Ring in the New Year in Arco

Justin and I had a total blast in Arco last week to celebrate the new year. I love going home to visit my parents. We missed the beautiful winter snow of Christmas only to be greeted by sub-zero temperatures the whole week.

Justin and I had originally planned to go to Arco to do Christmas with my parents and my twin brother. But a few weeks ago Keaton informed me that things were going well with his girlfriend Amanda  so he was going to do Christmas with her family to meet them for the first time. Justin and I quickly changed our plans and I convinced Keaton to come to Arco the next week so we could still hang out and then Amanda could meet some of our family. I was itching to visit home and it's always better with more company, I say!

Early Tuesday morning last week Justin and I got up and began our long drive. Getting up at 3:00 is not fun, but getting to the destination at a reasonable hour is wonderful. We arrived in Boise at noon and got so say hello to Hart's family and visit. We got into Arco at 5:30 whereupon we played some pool, ate taco soup, and waited for my parents to get home from their temple assignment. It is always so good to see family after being gone so long!

Trisha decided to come Wednesday instead of later in the week, so we had a great time for New Year's Eve. In the early afternoon we strawed down the cows which may be the last time we ever do that! Dad threw Justin and knife and put him to work with Keaton throwing bales of straw off while Amanda and I did our best not to fall off the wagon. Good times!

I got Keaton some Duck Dynasty paraphernalia for Christmas: complete with this t-shirt, an Uncle Si tea cup, and a Miss Kay cookbook and Roberston seasoning! So fun! He loved it!

Trisha and family arrived and we spent the afternoon crafting with her daughters. I took Hailey, Shae, and Brie to the Family Dollar to pick out flowers to make headbands together. That night Mom made a turkey dinner complete with candied yams, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and my Dad's delicious strawberry ice cream to top it off! This was the third turkey dinner Justin and I had consumed in one week - ha! Trisha and I sang some duets and we all played a few rounds of Guesstures which is always a treat! We watched Scrooge the musical because it's a classic and Amanda hadn't seen it.

McCoy: he is such a cutie!

New Year's Day Mom and Dad made salmon and waffles for breakfast that was most delicious! I did Jamberry nails with Amanda, Hailey, and Shae in the afternoon. Trisha headed back home and it was just the four of us for the rest of the stay. We spent the evening trying out my new camera Justin got me for Christmas, and we played TONS of games: Ticket to Ride and Killer Bunnies were a hit!

Friday I had a plan to go snowshoeing at Craters of the Moon. The four of us scrounged up any winter weather gear we could find and headed out. I love Craters of the Moon and it is so beautiful in the winter! We explored around for a good hour or so until Amanda and I were sick of our snow shoes falling off and headed back home. It was a great way to get out of the house and enjoy the winter beauty. We played games the rest of the evening with Scattergories and Trivial Pursuit and then finished the night watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Saturday morning we all packed up and said goodbye. It was so fun to spend time with Keaton and Amanda, and we were lucky that we also got to see Trisha and her family while we were in Idaho. We decided to stop in Boise so we could see Gabe and Christy and stay the night with Mitzi and Scott. Plus, there is no Chick-fil-A near us (yet) so we had to stop for a ladybug milkshake. We had fun seeing Gabe's family. His kids are so wild but so cute! Spencer kills me: he looks like a toddler model. Seeing Mitzi and her kids is always fun: I could listen to Piper talk for days! She's so funny. At Mitzi's house we played Killer Bunnies and Tripoley until we called it a night.

Sunday driving home was pretty stressful. There was winter storm weather the whole way. We left at 4:00 thank GOODNESS because the snow hit us early enough that the Blue Mountains were not a big deal. But after that Justin had horrible ice to drive through. We lost control of the car several times. It was so slick. I drove us through Snoqualmie Pass and that was very stressful as there were signs everywhere saying snow chains were REQUIRED and we certainly didn't have any. We keep thinking Justin's dad will get us some for Christmas...... (hint hint Papa John ;) ). But anyway, we got to the top without too much stress and without a police officer pulling us over telling us we had to turn around because we didn't have chains (we saw that happening left and right!). It was the downhill that "just about put me away" as my mom would say. I threw my emergency lights on, put the car in neutral and did not exceed 25 mph until we were out of the snow. It was so stressful! Going down that steep grade was so dangerous. If we had lost traction we would have been in trouble: especially with everybody else ZOOMING past us going way too fast in my opinion. Reckless idiots! Is being in a hurry really worth your life? Just saying.

But, we got home and all was well here in Washington. Jon and Laura were gracious enough to feed us dinner that night. Now we are back to normal life and loving it! We are so grateful for Justin's new job and the options it will give our future family. We are so very blessed to be surrounded by loving family and to be part of an amazing ward family. We are excited for all the adventures 2015 will bring as we start our new life here. Being in Idaho was a total blast and I am already looking forward to the next time we get to visit.

Some Guesstures videos