Christmas in Idaho

Darrin and I spent Christmas in Idaho this year, with my family. I hadn't been home for a while, so it was nice to see everyone there and to feel the comfort of my old home (which doesn't quite feel like home anymore). My sisters were both there with their kids so that was fun. I love seeing my nieces and nephews and seeing how much they change between the times that I get to see them. I was a complete dumb dumb and forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures of the cute kids, but you'll just have to take my word for it...

Lincoln, my sister Mindy's little boy is now almost 6 months old. His eyes are always opened wide and he looks surprised as Mindy's in-laws say. He is a very good baby.

My nieces, Hannah and Hailey are cute as ever as well as full of energy. It is tiring to be around them for a long time because of how much energy they have-I don't know how Angela does it, she's a great mom!

Little Matthew is so cute too! He is always happy and full of energy, just like his sisters. He was into everything, including my chocolate bar that he managed to unwrap and get a bite out of before my mom caught him.

Well, the pictures I did get were after Christmas. For Christmas, Darrin got me oil pastels. I have never used them and he thought that they would be a good thing to learn together. He is so sweet. They turned out to be a great thing to do together. We did them the day we got back to Provo and here are the results:

Here are the oil pastels with the sketch book he got me (he got two, one for me and one for him!)

My first attempt at using the pastels, not bad for the first time. I think I'll really love this new hobby of mine.

Here is Darrin's first page of using the pastels. He has never taken any art classes and I was amazed by how much natural talent he has.

Our first Christmas as a married couple was wonderful, even though I forgot the camera to capture any of the actual day...oops!