It has been a very crazy month here at the Bartholomew residence. We were excited and thrilled to have our out-of-state children home for December. Holly and Katie flew in the evening of December 5th. By the time we got home, it was 2:30 Tennessee time and they were both wiped out. Holly's brother-in-law Steve accompanied them which really helped Holly. My nephew Thomas and his girl friend had their baby blessed on the 6th. 
Amy's 21st birthday was on the 10th and a close friend, Nate Caldwell, commissioned from the ROTC at SUU on the 11th. So Holly, Katie, Steve, and I made a quick trip to Cedar City to celebrate with Amy and participate in the commissioning for Nate. We returned before the big storm.
We had a week of shopping, sewing, and getting ready for the Bartholomew brother/sister party on the 20th. Holly and Amy really helped me out by sewing my gifts together for me. It made it nice so I could play with Katie when I got home rather than sewing all night. I think Holly wanted to keep my from sewing at night so the sound of the sewing machine wouldn't keep her and Katie up any longer than needed. The girls were also a great help in getting the party together and making it a success. I couldn't have done it without them.
Rick flew in and joined the fun the evening of the 21st. It snowed on the 22nd and caused havoc with the roads here in Benjamin. Rick and Steve took my van to go play with their brother Chad and learned that minivans do not like slick roads and do not slow down like you would expect when you expect them to. I totally feel for him as he didn't just slide, he slid through an intersection (trying to turn north at the same time) and hit a truck heading south. It is an awful feeling and will take a while to get over. The ticket was the only "injury" received, but both vehicles are pretty banged up. Oh, well. Maybe my next vehicle will have 4-wheel drive!
Christmas was really nice. We had a great time opening gifts and just enjoying the morning. The Jones clan all met at their brother's in Provo and had Christmas dinner and then joined the Engle clan for clam chowder that night. Lots of fun.
On the 26th we went to Lee and Joee's to exchange gifts. It was the first time the majority of the family had been up to their new home. They have purchased a home in the West Bountiful area. They have a very nice 4-bedroom split-level home with a deck and a big back yard that is fenced. They took everyone on a tour of the house and then we opened gifts. Bo was really excited to play with Katie. Joee had snacks. Katie kept trying to escape the kitchen with food and so we shut the door so she couldn't leave. However, Bo could hear her crying and trying to get out and so he opened the door from the other side, grabbed Katie's arm, and took off running with her towards his bedroom. It was really funny. We had to bring them both back and explain that Katie could play once she was finished eating. The visit was nice.
On the 27th, the Jones clan got together again for Chad's daughter Mikayla's blessing. Ken and I didn't attend as I needed to help with Primary that day. Both events worked out well.
On the 28th I went shopping and bought a new camera. I am excited to have a digital camera that will actually take a picture without a huge delay. The pictures are look great as well.
The 29th was another quiet day as it snowed. It was a lot of fun to play with Katie. She has sure changed while she has been here. Her speech has really improved. She hasn't really slept very well, but she has played cute. We have also found that she loves pretzels! If we couldn't get her to eat something, she would resort to the pretzels. She would even choose the pretzels over candy and cookies. That evening we got Katie all decked out in her snow gear along with her parents and let her play outside in the snow. She had a great time!
The 30th dawned with more snow. Early in the afternoon we bundled Katie back up in all her snow gear and she went snowmobiling with Aunt Amy and Uncle Steve. She also went for a sleigh ride behind the snowmobile. I was surprised that she didn't come in absolutely frozen, but the outside of everything was wet, but nothing else. She came in and was really glad to lay down and take a nap. She slept for over an hour and a half. The 30th is Bo's birthday. He turned 2 this year. It was still snowing when it was time to leave for Bo's birthday party and the roads were really bad so we left Amy home and took the truck. Katie had gotten up with a runny nose and a cough and so Holly had decided they would not be able to go to the party, which was a good decision. It was great to see Bo again and his reaction to us. He loves his grandpa Ken and just giggles and gives hugs to grandma B. He is fascinated with trains, CARS (Disney movie), and toy cars.
The 31st was spent playing in the snow again, doing laundry, and packing. The Jones boys and Nate made a "jump" in the field and used the snowmobile to pull them on their skis and snowboards. They named the sport "snomoskiing" and "snomoboarding". We took Katie out again, this time with grandma. She was so bundled up that the only thing exposed to the cold was her eyes. She couldn't even walk in the snow because she couldn't bend her knees due to all the padding. She played for about an hour and then decided to come in the house. Holly spent the day getting all of their stuff packed. That evening we went to my mom's for New Year's Eve card games and snacks. Katie got really wound up after about 11 pm and was going full strength at midnight. Needless to say she did not sleep very well that night.
Jan 1st we got up, had breakfast, and went through the house to make sure that Rick, Holly, and Katie had all of their belongings in one location. Rick then weighed each of the checked luggage to make sure that nothing weighed more than 50 pounds. We were then off to the airport. We had them at the airport around 11 a.m. for their 12:55 p.m. flight. I was surprised at the number of families that were traveling that day. I think there were at least 2 kids for every adult at the baggage check-in. I miss having Holly, Katie, and Rick here, but I'm also glad to be back to our quiet house. Holly reported that Katie was glad to be home and play with her own toys.
Jan 2nd was the day that Amy left for Cedar City. Now it is truly very quiet at our house. However, Amy has ended up with another car problem. Something is shorting out the wiring to the blinkers and blowing the blinker fuses. She lost the blinkers at about Beaver. Hopefully, she will be able to figure it out!
Sunday was early morning Church and I spent Saturday night sick. I didn't want to go, but Ken reminded me that I needed to be there for the changes in Primary. I made it through the block and then went home, still feeling crappy. Around 8 pm I started to feel better. Haven't got a clue what caused it.
Today was back to work and a ton of emails and work to do. The surprise for the day was that a water main located under the front parking lot for the State building burst around 7 a.m. They turned the water off to the building around 9 a.m., but didn't close the building. Everyone had to go the County building next door to use the restrooms. They got the water back on around 2:30 p.m. The next big event for the day was the 4.1 earthquake in Cedar City at 9:24 a.m.. Amy said it woke her up, but no damage. Great day!
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