Christmas was wonderful this year. It was so fun to be able to go home to Canada and be with my family this year. It was pretty small since it was just me and Wes, Kate and Dan, Zach, Grandma, and my parents. Next year, everyone will be there, including Nin! Anyways, it was still great and such a nice break. The trip up wasn't too bad...but I've gotten used to having major car issues this past year. We decided we'd take the Trooper(that's the name of the vehicle, though it's not too fitting) up since it has 4 wheel drive. On our way up we had to make a quick stop in West Jordan, and that's when the trooper broke down. Wes tried driving it, but it wouldn't go above 5 mph and would go up to 4000 rpm. Thankfully, my Auntie Sue let us borrow her car for an hour to drive to Provo and back to get our other car, a Montero Sport. We got back to her place and switched all of our stuff into the montero, then called a tow truck to come and take the trooper back to Provo. We were on our way!
We were about 30 miles outside of Pocatello, Idaho, when the montero started chugging along and smoking under the hood. We pulled off the road and into a gas station that was right there. After wasting an hour or more of sitting there trying to decide what to do, we figured we'd try driving to Pocatello and get a mechanic to check it out. We reached Pocatello fine and took it to a shop. After running a few tests and everything, they said it looked fine and they couldn't see anything wrong with it. With no other alternative, we kept going. We ended up making it safely to my parents' place in Montana that night at about 11:30. We should have arrive at about 5 or 5:30, but with all of the time spent dealing with our car troubles, we were about 6 hours late.
We had no problems getting home the next day, and the 2 weeks at home were wonderful. It was great to see the family, eat good food, and relax.
Wes's parents came up to stay for a couple days to be there for our open house. It was really fun having them, and good for them to see a little bit of Canada. The open house was really great, and we were glad to see all of the friends and family that came, despite the blizzard that night. There were so many good treats, I wish I had pictures of them. Speaking of pictures, Wes and I are both so bad at taking pictures. That is something I want to change this year.
Wednesday the 30th, my parents and Wes and I went down to stay at the house in Montana. Unfortunately we only had 2 days there, but it was still great. We love being there. Coming back to Provo was a little sad, but after a few days we got back into our regular schedule. Wes is studying hard at school and staying so busy with that, while I've been looking for a job. I will take pretty much anything, I'm just hoping to find full-time work and steady normal hours. If anyone knows of anything, let me know!
These are the cute little trees that Krista gave us. We loved having some Christmas decorations, and have even more for next year! The ornaments are so beautiful. They were a wedding gift from an old neighbor of Wes's.
This is the nativity that Wes's parents gave us. It is a Thompson family tradition, and is really neat. We were excited to have this, too.
This is from a girl that I visit teach. The fudge was really good, and so were the peanut butter truffles. It was so nice and thoughtful of her to do that, especially since it should have been the other way around!
So it's pretty pathetic, but the only pictures we took while at home were of the pets. I just realized that, and it frustrates me. Oh well. I've got another 70 Christmases or so to make up for it. Anyways, Lincoln is SO cute and so good.
Linky looks so handsome in this one. I took a couple of Barks, but they were blurry. I need to figure out how to use my camera better, maybe that's my problem.
So this Friday, Wes and I are driving up to Montana to pick up our car. My parents helped us get a good reliable car, and we found a great deal on it. It's a 2008 Honda Accord with 37,000 miles, so really next to new. Honestly, it will be SO nice to not worry about when and where we'll break down, how we'll pay for repairs, getting stranded, etc. We are both so grateful, and it is really a huge blessing. We'll pick it up on Saturday, and then come back to Provo on Monday morning. It will be fun to have a weekend with Wes in Montana, even though he'll probably spend most of his time studying.
Well, I'm going to figure out what to make for dinner. I haven't really made dinner since Saturday because I've been sick and didn't have an appetite for too much other than ramen noodles and popcorn. So, I'll make up for it tonight. Maybe.
