The Best of Christmas 2008 (don't forget to read the end!)

I didn't get Christmas cards sent before we left on our 15 hour drive to AZ. Such is life.

I have been trying for about an hour to get Christmas pictures to post. I have them on my mom's computer, but her software is different than I'm used to and I'm trying to figure out how to access them. So, you may not get pictures till I'm home. Boo hoo.

The best thing about the trip here was that Matt drove all but 1.5 hours. I am not sure why, but I am fairly narcoleptic in a moving car. When I drive, it is a constant battle to keep my eyes open after about an hour. I have to either drink something peppered with a good dose of caffeine, or I have to constantly be chewing something. I don't prefer the prior, so I chose to do the latter. I pretty much ate carrots and sour patch kids the entire time I drove. Boy do I love sour patch kids. Also, Dean cried all but 1/2 hour while I was driving. Overall, he did ok with the very long drive.

We made it here and stayed with my sister Suzie's family the first night. The next day we came on to Snowflake, hitting the only snow and ice we've seen on this trip. There were some pretty rough spots, but Matt is a master driver and we made it safely.

The best lines in our Christmas Nativity play were from my 3 year old nephew. Just as he was supposed to come as a wiseman he turned to his mom who was narrating and said,

"Mom, I changed my mind. I want to be a sea moose."
"A sea moose? Do you mean a moose?"
"No, a sea moose."
"Well, what's a sea moose?"
"Mom. I changed my mind. I just want to be a moose."
"Well, Sky, I don't think there are any mooses in the Christmas story, so you're going to have to be a wise man."

He ended up riding into town on his camel (grandpa) and at the time of gift giving he said, "NO! That's my gold!"

It was a great play.

One of the other "best" or favorite traditions was my sister Suzie reading "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." She has told that every year as long as I can remember.

The most useful and fun present Matt received actually came in late October from his parents. He got a gigantic flat screen monitor for his computer. It is now doubling for our "movie theater" since it's bigger than our 20 in. TV. I think it's 26 or 27 inches or something. It is one of those gifts that counts for this Christmas plus our birthdays for next year, but it's worth it!

The most useful present I got was Isagenix shakes from my mom. Matt got me the Anne of Green Gables set, so that will be my fun present since I'll finally get to finish the series!!

My favorite gifts Dean received were awesome classic wooden toys. I love classic wooden toys that help develop motor skills. He especially loved the toy that requires him to hammer balls into holes. He didn't want to open any presents after that. He's obsessed with pounding on things recently, so it was a brilliant gift by Grandma B.

The best present we received, however, was the news that we are having a baby. Yep, that's right folks.

I am pregnant.

About 2 months pregnant actually. I know, I'm not past my first trimester, but I am NOT a good secret keeper and I am amazed I held off this announcement this long. We confirmed that we were pregnant on December 1st. I hadn't paid close attention to my cycle, but I had a good guess as to my ovulation time. I actually accurately guessed my due date from that! I've already had an ultrasound that confirmed my guessed due date.

Remember when I passed out and hurt myself? Well, yes, I was pregnant then, and though they didn't think I passed out because of the pregnancy, they wanted to check and make sure everything was ok. So, I went to the doctor the day after I fell, and at 6 weeks I could hear and see my baby's heart beating. It's just so amazing. The baby was in the right place and was looking just fine, so I was happy about that.

This baby is due August 3rd, but because I'm going to schedule a C-section (I don't want to go through anything like I did with Dean's birth), I'll probably have the baby a week or so early. So, they'll end up about 21 months apart.

I was almost in denial that I could be pregnant because of all our previous fertility issues. It took us 2 years (with the warning from a specialist that it could take us 10 years) to get pregnant with Dean. So 2-3 months was quite surprising! Surprising but welcomed.

I'm still nursing Dean mornings and nights, but I plan on completely weaning when we get home. I've felt quite good but REALLY tired (especially in the mornings) and often dizzy. I go from extremely full to extremely hungry at the drop of a hat. But I haven't been that nauseous, so I am eternally grateful for that.

All together again: two versions

Since some of you won't want to read the minute details of my family reunion and trip home, here's a short summary of all that took place. (Thanks Cannon for taking pictures!)

The short version
The drive home took 15 1/2 hours.
I ran the 10K (6.2 mi.) in 58 min. and 24 sec. I got bronze in the 20-29 yr. old category.
All 7 Waterman kids, 17 grandkids, and 5 of 6 in-laws were there. We had lots of fun.
I got to have short visits with: Derick O., Natalie (E.) R., Steve and Sharla F., Lee Ellen (M.) G., Chantelle (C.) T., Marty and Dale C., Bro. and Sis. Gibson, and Mike T. There were more people there that I unfortunately didn't get to see. 8o(
Wii had a lot of fun with the rockband and other wii games.
We swam at Willow Springs where Matt got the tops of his feet burned.
My parents had a time share out at Bison Ranch so we got to play games and swim there.
Matt and I got to go to the temple for the first time since Dean was born.
The drive home took just about 14 hours. Dean slept more and cried less, so that was helpful.

The Looooong (unedited and not proofread) version
The drive to Snowflake took 15 1/2 looong hours. Poor Matt drove 14 1/2 of those! Dean shed quite a few tears on the way there. I can tell you that he did NOT want to get in his car seat one bit the next day or two. The Rav felt safe and roomy and the cruise control was divine, but we found that the seats weren't as cushy as we'd hoped. Another drawback was that the seats didn't fit Matt's frame comfortably enough for that long of a drive. Good thing we don't go on many road trips.

We left our house at 5 AM central time and got to my parents' house at 6:30 AZ time. When we got there all but Nate and Bry had arrived (so, 17 grandkids, 5 kids, and 5 in-laws). They were eating some homemade pizza, the little boys were digging holes in the yard, the rest of the kids were jumping on the trampolines, and the adults were all chatting. (Bry and Nate ended up getting into town around 3 AM.)

At dinner that night it sounded like everyone who had planned on running in the Pioneer Day Race was bowing out except my parents and brother Eric. I really wanted to run, but I didn't know how it would work out with Dean and the time change, etc. etc.

The race started at 6 AM Saturday and Eric said he was going to leave around 5:30 so he could register. Dean woke up around 4:30 their time (6:30 our time) and after feeding him and listening to him cry awhile, I decided it would be better to get up and run and just let him cry himself back to sleep and/or let Matt deal with it. I somehow coerced Julie into coming with us. (She REALLY didn't feel up to the 10K, but like a good sister, she was going to indulge me.) I was also surprised to find out that Bryan was going to run even since he really only had 1 hour of sleep. Crazy masochist. (His words, not mine.) We all piled in Eric's car and headed out to the race. My parents met us there (they were sleeping out in Heber since we kids took over the house). And to our surprise, my sister-in-law Stephanie showed up as well! We thought she'd decided not to run, so we left with out her. When she realized we were gone, she came on her own. It was a fortunate surprise and Julie ended up running the 2 mile with her. So of the Waterman clan we had 7 runners. Mom, Dad, Eric, Bryan and I ran the 10K. Julie and Steph ran the 2 mi. I am proud to announce that all of us running the 10K medaled in our divisions. Mom and Dad got first in theirs (not many people in their division, but they still were only a few min. behind me! They did a great job!). Eric got first and Bryan got third in theirs. I got 3rd in mine. I don't know how many were actually running in mine, but I do know there were people behind me, so it wasn't just by default.

(Pictured left is the newest Waterman grandbaby, Boston F., and his adorable big sister Chelsea. He's only 3 weeks old!) I have been running about 10-11 min. miles with Dean, and 4 miles is the most I've run since having him. So, I was quite pleased with my time of 58 min. 24 sec. for the 6.2 miles. That is an average of about 9 min. 35 sec. per mile. Not fast, but respectable for my place in life I think. I was really happy that I didn't walk once and I only got faster as the race progressed. I sprinted quite hard at the end. (So hard I remembered why I used an inhaler during high school cross country! I got over my wheezing soon enough though.) We ran out at the golf course and the early morning sprinklers left us a horribly wet and muddy run. I had a little stitch in my side the first half of the race, but it shifted to spinal discomfort the last few miles. In the beginning I kept telling myself "You're just running to run, not to win." When I started passing people after about 2 miles I thought, "Just don't let anyone you pass, pass you." At about mile 4 I could see the end and thought I was almost home. I picked up the pace and passed two guys I'd been trailing. When I realized I still had almost two miles left, I decided I might as well just keep my new faster pace. Around mile 5 I was singing in my head "I'm every woman" to keep me going. Then at the end I really picked it up and sprinted in. I was happy with myself.

I was slow getting ready after the race, so I only caught the last 10 min. of the parade. I didn't really care anyway since I wanted to see people and not the parade. I walked down the street a little to see if I could see any friends. While there I got to say hi to Sharla and Steve F. (I'm always so happy to see them. I just love those people.), said a quick hi to Natalie (E.) R., and got to visit a few min. with Lee Ellen.

That afternoon we headed to Heber since my parents had reserved a time share at Bison Ranch for the week. That place was pretty awesome. Unfortunately the afternoon storms rolled in and the pool was closed most of the afternoon, but we didn't mind too much. We hooked up the wii and let the kids play while some of the adults played pool and ping pong in the rec room. Suzie, Julie and I headed back early to get the Mexican feast prepared. It was a quick throw together meal since a group of us were supposed to go to the play that night. Suzie made enchiladas, Julie made fry bread for Navajo tacos, and I made seviche under Suzie's direction. I'd never had seviche, but it was good. Kind of like pico de gallo with tuna or salmon mixed in. You take a tostada shell, spread a thin layer of mayo, and put the seviche on top. Not something I'd think up on my own, that's for sure. Good for a summer day you don't want to turn the oven on.

After I quickly stuffed food down my face, we headed to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Cannon, Suzie, Mark, Julie, Nathan and I represented the adults and the girl grandkids represented the kids. The show was quite good! I was so happy I got to see it since my friend Mike was in it and his wife helped choreograph it. It amazed me how packed Snowflake is with great musical performers. I'd never seen it before and thought it was well done.

That night most of the adults and the two oldest grandkids (Anna and Molly) rocked out on Rockband. It was a lot of fun! Anna was insanely good at the guitar. Molly and Matt seemed to do best on the drums. Mark was the funnest vocalist to hear (Roooooxanne!), and Aaron was probably the best when you averaged all three together. I stunk it up on the guitar, was decent at the drums once I got a hang of it, and did best at the vocals. I was able to get in the 90% every song, even if I didn't know the song. I did not have the performance flare that Mark did, though, so I was not the funnest to hear.

Sunday morning we had a professional come and take a family picture. I was so happy not to be in charge of trying to arrange people! I somehow usually end up with that duty since I've had a little photography experience, but it's hard to take charge of a group that large. Grandma and Grandpa Hunt popped over for the picture as well. They were so cute. I managed to snap a photo of them just as Julie said something that cracked them up.

That afternoon all 30 of us (plus my uncle Doug and his family) went to Sacrament meeting. I was so happy to see my friends Brother and Sister Gibson greeting as we came in. I love seeing them when I go home. Only a handful of the clan stayed for the full 3 hour block. We ended up going home since Dean was already two hours over due for a nap. I took his immediate sleep and two hour nap as appreciation.

We had the Sunday dinner we ate every week growing up: Crockpot roast, potatoes, carrots, fruit salad, and biscuits. The only difference for me: I actually eat roast now. I was vegetarian most of my growing up. Dean loved the potatoes and carrots. He really learned how to eat soft table foods well this trip. Amanda and Cannon had to take off that night since Cannon had a business meeting he had to attend in St. George the next day. We were sad to see them go! That did, however, free up a room at my parents' and we gave Dean his own room. What a difference that made!! He slept so much better without us waking him up on accident by rolling over on the squeaky bed. He did perfectly well in his pack n' play.

That night we had more Rockband and Wii action while Bry had his reunion buddies in the back. Nate also brought a cool monome insturment you hook up to the computer. I'd never seen anything like it. That link shows you an example of what it is. He amazed me with how quickly he could come up with cool beat patterns and songs.

On Monday we headed to Willow Springs. The weather had cooled off into the 70's and it was overcast, but it was quite pleasant. (I'd forgotten how absolutely amazing AZ cloud formations are! They were so pronounced and distinct.) Dean wasn't real happy with me when I put him in his floaty in the water. He got used to it after a little bit, but I think he's more used to the hot TX sun contrasting with the cold water. Even after getting used to it, he wanted out after about 10 min. in the water. The other kids did really well and I think all of them (minus David, Dean, and Skyler) swam across the lake and back. Ali was especially fast since she's been training on a swim team. We put sunscreen on, but Matt forgot the tops of his feet. They were burned to a crisp! Poor guy. I didn't get good coverage on my back, so I got burned a bit, but it went away by the next day.

When we were done there, we headed back to Bison Ranch for awhile. Julie and Steph headed back early to take care of dinner that night with Stuffed Shells and a chicken Caesar salad. Lovely. Dean missed his afternoon nap because of bad timing with car rides, so he actually went down for the night at 5!! He slept until 6:30 the next morning, so I wasn't complaining.

Grandma came over for a little FHE (kind of, mostly just song singing and story telling while Suzie made some AWESOME homemade ice cream in the old hand crank machine). We also played some charades with pictionary cards. Molly was SO good at both guessing and acting. Dad gets so into it. He's good.

Bry, Steph, Anna, Molly and Nate left early Tuesday morning. Matt and I were able to go to the Temple the first time since we had Dean. I was a little worried, but Dean did really well with my sisters. We were gone from 9:30-11:45. He was asleep from 9-10:45, so he had about an hour of awake time without us. Julie said he didn't really cry at all. They gave him half a banana and some animal crackers (that he fed himself!) and he was happy as a clam just sitting there with some toys. I only wished I hadn't been so tired during the session!

That afternoon Dean and I were able to go see my friend Chantelle and her boys and parents. It was so much fun to visit with them. I think that Mama Call was the first person that whole trip to get a giggle out of Dean! Chan played a beautiful piece she was writing and gave me some much needed tips on how to help students compose their own short piece. I love that family so much.

That night we just hung out and packed for our trip home on Wednesday. We did, of course, play more Wii and Rockband. I'm glad we got good use out of that difficult purchase!!

I was worried about the trip home since Dean had done so poorly on the trip there, but it was so much smoother! We left at 5 AM AZ time and got in at 8 PM Central time. Matt drove until Amarillo where I took over for a couple of hours. Since I'm practically narcoleptic in a moving car, I got myself a caffeinated energy drink. I know it's a bit questionable, but it helped me stay awake long enough to give Matt a much needed break and nap for a few hours. I think I will do that from now on when I need to drive. I can't tell you how scary it is when I'm driving long distances on my own energy reserves. Even if I have had good sleep, I struggle staying awake. Dean slept the majority of the first leg, so he was unfortunately awake when we switched drivers. Matt needed to sleep so he couldn't entertain Dean. I tried singing to him, but he pretty much just cried for 95 miles straight until Matt woke up and played with him!

We were very happy to make it back home, but were unhappy to come back to this hot and muggy weather. We'd turned our A/C off while we were gone and our house was 93* when we got home! Yowza.

Oh, and to top every thing off, Matt got food poisoning or the flu that kicked in about an hour after we got home. I'm so glad it wasn't during the long car trip!! At one point his temp. got up to 103*. He threw up 4 or 5 times throughout the night and the next day, poor guy. It's the Bras(s) Clan curse I tell you. Can't go on a trip without something bad happening.