve.

We had the longest Christmas Eve ever. We went to church, which had a really nice program. At 2ish, a bunch of relatives came over (47 total!) to do the Nativity in the barn. It felt very authentic to sit on bales of straw and have a few loose goats running around. It was great to see the family as well, even though it was cold. We had a couple of hours with not as many people, then some came back for Christmas Eve dinner, clam chowder, plus snowballs for dessert. Once the kids finally went to bed, I set out all the presents, feeling grateful that I didn't have any more wrapping to do.

Christmas morning wasn't too bad. I think the kids really liked their presents. I'm glad I had them make Amazon wish lists. The younger 3 kids went ice skating in the afternoon while James and I (mostly I) cooked dinner: prime rib roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans. All turned out excellent.

I can't remember specific days on the rest of the week. We went to Green Canyon, celebrated Jacob's birthday with pizza and cheesecake, went to the temple and lunch with the family, and played lots of board games. I aimed for 1 a day. I'm not competitive like some of the others in the family. I much prefer fun, party games or cooperative games, so I have my limits. I did a lot of reading in Stormlight 3, and if I hadn't been so busy since we got back, I would've finished by now. A couple of kids threw up, Joseph got a swollen finger from a hangnail infection, and he broke a couple of brackets on his braces. All are better and fixed now, though, except for a lingering cough in the younger kids.

We had an uneventful drive home on Saturday, the 30th. Panda Express was a huge hit, only 4 bucks more than McDonald's, tastier, and everyone loved it. That put me in a good mood. I regretted not doing any laundry while we were gone, but I've caught up on that.

We had a relaxing NYE just reading and hanging out till 11:30, when I got really tired and went to bed. Only Joseph and Kenny stayed up. Everyone was a bit cranky on Monday, but we got Christmas taken down and put away. During school, I finished the rest of the decluttering and caught up on some family history stuff that I'd been putting off. I even made a photo book for our entire 2023, which took me 3 hours and I won't buy until Shutterfly does unlimited pages. I love the quality of their products, but the regular prices are outrageous.

I have a presidency meeting today. I think I'm all caught up on new things for the new year. The next Sunday will be a bit chaotic with getting everyone to their new classes, but it'll be good. I feel a lot better about it than I did a year ago, but it's not nothing. This calling has been incredibly stressful, even when it's not.

I have the scanner in the living room. Next project up: Head family photos! I honestly have no idea how long it's going to take me to sort and scan them, but I'm excited.