Christmas.
Christmas this year was different, as expected. As much as I usually love Christmas, I couldn't wait for it to be over this year, but it actually wasn't as awful as I expected it to be.
We had planned to stay home and celebrate Christmas just the three of us, but we decided that staying home without Carter might be too hard. On Christmas Eve, we made our way up to Brandon's family's cabin at Bear Lake. It rained most of the way to Logan, which was so weird. There was no snow on the ground either; even more weird for Logan. We stopped in Logan for lunch, then went to the cemetery to see Carter. When we decorated his trees, we took one strand of lights since we had only bought one tree, which left his second tree, purchased on a whim, unlit. We took a second strand of lights with us on Christmas Eve to put on the second tree, but the first strand was dead, even after we replaced the batteries. So he only had one lit tree for Christmas, but now we know for next year!
The drive through Logan Canyon to the cabin was beautiful! There was snow all over the mountains and trees, but none on the road, thankfully. So we were able to just drive and enjoy the scenery around us. We got to the cabin around four, and spent the night chatting, eating, making gingerbread houses, and watching Christmas movies.
Christmas morning we woke up at 6:30 to Feliz Navidad blasting throughout the cabin, a Robbins family tradition. We went out into the living room and lined up on the stairs in order of age, then went up to open presents. Being an adult at Christmas isn't quite as fun as being a kid, is it? The night before Christmas Eve we went out and bought stuff for our stockings, and it's just not as fun when you know exactly what you are getting haha. It took us all about three hours to open presents, since we took turns opening them one at a time. Brandon got some tools and a tool chest, and I got clothes and some gift cards. His mom made us the nicest gift I have ever been given. She took leftover fabric from the blanket she made that Carter is buried in, and the scraps she had from altering the clothes he is buried in, and made us a little pillow. It is sitting in Carter's crib now, but it is so nice to be able to hold the pillow and feel his clothes, and just feel so connected to him.
After presents, we had breakfast while some of the people went to church. Between breakfast and Christmas lunch/dinner (it was at two, what do you call that?) we just hung out and talked. The boys all built the legos they got; it was fun to watch them, it was like getting a glimpse into their childhood.
After lunch/dinner, Brandon and I packed up and left. The roads through the canyon back to Logan were pretty snowy, since it had snowed a ton the night before, but we made it back to Logan safely. We went directly to the cemetery. It had been clear of snow the day before, but when we went back on Christmas there was like eight inches on the ground! It was crazy, and also cold. We took down Carter's trees that day, because we weren't sure when we would be back to Logan. I also wanted to take them down that day, because we always take our tree down the day after Christmas, so I was trying to keep him a part of that tradition as much as possible. We had asked family to put an ornament on his tree if they wanted, and it was so fun to see what everyone had chosen for him.
We got home around six that night, the road through Sardine Canyon was pretty snowy. We unpacked, put a ham in the oven, and then sat down to open presents from my side of the family. Another funny thing about being an adult at Christmas is the gifts you are so excited to get. We got a new vacuum and a rug for under the kitchen table. Younger me would be so disappointed, but adult me is thrilled! We ate dinner, and then just watched tv the rest of the night. It was different, but we both were just ready for it to be over.
Brandon had Monday off, so we slept in, making up for the lost sleep on Christmas Eve, then spent the rest of the day doing laundry, running errands, and taking down the Christmas tree. It was a somewhat relaxing day, but we felt like we did a lot! It was just kind of nice to be at home, and feel like we could be close to Carter and close to one another.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
