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Christmas Vacation

This year the kids had 2 full weeks off of school.  Russell took the time off as well.  It was some great family time!

Tubing:  The Young Single Adults had Soldier Hollow reserved for night time sledding so we decided to accompany them.  We have never been to an "official" sledding hill and it was great fun.


The tubes have a loop that you put over a pole and a rope tows you to the top of the hill while you sit on your tube.  Our rope stopped for a minute and Mason noticed his loop slipped off of the pole.  He told us it wasn't going to pull him and we told him he would be fine (not knowing his loop had slipped off).  When the rope started again, sure enough, he got left behind.  Stockton decided to be the best big brother and jumped off of his tube to save Mason.  He grabbed Mason's loop and held onto his tube but couldn't get back in. He was laying facedown in the snow being drug by his moving tube while he held that with one hand and Mason's loop in the other.  It is really hard to expain it well enough to get a good visual but it was pretty funny...Stockton sliding up the mountain, on his belly, eating a facefull of snow!
Food:  We ate at Carino's Italian, Chick-Fil-A and Wendy's.  When we weren't eating out we cooked yummy but fattening food at home.  One night I decided fried chicken sounded good. 

My Grandma Mary made THE BEST fried chicken ever and none of us have been able to duplicate it. Her only secrets...fry in Crisco in a cast iron skillet, salt each piece of chicken and shake in a brown paper bag with flour and salt.  I kind of cheat a little.  I don't own a cast iron skillet and the only kind of chicken I buy is boneless/skinless breasts so I am starting off at a disadvantage.  I did my best with what I had and it turned out tasty but it wasn't the same.  I also made milk gravy with some of the chicken grease and fryings.  I was very emotional as I cooked it.  It has been one year since Grandma passed away but I missed her dearly over the break.

Sickness: Mason got super sick for a few days.  He coughed and complained of a sore throat for a day or two and then the fever hit..He was so fevered he was hallucinating at times.  All he could do was lay on the couch and sleep.  It was so sad.  His fever broke on New Year's Eve by late afternoon but he still wasn't feeling well enough to fully participate in all of the activities.  When it came time to make noise and do party poppers he cried and said it was too loud.  Poor kid!

Hunting:  Douglas hunted the most!  He went duck hunting with a friend to the Great Salt Lake and drove down a hill on the snow that he could not get back up.  Ben was kind enough to take Grandpa's truck and pull him out.  No birds were shot.

Grandpa, Russell, Ben, Wilson, Jordan, Dallas and Douglas went Coyote hunting in the Tooele area. Ben was sick and throwing up the whole time and the trip spanned an entire day.  No Coyotes were seen.

Douglas went one other time, with a different friend, back to the same place he previously got stuck duck hunting.  No birds were shot once again.  I don't understand the hunting thing.  It seems like a lot of gas and a lot of time to come back empty handed but the guys seem to enjoy it!

New Year's Eve:  We love our tradition of hanging out with Kelly and Ben and our cousins.  We played Minute to Win it games and snacked on munchies until we were sick.  




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