Although we have lived in Utah for 8 years, this was the first time we ever spent Christmas here. With my due date nearing, we decided to stay home, and we originally thought that we'd spend the holidays alone. But then my sister Rachel announced she was coming down with her little family from Alaska for the first time since her baby was born a year prior... and all my other siblings decided to fly up to visit! The Urness family also decided to come in town to go skiing and to visit, and so it turned out we were not alone at all.
The rest of my siblings arrived over the next few days, and we celebrated Rachel, Gracie, and my sister Olivia's birthdays. On one of the nights, Olivia and her husband Tanner put together a fun and elaborate game night with minute-to-win-it games such as racing to put gift bows in a bowl with a spatula and blind fold.
The Urness family took us to Luminaria, where we walked through acres of gardens decked with millions of lights. Beckham got to dance wildly on a dance floor, jumping up and down to Christmas music.
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| Watching the city's Christmas parade. |
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| Every time she saw my belly, Ava would toddle over and lay her head on me, blow raspberries and otherwise act as if she knew her baby cousin was in there! |
We joined Paige's family at Monster Jam, a huge monster truck show, and both the kiddos talked about monster trucks and motorbikes for days to come.
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| Beckham got his head stuck in the cat door of the baby gate shortly after we installed it for baby Ava. |
