Ringing in the New Year

We spent the last week of 2011 and the first week of 2012 back in SLC, Utah. Brandon flew back to Chicago on January 2nd to start classes and we followed him on the 5th, so we had a chance to be with my family all together and then some extra time at the end.



Christmas Lights in SLC at Temple Square






One of the best parts of this super-duper extended trip was that we didn't have to scrunch everything into a week or less and we got to repeat get-togethers or activities more than once. Usually we see my step-sis and niece once, maybe twice, when we visit...this time, they spent the night Christmas Eve and we got to have Hannah spend the night by herself another time and we saw them one of our last nights in town too!


We also got to spend a ton of time with Lish, Whit, and Yale and Alyse really bonded with them. Naturally, she loved her Aunt Whitney who is just so mellow and calm and sweet (and super witty/sarcastic, but Alyse doesn't appreciate that, yet).



Also, although I still didn't get to see all of the friends I love to catch up with, I did get to see several friends multiple times (one of them even made it possible for me to see her the last day I was in town by stopping by on her way home from work-- thanks, Aubrey!). Usually I see my BFFs from childhood (Jana and Rachel) for an hour or so, but this trip I saw them multiple times (for a playdate)


and even got to do a girls' night out with them where we just sat and talked for hours!
Brandon and I also had a night out to go to one of the LDS temples in the area and to go out on New Year's Eve with Lish and Whitney.

My parents even got babysitters one night and we all went out on a group date to see a movie! Might not sound like a big deal, but with a baby and a student budget/schedule we don't get out much :)

One of the other best parts was that we got to feel really comfortable in our different environments. Comfortable enough to "go through the cupboards when we were hungry" kind of comfortable :)

Alyse was climbing the stairs, knew where to find her toys in the different rooms, and smiled and blew kisses at her grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousin whenever she saw them in the house. One of her favorite new things was playing in Grandma Karen's bathroom with old necklaces:



New Christmas "Laptop" Toy



She even started to get very possessive of some of the toys, crying and swatting at little Yale to leave "her" toy alone! Alyse learned a lot from Yale this trip-- how to dance and just be overall more adventurous...Yale followed Alyse's lead in the rocking chair and eating departments (although she probably eats twice as much as him still!).








Thank you, mom and Scott, for hosting, babysitting, playing, cooking, cleaning, staying up late and waking up early, etc, etc, etc.
All of our family and friends need to let us know when they're coming to Chicago- we'd love to host you!