Costa Rica & Florida

Our last standby adventure was to Florida and Costa Rica. Christmas night we flew to Florida and spent a few days there with the Sasines. Kent and the Bingham football team was part of the first ever High School  Champions Bowl Game. It the possibly the funnest game I have ever watched. It was suuuuuch a great game but they unfortunately lost in overtime. It was broadcasted on ESPN and I fulfilled the dream of being on ESPN haha!

 My family and Keiths family have a horrible habit of planning vacations on the exact same days, so we split up the time as best as we could. We spent the next few days in Costa Rica with my family. Michael served his mission there and before we got there they saw as many of his friends from his mission as possible. We were able to be there some of the time when he visited people and his president and I loved see Michael in his element and seeing and hearing about how much they love him. There is not much better than being with someone when they go back and visit their mission. There is so much love. We also spent time at the all inclusive resort and drank hundreds of piña coladas. We went zip lining!.. Jumped off a rope swing into a river..played in waterfalls...and swam in hot springs. They were all such good days.
New Year's Eve we flew back to Florida and landed just before the new year. We golfing them watched (some really good) college football games, played games and swam. Nothing beats family vacations.

Christmas

Mele Kalikimaka!!! We had a great Christmas in Colorado. Keith enjoyed how much basketball he was able to play with the boys. It's fun to see Keith, Michael, Bobby and dad spending so much time together. It's the first time it's ever not felt like a girl dominate family ha. Weeks before we typed up a plan for each day so that we could really maximize our days together. We went bowling a couple times, played volleyball, went over to the Fredells, had a party, made a gingerbread village, laser tag, went to the live nativity, hot tubing, went out to eat, went to breakfast with the Goodes, had extended family over, relief society dinners, saw Christmas lights, Christmas church program, got together with friends and shopped. Oh and we played a lot of Catan and hearts and watched a lot of football. 

Christmas Eve is always so fun because we play tons games- like minute to win it and other favorite games- and after each game the winner gets a gift or can trade a gift with a previous one that has been opened. It goes on for hours and is one of my favorite traditions. We also all get matching pjs, which is a common but wonderful tradition.  Grandma and grandpa came from St. George and it was so fun to have them with us. We read and talked the Christmas story in Luke 2 ended the night watching "It's a Wonderful Life".

Christmas morning always outdoes itself. This year was especially fun because cute Troy got SO many gifts and loved all the wrapping paper. That afternoon we left for Costa Rica/Florida. 

My favorite part of Christmas was when we would all be sitting around the dinner table long after we finished eating or laying around on the family room floor with Troy crawling over us. It's so rejuvenating to be with family. I'm so grateful for how often the Savior and the meaning of Christmas came up in our conversations and for the events we planned to help us remember what Christmas is all about.  

One conversation in particular about the Inn Keeper sticks out. My mom suggested that the real mistake of the Inn keeper was not that he didn't make room for Mary and Joseph in his full Inn, but that he didn't go to the stable and see the Savior. I can't specifically remember what are my own thoughts and what my mom said  (any profound ones are hers) but I've thought a lot about that comment since. I've often felt bad for the Inn Keeper. I've thought about my dads hotel and the nights that the roads would get icee and dangerous and the hotel would completely sell out. It's not his fault nor is it fair to accuse him of not allowing everyone stay at the hotel. When it is full, it is full. And that poor Inn Keeper goes down in history has "the bad guy". I'm sure there were other Inn Keepers before him who quickly turned Mary and Joseph away, at least this Inn Keeper found her room to stay in the stable. So his big mistake wasn't that he told them that they could not stay at the Inn, because there really was no room. But his big mistake was not leaving the Inn, not separating himself from the hustle and craziness of it to see the big star and to see baby Jesus in his manager. 

I don't think we know what that Inn Keeper did that night. Maybe he was there, maybe he saw the way Mary looks at Jesus and was a witness of the miracle of the Saviors birth. But how sad if he wasn't. What a huge mistake if he was too busy to notice the start shining so bright above him in Bethlehem. How sad if he was so close but yet didn't allow himself to see the prince of peace come to earth as a babe because he has guests to attend to at his Inn. I hope the Inn Keeper wasn't distracted. 

We can apply that so easily to our own lives. The real travesty of Christmas would be if we were too distracted to let the Christmas story permeate our hearts and lives. Wise men still seek him. I'm grateful for my wise mother who helps me see the most important things. And in the chaos and in the routine of my little life I hope to alway seek Him more than anything. I'm grateful for my family who are my greatest examples and for a Savior who is always anxious to receive me.

 

  

 

 

 



 

Singapore and New York

Right after Keith finished his last final on Dec. 12 we rushed down to the airport and caught a flight to Tokyo Japan, then another to Singapore. Singapore was big, beautiful and so hot. Here are some picture highlights:

Then we flew to Hong Kong and to San Francisco and finally, to New York. There we met up with my dad, caught up on sleep at the hotel and hit the city! I loved New York even more than I expected. Here are some picture highlights: 

 



We came home a few days early because one, we were tired but mostly because there no place like home for the holidays. Ill update on Christmas in the next post but..the most exciting news.. Blake guy his mission call to Mexico! Leaving April 29th and we're so beyond excited for him!