Christmas in Washington

Last week, Jeremy, Chris, (my bro), Sasha, Chip and I all took a trip up to Washington for Christmas. Chris had come down for his MTC companion's wedding and was hitching a ride with us on the way back up to Washington. Sasha and Chip were two of our rescue kitties coming with us as Christmas gifts for my mom and Chris. They were pretty good travelers after the initial shock that we were not turning around. Sasha took it the hardest and threw up about 30 minutes into the trip. I could relate with her nauseated state.

We stayed the night in Walla Walla and saw my grandparents briefly then continued our journey with one stop in Kennewick, WA to see Dr. Jacks for an optometry appointment. Since we didn't get a chance to see the whole Jacks crew we decided we would stop by again on our way back to Utah to see the rest of the family.

We had a wonderful Christmas visiting family and friends. I even got to sing a surprise musical number in my parent's ward. One of the highlights of the visit was getting to talk with Brian. Next Christmas he'll finally be home!

We briefly visited with my Great-Grandma Sloan on our way out of town as this will probably be the last time we see her on the earth. It was a little hard to see her in the state she is now but comforting to know that her mission on earth is almost complete and she will soon be freed from the bondage of her mortal body which has been causing her so much pain. We are grateful that we were at least able to have that moment with her one last time. I always enjoyed visiting her when my family lived with Grandma and Grandpa Van Duker. We would always stop by before and after school and play card games or do crossword puzzles together. She was a pretty cool Great-Grandmother.

We really enjoyed our visit and were able to visit with my Grandparents Sinden on the way back to Utah again. Jeremy helped my Grandma set up her Skype account on her computer so she can video chat with the Ellis crew, my parents and us anytime she wants. We tested it out on Rachel and crew. Unfortunately we couldn't find her headset with the microphone so as soon as she finds it or replaces it the conversations won't have to seem so one sided. I'm very impressed with my Grandma Sinden, she's pretty savvy in regards to technology.