As mentioned in a previous post, we had Christmas at Spur Branch where Santa left us a healthy bounty of gifts. Emily got a play kitchen and Jackson got a Spiderman web shooter and basketball goal. We also were happy to find a digital studio art center that can be plugged into the computer for drawing and other art projects. Once we finished opening our presents and eating our Christmas breakfast, it was off to San Antonio -- aka the I-10 boogie.
the Beals had some other family in town from Mississippi, so we got to celebrate on Christmas day with a good sized group. The kids had lots of fun singing and playing around with Mark the Moose and the Bouncing Penguin which has become an annual tradition at the Beal Household. Good food and good cheers were had by all. 
While in San Antonio, we also had a chance to go see the Spurs slaughter the Bulls with James and Andi Garcia. The following night we got and hang out with some of Angel's friends from high school. Alfonso organized a party at La Fogata (where Angel and I went on our first date!), so that was a fun time for the adult half of the Texas Batemans.
After a few days in San Antonio, it was back to Katy for a quick change of the bags and a journey out to IAH. This was to be the first 2-kid flight so mommy and daddy were a bit scared for the flight to Utah. The fear was with good reason as the flight was tremendously frustrating. This difficult flight was all that stood between the TexasBatemans and a fun-filled snow adventure in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Once we received our boarding passes, it was apparent that this was going to be a small plane. 4 seats across with an aisle in the middle is not ideal when you have only purchased 3 seats. Our estimation was that Emily would be best as a lap traveler and Jackson is 3 1/2 now so he needs his own ticket. The journey was an exercise in baby passing as Angel and I traded off appeasement duty for Emily. Jackson seemed content enough as long as he was able to watch Spiderman 3 on daddy's laptop.
Now Emily was not the only fussy baby on the plane. There was a baby right behind us that was easily more discontent and disturbing than Emily. While Emily would fuss, this baby was CRYING! For Jackson, this was not only an inconvenience, but it also was a strong enough overriding noise that he couldn't hear his movie anymore. About halfway through the flight, his frustration was apparent with the ruckus when he exclaimed "Get that baby off the plane!" I am sure others had similar thoughts toward us, so we tried to bear down and just make it to the SLC airport. I pointed out to Jackson that the pilot had turned on the seat-belt sign and that it was dangerous to be standing up on his seat playing with the lights on the plane. Amazingly enough, the concept registered, and Jackson sat down to buckle his seat belt which remained fastened for the duration of the flight.
The approach into Salt Lake City revealed a city under a fresh blanket of snow. It it easy to tell even from a high altitude because of the characteristic halo around all of the lights caused by the fluffy white stuff. Once on the ground, the pilot let Jackson and I take a peek into the cockpit to see all of the controls, gauges, and switches that had brought us safely to Utah. After a brief survey of the complex panels, Jackson had only one question for the pilot, "Where is the fasten seat belt button?"
As this was a small plane, we actually de-planed down stairs right out onto the runway and into a covered walkway to the terminal. Two of the sections of the walkway had a break in them that opened up to the flurry filled sky above. As the kids caught their first memorable (it snowed on Christmas 2004 in Houston) glimpse of snow, the excitement was apparent in their faces. Jackson was much more interested in building a snowman than he was of going into the terminal building. We finally corralled everyone into the airport and met Nana and Grandpa Orren just after leaving the secured area. It was a great feeling as it had been 2 years since the TexasBatemans had been back to Utah.Our first night it continued to snow, which made for a perfect day of sledding on December 30th.
See our Utah Snow pics here
Grandpa Orren lined up the sleds as well as the location for a fun day in the snow. We rode sleds down the hill, made snowmen and snow angels, and even had a family snowball fight.
We got to visit with lots of the Utah family, most of whom had never met Emily before. Many stopped by Nana's place on New Year's eve for a fun kid-friendly party. At midnight we banged pots and pans (a long-lost Utah tradition), and started 2008 off right with a Guitar Hero tournament against friends Tom and Alisha.New Year's Day was spent at the Canyons resort in Park City. I got to hit the slopes with Grandpa Orren and one of my buddies Keith who was up from Arizona. The snow was epic, and probably the safest deep powder can be. Since an avalanche (at the Canyons) killed two skiers a couple of weeks earlier, most of the danger zones had likely been gunned into a very safe and boardable state. We also got to meet up with my cousin Dave from California who was staying up at the resort. His wife Evangelina, and kids Justin and Ashley were enjoying a fun week in the snow.
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