Visit at home...

So I went home to Washington state (I really don't think this needs to be clarified, but people assume I am from D.C. if I don't clarify which is silly, but I can't win here)...(and why would I FLY home if I lived in D.C. which is an hour away?)  anyways, I flew home on the 10th, barely.  I managed to stay up too late packing, and I scheduled an early morning flight at 7 am.  We set two alarms.  We thought it was fool proof, but when David's went off, he told me I better get up because his phone has no battery and is turning off.  I thought it was no big deal, since I had my phone set to go off in 15 minutes.  But mine didn't go off and I woke up to a beautiful morning at 6:30...when my flight was probably boarding :(  We called the airline and they told me to go check in so they could put me on stand-by for the next flight.  Katelyn and I boarded the next flight across the country just after lunch and made it through our little layover in Denver and arrived in Washington with a soggy diaper and a happy mom and baby welcomed in by my Dad.  We chatted all the way home and I loved being on familiar ground.  There's just something about being home with my parents that is irreplaceable and I love it!

While at home, I was a little busy finishing up some homemade Christmas presents (that thankfully turned out really cute). We went and did some baptisms and it was so nice at the temple(even though everyone...including you Dad...couldn't remember that I am a Rudd now.)  I ran around town getting my body prepped for the Cable Bridge run as well. I went to a couple of the high school basketball games with Dad and the family and watched the boys dominate.  I think that it was almost more entertaining to watch the student section at the game.  They had so much energy and organized their chants and pretty much made the cheerleaders look and sound like nothing compared to them.  There was so much school pride and they let the other schools know they were outdone.

Most everyone got their snuggle time in with Katelyn.  She gives good hugs and kisses now that will melt anyone into a puddle of mushy love for that little girl.  She really liked Luke and would follow him around and wouldn't leave him alone when he got home from school and weights.

 Of course Papa got his snuggle time in.  Whenever Katelyn started getting tired and fussy at night, he would snatch her up and she knew she couldn't fight it and would nuzzle on in and snuggle up until she passed out in his arms.

We spent some time with the great grandparents.  We played the Farming Game with Grandpa Bob and he won again.  I don't remember ever beating him in that game!

We went to lunch with Nana and Liam insisted on holding Nana's hand.  It was fun having Chris and Liam there too.  Katelyn spent a lot of her time watching Liam and copying the things he did.  They had a love-hate relationship the whole trip.  Sometimes they were hugging, giggling and running around while other times they would have to push/elbow/back into/and stiff arm each other to get the best spot for what they both wanted :)

 Mom got a little change to her hairstyle, but Dad said "it's different" and shrugged his shoulders when she asked how he liked it.  We gave him a hard time and tried to coach him on what he should say to his beautiful wife when he asks his opinion :)  I liked it!

 Liam really is fed, but anytime someone has food out, he would often go climb up and sit next to them and silently watch them eat and drink waiting to be noticed and hoping you offer him a bite. One time my dad and I were eating dinner and for some reason we both got up from the table and left our plates full of food at the table.  Liam made his move pretty quick and Katelyn realized what a good idea it was and climbed up too.  When we returned we saw that both of them were helping themselves to our plates and they weren't about to let us back in!

 My dad has always been goofy and playful and active too.  Katelyn is showing no emotion, but he was running and spinning around taking her on the best roller coaster ride ever, and she wouldn't even give a giggle or nothing.  Silly girl.

 We went and watched the Senske lights.  They put up a ton of Christmas lights that are set to music and it is pretty cool.  Matt and Chelsea are modeling the cool glasses that turned all the lights into snowmen.

These two are super cute and fun and Chelsea will be a good addition to the family (wink wink)  It was fun to tease Matt about how nervous he was about all things Chelsea.  He would ask how he looked and asked for advice if colors clashed, or shoes completed his look, and which jacket worked with which shirt and shoes.  He wanted to look his best for this girl and wanted to get a girl's opinion...you know because I know what styles are in.  He worked hard thinking about his Christmas gift to her and wanted it to look just right.  Then when he returned home with the gift she got him, we made him show us what he got and we made way to big of a deal about it all and how cute it all was.  

And Chris is a good creeper :)

 The Cable Bridge Run was a good run.  We all had fun with it and I had to work hard at settling the competitiveness in me, because I wanted to run with my buddy Brooke. As I started running with her I found out that she wasn't feeling good.  So we jogged and took it easy and it was soooooo good to chat with her and I am glad I didn't take off and run ahead of her to finish with a good time.   I know I have been running and training so I know what my time would have been.  I'm glad I stayed with her and had a good chat.  I don't get to see her often enough!

 I love going home and having Mom's home cooked meals.  Not all of our meals were this fancy, but they were all so yummy.

 A couple of 4 generation pictures.  It is sad to think about my grandparents getting old.  We are all a little worried about Grandma Honey with her health, memory and thought processes slowly getting worse and watching her have a hard time.  Grandpa Bob is so good to her though and he is so patient with her.  I hope that when my health starts getting bad and I get old that David will treat me as wonderful as Grandpa Bob has been treating Grandma Honey.

It was nice to see Jeff and Shirley too.  We are usually home and have a big get-together for Christmas and see who gets stuck being the new "lucky" owner of Harvey, the 5 foot stuffed animal bunny.  They stopped by before we headed out to Idaho for Christmas and brought some amazing homemade french bread and gingerbread cookies.  They are always welcome :)

 Katelyn can be the queen of the serious stare down, but she also has some stinkin' cute faces when she gets goofy!

 She also went to town on the chocolate pudding for my "not lemon dessert" dessert.

 We spent plenty of nights up way too late.  Whenever we are together we are amazing at functioning off of no sleep....

 See?  These were taken within 10 seconds of each other and you would never know

Much to Dad's dismay, Maggie got pregnant from a roaming neighbor dog.  The dog came snooping around one night and Dad saw him and scared him off by shouting at him (with no swearing :) good job Dad!)  We think that that boy dog had an idea of what was coming and was just trying to be a responsible father, because that night Maggie had her puppies.  Sadly most of them didn't survive.  Between all of us we guessed, but Maggie wasn't eating much so she probably didn't have the nutrients to provide for all the puppies.  There was one little fighter that made it!  I hope that my parents keep him :)  I also hope that they call him Rolo since he has a pretty caramel color and it seems like the perfect name!

 Katelyn loved petting Maggie and was always so proud each time she pet her.

This little guy was so itty bitty!  Katelyn wasn't so sure, but I loved it!  I can't wait until we live in a place where we can have a fenced in big yard for a big dog...someday.

After a fun filled time in Washington, Chris and I headed out a couple days early towards Idaho where we stayed in a cabin for Christmas....so much good stuff to remember, but that story will come later.