Swan Family Party

On Christmas Day, I packed up my belongings and a bunch of Christmas presents and took off for the Magic Valley. What normally should be a measly 2.5 hour drive immediately turned into a 5 hour drive because of the crazy snow storm we got that day. I-84 was closed so I had to take the 15 to Pocatello and then cut over through American Falls, Raft River and then on to Jerome. It took me 2 hours to drive the first 71 miles. It was awful. The wind was terrible and the snow was coming down so hard that you couldn't see anything in front of you.

This was my view near Tremonton and that was when the going was still easy and it was daylight!
Colton kept calling me every half hour to check on me and so did my parents--mainly to beg me to turn around. But I kept trudging along and finally made it to the Swan house around 10:15pm Christmas night. After helping Marti wrap some gifts, we went to bed while we waited for everyone else to get in the next day. Heather and Jason took the scenic route--through Malta and the only thing they actually saw was some guy's tractor barricading the road. Even Jason--with his superhero driving skills--thought it was against his better judgement to go around and they ended up turning around and taking a different route. They left about 3 hours before the Collins' Clan, but E'lise and Co. managed to beat them.

Once everyone got there, we had a great dinner and then settled downstairs to open presents. I've never seen so many presents in my life in one room. I think that Libby thought we were all crazy, but we stayed in that room until everything was opened--sometime around 11:30pm.


The Swans open gifts in order from youngest to oldest, so it took FORever for my turn to come. But it was well worth it. I got spoiled this year. Vinnie aka DD got me a crock pot and some socks, Marti and John got me a digital picture frame, heart craft, and popcorn. Colton got me a wallet, a Foodsaver, and a Garmin Nuvi 760 (with bluetooth). He definitely hooked me up this year! We made a scavenger hunt for Vinnie and his new shotgun that Chollo Clause brought him.

I got Colton a sawbuck, some pants, some boots, and some shoes (originally for his birthday). His parents got him some panyards to go with the saddle and a new jumpdrive.

We spent the next few days hanging out, feeding cows, watching Biff try to maneuver the front loader with a cornstalk bale on board, eating, eating, and eating. Thanks Curt!

Buckaroo Biff at his finest:

Colton and John doing what they do best:

Biff in his element with the girls:

My baby with the baby:
Vinnie rigged up a bedliner and turned it into a sleigh that he pulled us behind on the 4 wheeler. And it was a blast!

This was definitely a memorable Christmas.