The Holbrook Experience

Rex loves Holbrook. He has lived there since he was nine years old. After celebrating Thanksgiving with our own families we came together and drove to his hometown to stay with his family for the weekend. Rex's family is wonderful! They are so kind, generous, and welcoming. I felt at home my entire stay. The Self's have a beautiful home. It has this cracked colorful glass all along the front patio that reappears in the back yard. I love the backyard it is just really open and filled with huge trees complete with a swing! That is just the outside, inside it is warm and has hardwood floors. The comfy couches, pictures of family, and the food from the kitchen brought me a sense of comfort while I stayed there. I loved how I felt at Rex's home, it was peaceful, happy refuge. Rex would be so excited when he wanted to show and share parts of his life with me. We watched old home videos as Rex as a kid. He was so cute! I had a lot of fun doing that! We drove through town even though it was really foggy and he showed me the old pool he worked out, his mom's work, and these little tee-pee's ( I mean...big tee-pee's...haha Kevin!) We woke up early and fed the cows at his dad and uncle's ranch. That was fun to see Rex all helpful and happy. His uncle would be so funny in the car rides. Dave is a great guy. Rex's dad Scott made us some green smoothies for breakfast. After we ate we searched high and low for the Christmas tree, but couldn't find it. Rex wanted to go for a four-wheel drive! And there is a great rule in his family where only Return Missionaries can drive the nice new one! So Rex being an RM was more than excited to drive us. Rex is crazy! The turns and bumps of the mountains and hills in his backyard where like a roller coaster ride. I was just screaming and holding onto Rex for dear life. Haha. I will admit it was a blast even though I was legitimately scared a few times. We would follow the trail and entered into this boy land of awesome paintball fight location. We would climb onto the tower and just look at the beautiful orange, red earth around us. On the way back Rex let me drive! Ya-hoo! That was fun! Then we spent time getting ready then we went to the grocery store for some stuff for his mom. His parents went to a baptism while us kids ( Rex, Kevin, and I) went and prepared the horses. We were going to go horseback riding!!! I love to ride horses! That was such a neat and remembered experience. Just Rex, me, and his family with the outdoors was great! My horses name was Chief! I had a wonderful time talking with his family and we rode side by side. His family is so fun. We headed back to the barn and brushed the horses down. When we got back we all made this huge meal together. We made both chicken enchiladas and his Dad's tacos. Beth is so cute and she is such a delight to spend time with. She is always so considerate of what everyone wants. She has so many great qualities that I see in Rex. He gets a lot from his Mom. Well we ate and it was oh so good and yummy and delicious! Then we went over to his Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dave's house to watch a movie. His cousins are so adorable and they have such a fun home. Sadly the projector didn't work so we ended up reading next to each other til we were both tired and went to our separate beds. That night was the night before my birthday and I was so excited to spend that special day with Rex and his amazing family that had opened up to me completely. My birthday was perfect and such a gift of everyone being so thoughtful towards me. I felt like one very special girl thanks to Rex. I'll give you details later.What a fun weekend I spent with his family! I loved having a peek through the looking glass of how Rex grew up.