Christmas vacation and the flu

We went to Utah and Idaho over the break and saw almost the whole family. It had been a long time. We love being in Indiana, except that our families are all far away. We miss out on a lot because of that.



We met Leila's family in Utah at the Laketown lodge. It was a great place to stay, with plenty of room for everyone, games and plenty of TVs, video games, and a movie theater room.



It was a full house and unfortunately Aleah got sick and threw up periodically.
She didn't spread it around too much, but we tried to keep her isolated. We went cross country skiing, sledding, and made snow sculptures in the park.





Then we went to my mom's house in Boise with Jon and Charlotte and Sammy and my mom. Sammy had been sick with the flu and was on the mend; he had been in the hospital because of dehydration. Aleah still was throwing up every day or two, but was in great spirits and didn't act sick at all. The first night we had a big family dinner with all of us siblings and families. Mom even convinced Rich to invite his girlfriend and her daughter. We ate and ate and ate. Mom makes these orange rolls that just melt. I think I ate a dozen. A couple of days later Leila and I got sick and so did Rich's girlfriend. It didn't last too long, but no good.



The best part of the trip was seeing everyone. The girls played with their cousins and I talked and talked and read and ate. So all of my favorite activities.







Our last night we stayed in Salt Lake City at a hotel near temple square. I returned the rental car at the airport and then took the bus back to downtown. I missed my stop and had to walk a dozen blocks, which is a lot in Salt Lake. Aleah threw up in the car as we were driving and then again in the hotel room, but Leila and Emily were able to go walk around Temple Square for a while and see the sights.