alleymon Well, it is now February, but I’m just now getting to our Christmas travelogue. It has taken us a bit to catch up! For those of you who like detailed updates, read on. Mostly this is for my Mom and others I know who care! 
We left home at 7am on the 22nd and made it to Midvale, ID in just 17 hours. The kids said, Daddy never stopped driving! That was pretty much true except for lunch and gas stations. But, there was really no where to stop anyway. We arrived at midnight our time, 1:00am Idaho time. We are starting to get the hang of how to recline the kids carseats and really get them to sleep. They were great travelers. Only once did Hannah have a fit about just wanting OUT! Mom and Dad had all our beds ready, so we just carried the kids in and put them down and went to sleep ourselves. The dark mornings there were great for getting the kids to sleep in.
Thursday we just hung out and Dad picked up Tim at the airport that night. The kids had a blast with all Grandmas toys and David wants to know who plays with them now?
We enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve and even shared some singing and Luke 2:1-20 with Steve and Georgia over the phone. We allowed the kids to open some gifts as we knew there were more than enough for the next morning.
Christmas day the kids weren’t even up that early. We enjoyed presents and Moms traditional quiche and then headed for Nampa to have Christmas with the Coats’ at my cousin Julie’s home. Dad and Tim left early to pick up Grandma and Grandpa Coats in Emmett. (Grandma just had her 90th birthday in Jan!) It was fun to see G & G and both Dads brothers and their family. Our kids got along just fine with their second cousins? And had lots of fun. Grandma Coats had bought these kittens that walk and meow and they were a big hit with the two littlest there, Hannah & Ryan. So they were the entertainment. We enjoyed a large lunch, presents and a Happy Birthday Jesus cake. I rode home with Mom and Dad and let Kevin and Uncle Tim drive 3 tired kids home.
We enjoyed Sunday services at Cambridge Bible Church and Mom and Dad had an open house that evening. It was fun to see many old friends and get to meet many of Mom and Dads new friends. A lot of people have moved into the middle valley over the last 10 years.
The next week I went with Mom to the doctor to get a shot for her knee and then a day of shopping. That pretty much did in her knee for the rest of our visit, so that was very frustrating for her. We really did shop until we dropped!
We also went to visit Grandma and Grandpa at their home that week. The kids enjoyed seeing their basement and sitting on Grandpas saddle. Another highlight was the phonograph they played for the kids and they still talk about the song on one record called Hallelujah, I’m a Bum.
Up to this point there was NO SNOW, much to the kids disappointment. Some of the locals were predicting and hoping for a dry winter. However, a 6 year olds prayers prevailed and the snow finally started falling about 4 days before we left. Then it snowed much of the rest of the time and David and Elizabeth were outside as often as they could. Hannah really didn’t want much to do with the cold stuff. Elizabeth wants to know if we can go to Idaho EVERY Christmas. G & G had sleds for them and they got to do all the snow stuff, angels, snowmen, snowball, sledding (right on the front lawn) and we made a snow wall to keep the kids from sledding into the street.
We had a great time in Idaho. I got the majority of my Yemen years photo album finished, so Mom helped me with the memories.
We decided to get out of town earlier than planned after watching the weather forecasts. So.. we left Sunday late afternoon on the 2nd of January. We drove to Winnemucca, NV and got a motel there for the night. The roads were good and we were glad we packed the car in the afternoon when the sun was out. Dad said it was very cold the next morning, which is when we had planned to leave.
We left the motel early and had Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bread courtesy of my cousin Julie for breakfast. We had snow all through Nevada, but it wasn’t sticking, yet. And rain through most of CA, but not really bad showers. So… we made it home in pretty good shape. About 8pm, and then just stuck the kids into bed.
This is where we thought our adventure would end. NOT. While we were gone we had had our house tented for termites. This meant all food was double bagged, plants at the neighbors and GAS OFF. So.. we got home and the house was 50 degrees and there was no heat or hot water. We got the gas on the next afternoon and I was very glad to hear the house. However, as the Gas Co guy lights the water heater, he says, did you know your water heater is broken. NO, it wasn’t before. Soâ€