Christmas with the Crazys

Now I'm not insulting anyone, but I think we must all agree that when it comes to family, we all either have many crazy people or become crazy ourselves! Which is one of the primary reasons I believe that family get-togethers are so much fun. After all, who can relate to your craziness better than your crazy family! And interestingly enough, this wasn't even a Christensen Christmas!

We spent 5 days at the cabin in Island Park with Trav's family this holiday. It snowed at least 3 feet of new snow while we were there, and we even left before the "big" storm was supposed to roll in. This was not only the first Christmas all the Goodwin's had ever spent together, but it was also the first time all of the Grandkids have been together. Connor had so much fun playing with his cousins Kaitlyn (8), Henry (1) and Dashel (11 months). Although it did take him a few days to get used to not being the only little guy around. Not to mention how difficult it was to not take every one's presents, or let them touch his. Connor and Henry took a few baths together in the big jetted tub, and Kaitlyn was a great help keeping an eye on the three busy boys. Connor taught Henry and Dashel how to climb the stairs so they were up and down the whole week. Connors big present this year was a train set he got from Santa, but he loves all of his other toys just as much. It was fun to see him enjoying opening and playing with all of his presents. Since last year he basically napped through the whole thing.

On Christmas Eve a few of us went out on snowmobiles and found a great Christmas tree for the Cabin. My sister-in-law even brought up a few other decorations so it really looked like Christmas. We had a great time playing games, eating great food, and playing in the snow. The eight of us adults, Trav's parents went to bed, stayed up late almost every night playing and laughing.

It was a great trip and definitely a Christmas to remember. On the 27th we all came back from the cabin, and Darcy and Penny started their drive to Las Vegas and on the 28th Shannon and Jared flew back to Oakland. We will miss all of them.

Hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year. Love, the Goodwins

Our Holiday

Just a quick note about our Thanksgiving holiday. Connor and I spent a few days in Eugene with Char and her family, and Marie and little Lilly. The drive was long, but the roads weren't bad and thanks to a portable DVD player, Connor was pretty content most of the time. Travis had to stay at home for work, but met us in Fruitland on Wednesday. Thanksgiving Day, we had a great dinner at my Aunt Heather's house in Wieser. It was only about half of the family, but there were about 35 poeple there. We spent a few days in Fruitland and came back home on Saturday. I got to spend some time on Saturday with a group of friends from High School I haven't seen in years. It was great to get to catch up. The trip was great, and it was so nice to see several of my siblings. Those that weren't there, we missed you! Happy Holidays everyone!

Meet our Little Blabbermouth

Three days ago, when I was putting Connor to bed, I asked him to tell his Dad 'love you'; and he did! It was amazing! Ever since, he basically repeats every word we say. And when he isn't repeating us, he is talking non-stop. It is like someone flipped a switch all of the sudden and there isn't an "off switch" in sight. Not that we want one. He has been talking for quite a while now, but his vocabulary consisted of car, truck, blue, Mom, Dad, and a few others. Now he knows most of his colors, he is learning to count, he tells us everything he sees, and even repeats Dora's Spanish. I'm just blown away by how smart little kids are, and how quickly it happens.