New Year's Weekend

This past weekend we went up north to visit Shaunton's grandma. We left Thursday night and come home on Sunday.

Thursday night we finally got out of town around 7:30, we decided with the snowy weather and chance of slippery roads on the reservation (they aren't paved), that we would just hole up in Flagstaff at Shaunton's uncle's house. We went to bed around 10:30 sweating to wood stove 5 feet away from us. I always say I would much prefer to be hot than cold, but in the situation, I am not sure I can keep from changing my mind.

We left at 5 AM the next morning to beat the sun to Grandma's house. We knew as soon as the sun came up we were chancing slushy or muddy roads, which are no fun, trust me, I know. We made it the Grandma's house at about 7:30 and had a nice hardy breakfast.

That day Shaunton herded sheep, while his Grandma went to visit relatives in nearby cities. I stayed to watch kids and prepare dinner. His Grandma didn't get back until relatively late, and we stayed up to watch a movie (Hellboy II).

Saturday was colder and it started snowing rather early, though lightly at first. Ember went with her Aunt Charlotte to herd sheep while Shaunton and Jaxen went to take care of the sheep in the corral. They were blind and Grandma had to give them medicine to help their eyes.

Jaxen and Ember enjoyed a four wheeler ride, a rock climbing expedition, and a snowball fight with their dad. Owen tried to escape the whole time, but the only outing he got was to go to the corral and see the sheep for short periods. He really enjoyed watching the dogs, seeing the horses and the sheep, he is fascinated by animals.

We came in later and I prepared a turkey stew while the others took a much needed rest. Grandma never gets to just lay down and relax. She is either herding sheep or cleaning chapels in cities neighboring hers, which take a while to get to. That night it was just our little family and Grandma watching Wall-E and going to bed early.

Sunday we got up rather late, 7:30 AM. We wanted to beat the sun to the paved road. Shaunton went out the start the van and got nothing! Eek. Our battery was cracked and pretty messed up. We managed to get it started with a jump. Only one broken door handle later. Shaunton is apparently stronger than he thinks. It is amazing what a man with muscles can do to a frozen van door handle. I am sure the cold might have had some factoring into that. It is still functionable, so I don't want to think about how much that is going to cost if and when we get around to it.

We finally left Grandma's at around 9:30. We made it into Flagstaff and got a new battery, and ended up stopping for lunch. I know, I know, it was the sabbath, but by this time it is 1 PM and the kids are fidgety and ready to get out of the van for a while. I am glad we stopped because we didn't even get into Phoenix until 4, and home around 4:30. It was snowing relatively hard in Flagstaff, so driving slow was a must.

Overall, it was a nice trip. The kids loved the snow and we enjoyed visiting Grandma and helping out where we can. Next time we go up, it should be around sheering time.