The next day we stopped and visited with our friends Meagan and Cameron and their little girl Brooklyn. We had not seen them in almost a year. Their little girl is so cute. I wish we had remembered to bring our camera in and get a few pictures. We wish that we lived closer to them so we could get together more often.
We started our super day with a little bowling at the Wilkinson Center on the BYU Campus. I think that is where I bowled for the first time as boy. We had bumpers for the kids and I think the the grown ups could have used some as well. It was a lot of fun to see the kids help each other out and I was quite impressed with how well Jacob did for his first time. With the aid of a ramp, Carson ended up with the second highest score, and Katie was the over all winner.
Laura had made t-shirts for Aleah and the Fisher boy's to ware to the game. They each had a letter on them, and when standing in order of youngest to oldest, they spelled out J I M M E R. (Jimmer Fredette is a preseason all american, and the best player at BYU in 30 years) We got to the game kind of early and the kids got right down on the front row. Aaron got Jimmer's attention and he looked over. He gave them a big smile and a thumbs up. Garrett looked up at Katie and said in his cutest little voice, "He looked at me". We staid after the game and the kids got autographs and pictures with almost all of the players. It was such a neat experience for all of us. Katie even jumped in with Jackson for a quick snap shot.
We were some of the last people in the Marriott Center. Brandon Davies had come out of the locker room late. Katie drew the short straw, and had to take the kids back down the stairs for the tenth time that night. While we were waiting for her and the boys. Becky, Chad, Blake, and Aleah decided to head out. I sat and watched Jimmer walk up the bleachers. All the media and all the fans had left. I thought to myself, "I bet that it is exhausting to be a superstar". I am sure that all he wanted to do is get a shower and get something to eat, now that he had finally escaped. I guess that he happened to be headed out the same time as Becky and her family. He went out of his way to say hi to them and give Blake a big high five. This we really neat because Blake didn't make it down on the floor. I was very impressed that Jimmer did this. There were no cameras or media around. No one was watching and he still made sure that they were thanked for their support.
Christmas eve morning we got up and everyone headed their own way. We needed to get back home because Katie's family was headed up to Idaho Falls, but we were able to make a quick stop before we left town. Our good friends Josh and Gnickie had flown in from Alabama and did not get to Josh's mom's house until 1:30 that morning. We stopped by and visited with Gnickie and their two beautiful twin daughters. Josh was back at the airport dropping off his little brother. He made it back in time for a 30 min. visit. I feel sad that we only saw them for a short while, but am so grateful that we were able to see them at all. Josh and I have been the best of friends for about a decade now. I sure miss having them close by. I wish that he could get a job out here. If you know anyone looking to hire a lawyer out this way, keep him in mind.
We made it home just in time to unload the car, feed the goats, drive back into town and pick up some pizza, and meet everyone back at our house for dinner. Most of Katie's family had made it to Idaho Falls. After dinner we tried to look at the lights down the street, but it was kind of hard with the 500 other cars doing the same thing. We ended up at Bart and Mindy's for a Wassel party and played some games.
The next morning we went back over to open presents. I was glad that we were all together and able to watch Travis and Tanner get so excited about their presents. It was a really nice Christmas. Katie and I made breakfast burritos, and everyone was assigned something for dinner. It was very simple and didn't require anyone to spend much time preparing. I hate when so much time is spent on the food, that the prepares are totally exhausted and cant enjoy the holiday.
It was nice to spend a little time together for our first Christmas in our new home (new to us). We were able to reflect on our many blessings. We have had a lot of highs and lows this past year. As we reflect on some of the scary things we are able to look at the blessings that have come with them. We really have had a great year. Katie has done so well in her first semester of grad school, we both drew elk tags and were able to each shoot our first elk. And even though we do not know what difficulties Blake will have to face in the future, I fill like Katie and I have become closer with my family through his struggles, and have been able to put a lot of things into perspective.
