The Garzquists: Much needed update: November-December

November:
We went down to Salt Lake City so Dustin could go snowboarding for the first time of the season (in fact, to date, it has been the ONLY time he's been able to go snowboarding yet this season, since our snow accumulation has been pretty much nil) and I could get my big city shopping fix. I got to visit H&M and Crate & Barrel for the first time since they opened (yay!), and yes, I dragged Cody and Beth to IKEA yet again.

We spent Thanksgiving day in Pocatello with Dustin's parents. His uncles came over from Ontario and Baker, Oregon with their families. The day after Thanksgiving we headed up to Ashton for a get-together with my family. Britni, Jeremy, Tate and Camille drove down from Pendleton as well.

December:
The weekend before Christmas Dustin, Sophie and I drove up to Missoula to see Heath, Angel, Alex and Max and do our own little mini Christmas. Dustin spent a lot of time building Lego robot samurai to battle Max's ninjas. I went to an amazing craft fair with Angel (I love hippie cities for their craftiness!) and helped Alex find a Christmas present for her mom.

We spent Christmas Eve with Taylor and Dustin's parents (our mini family tradition). Christmas morning we drove up to Ashton, where we were late arriving for opening presents (Juniper called me at the precise minute I had said we would arrive and told me that we were late). We opened presents at my parents' house, which was a little sad because it was the first time my sister Britni wasn't there.

Christmas afternoon we drove out to my grandparents' for the Garz Christmas party. Sarah and Kevin flew in from Washington DC with their gorgeous, brilliant little Layla. She's 18 months old and already running around and talking a bit. Dustin was of course, totally confused, as he hadn't seen her since our wedding (when she was only a month old).

For those of you who don't know about this odd little family tradition, my parents received this crazy weird 70s style nightie for their wedding and it's been passed around amongst the adult couples ever since. Oh, and it's been added to multiple times (think handcuffs, a riding crop, etc) through the years. Sean and Macy were last to receive this a few years ago and they had been hanging onto it for the right moment. This year Dustin and I were the lucky recipients! Dustin, never having seen said 'gift' in person before, donned it for a photo to send to Sean and Macy in New Orleans (he put it on over his clothes, you dirty pervs...) Needless to say, I already have ideas of whom to pass it onto and what to add to it...Bwahahaha!

We also made our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT at the Christmas party. No, no miniature human beings for us yet. We are moving to Salt Lake City! Dustin accepted a great job with a company in Kamas, UT (just east of Park City). He starts this coming Monday and will be staying with Cody and Beth while he looks for a more permanent location for our furry little family (In case you didn't notice on our Christmas card, we officially took full-time custody of Jade from Britni, so he's ours now). I'm still at home, driving to Idaho Falls and back every day while I apply for jobs and get the house ready to sell. We are both VERY excited for this new adventure in our lives!

Dustin had the entire week between Christmas and New Years off, so he got to spend some quality time with the 'kids' before he leaves for Salt Lake. Our New Years was very low key. New Years Eve we went to Mission Impossible 4 with Taylor and Athena and then fell asleep at about 10:30 pm. Sophie woke us up for the fireworks going off in our neighborhood at midnight (she hates fireworks), so we didn't fully miss the event.