Christmas in Utah - Part 1

What a fabulous time we had with our family in Utah. As I’ve broadcasted to all who’ll listen, it had been 5 years since we’d all last gathered. So we were all EXTREMELY excited to be together again. Lots of new boyfriends to meet and, of course, for many in the Jones and Simkins, a new baby to see and hold – our Zoe. I’ll only say this about the flight sans Daddy – my daughter can really scream. Even when we got off the plane in Las Vegas and proceeded to St. George, UT, Zoe continued to protest vigorously. This was the first time Grandma and Grandpa Jones laid eyes&arms&kisses upon their first granddaughter. Gma sat in the backseat for the entire 2.5 hour drive with ZDKJ, who very much disliked her carseat. Zoe gripped Gma tightly and buried her tear stained face into Gma’s shoulder and wept! Believe it or not, Grandma Jones loved it!

Upon arrival in StG it was quickly evident that DesZoe&I were becoming quite sick. We ended up taking more OTC drugs than we’ve ever taken in our lives! I’m a very reluctant medicator – but in the space of 2-days I had accrued about 8 different meds to battle our symptoms so we could carry on with the VACATION!! The pathetic pic of DesmondJones with a beverage for a pillow is a good illustration of our lowly state. Poor Joneses as they ultimately caught all our yucky symptoms as well and Gma could barely rise for Christmas.

When Zoe began feeling better she immediately began working out on the stairs. Without any prior climbing experience she quickly and dexteriously learned how to maneuver her little body and up, most impressively down. I was quite a proud mamma!

Here's an action shot.

Here's another with Des -- hard to get them to hold still at the same time.

We spent the rest of the vacation running interference between her and the top of the stairs. Ugh!





We bounced around from St. George to Cedar City enjoying two very different climates. Here’s a pic of the lovely snowstorm in Cedar City. We stayed out late that night and made a snowman. Very thrilling to play in the snow with my sisters again. The guys were there too, of course, shoveling snow.

It was great to see all my sisters again -- be together again and meet some boyfriends too! Here's a pic of Des kicking back with Randy, Hailey's boyfriend. Notice how Des has mimiced Randys posture -- being a guy.