6'6 and well-proportioned

We have had such a fun last 10 days, I hardly know where to begin this post. The most unfortunate part of our trip is that our camera battery died on day 2, so I literally have only a couple of pictures of all of the fun. This is how our trip started out:

This was in the Blue Mountains right outside of Pendleton on the way out of town. It was so snowy and beautiful, but not the most fun driving. Besides this bit of snow, the 24+ hours of driving there and back went well, although we swore we will never make the drive again. Can someone please keep me to this?? Next time you hear me say we are driving to Utah, come smack me upside the head...or at least point me to this post. :)

All of Ryan's siblings were in town for the holidays and Brayden and Landon had so much fun playing with their cousins. I seriously hardly saw my boys for the 3 days that we were in Utah they were so busy playing. They even got out in the snow to sled while we were there. Here is Brayden and his cousin Hailey:

It was also wonderful for us to see all of the family members that we love and hardly get to see. We headed back through Boise for New Year's Eve and spent the night consuming untold amounts of calories and playing Password with my parents. Since when did I get so old that hanging out with my parents on New Year's Eve was not only planned, but fun?! In fact, we were so engrossed in Password that we missed the dropping of the ball by a couple of minutes. Definitely a far cry from our Rockin' New Year's Eve in Times Square last year. New Year's Day we headed over to my parent's church with my dad and brothers to play basketball and ended up playing with a bunch of 17 year old boys and their dads. Brayden came with us and it was fun for me to have him see me play basketball. When we were in Utah he was playing basketball with his cousin Spencer and I heard him tell his cousin Hailey, "You can't play - only boys play basketball." I couldn't believe that MY SON said those words. I told him that I would take him out back and show him that girls play too if he kept that talk up. :)

So, the running joke surrounding the latter-half of our vacation (and now that we are home) has to deal directly with the post title. For years Ryan's mom has been saying that Ryan is taller than 6'5. Ryan's dad is 6'4 and she has said that Ryan is more than 1 inch taller than him. Ryan hasn't been measured since he left on his mission 10 years ago (at which time he registered at 6'5). So, Ryan's mom Kathrine measured him our last day in Utah and he came in at 6'6. I couldn't believe it. I really didn't think my husband could get hotter, but it happened the second she said 6'6. :) Shortly after this monumental measure, we left for Boise. When we got there I was telling my parents that my husband was actually 6'6 and my dad insisted that we measure again. So, once again, Ryan stood against the wall and the result: 6'6. It's funny how an inch can make a difference, but I thought my dad was going to cry tears of joy ( I guess he and I are on the same page with this one...). You see, my dad has been dreaming of professional athletes since the day I was pregnant with Brayden, and I guess he thinks that extra inch in the genetic pool is really going to help our chances. The joke got started when I said, "Yeah, he must not seem that tall because he's so well-proportioned," (I still don't know why my family thought that was so funny) and soon Ryan no longer had a name, he was just "6'6 and well-proportioned." Anytime someone addressed him it was, "Hey, 6'6 and well-proportioned!"

Overall, we had a great trip and are glad to be home safe and sound. The best part of the whole holidays has been to have Ryan around for 2 1/2 weeks. I can't believe how much better life flows with Ryan around. It's such a vast difference from having him out of town most of the time to having him at home full-time. I am sad for real life to resume on Monday, but I am looking forward to this new year and new goals. I have a feeling that this is going to be a great year on many levels...I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to find out!