Christmas is Awesome

Everyone knows I love Christmas and go over board every year with the shopping and the stories, and the hype. This was our first year having Christmas at home with our children. It was wonderful. I was so excited to set things up, and couldn't wait to see the joy on the faces of my children as they got their wishes granted. This year I made videos for the kid from Santa using Portable North Pole . com, which a friend recommended. When they watched their videos they had a twinkle in their eyes and Dillan quietly whispered "Santa is magical". That made me even more excited about Christmas. A month or so before we made this cute little nativity set, which my kids played with and enjoyed.

Okay, so here is my Christmas story! We spent Christmas Eve day playing wii games, and getting the house cleaned up. Then we headed over to Brett's parent's house and had a fantastic afternoon with the family, sharing a meal, opening gifts, laughing, talking, sharing stories, and the like. Brett and Jeff went and picked up a treadmill for me! Which I was so excited about. After the Christmas eve party we went to my Aunt and Uncle's for a lovely evening get together. We read a story about why it is important to believe in Santa, and how he is similar to a Christ figure. It was a sweet story. We left the party, and headed home. Before the family was in the door Dillan had a gift open and a comment about it. We had told him he could open one on Christmas Eve. We were frustrated at first that he wouldn't even wait for us to get in the door, but we started laughing after at how anxious he was. The kids went to bed shortly after that. Brett and I watched a movie, and talked, and cuddled, then carefully filled stockings, and laid out gifts. I felt like an anxious child with dreams of sugar plums. I ended up text talking half the night with a friend, swapping Christmas story excitement, and the likes. We finally went to bed. I thought about blocking the kids doors, or something so they wouldn't be able to go out to the tree without us, but they always sleep in, and Derrick is the early riser, so I figured we would be up long before they were. WRONG!

Dillan came in and in a voice filled with excitement and sheer pleasure he informed me that Santa got him just what he wanted. I have to admit, my initial reaction was a combination of irritation, frustration, and supreme disappointment. I wanted to be there to see his reaction to his gift, and to hear those excited shouts, etc. Unfortunately he woke early and snuck in and looked at what everyone got. After that millisecond of irritation I couldn't help but smile and get excited. In his purely innocent excitement he woke up and ran to see which of his heart's desires were granted. It was innocent, he did not do it in a sneaky manner. I had him climb into bed with me, and we talked about how excited he was. He kept trying to come up with reasons to go back out to the living room. Finally, after a number of chuckles at his flimsy excuses Brett and I told him that he could wake Lexi and Derrick and go open the stockings. He ran in to Lexi first, and she was groggy at first, but as soon as it sunk in that it was Christmas morning, she got over her desire to sleep. Derrick was about the same. We weren't sure that he would handle being woken up well as he may or may not understand the whole presents, stockings, and Christmas thing. But, as soon as he heard the sweet voices of Dillan and Lexi encouraging him to go and look at his presents he wiggled out of bed, and rushed to the living room.

It was wonderful to watch them exclaim over their gifts, stockings, and the like. We ate a delicious breakfast and called Nana and Papa to come watch the kids open their gifts. They came, and we opened. It was sweet to see their joy, and surprisingly enough their gratitude (occasionally) for the gifts they received. Derrick was having so much fun with what he got, he did not want to move on to his other gifts. His favorite present was the church bag I made him! Lexi loved her stuffed Pony that she could feed, and hands down Dillan's fave gift was his iPod. Unfortunately he will probably be deaf before his birthday next month, but at least he will go deaf rocking out!


Now it is almost the last day of the year, and I can think back to what I have been grateful for, and think ahead to all the exciting memories we have yet to make.

Annual Adult Christmas Dinner!

Every year Brett's family has an adult only Christmas dinner. It is one of the highlights of the holiday season for us. We love it! It is a chance to relax and have fun with the family without interruption. We all met for dinner. Since we weren't sure what every one was wearing, we dressed up a bit!

 

Brett and Rachael

Brett's parents were exhausted. Marilyn had surgery this morning, so we were shocked that she came, but so glad she did (it can be hard to reschedule with that many people). Poor Neil was also exhausted since he got up so early to be at the hospital. Of course they still looked great!

Neil and Marilyn

Reg and Wendi did not wear red this year, which was a big disappointment, as they usually wear red, sometimes matching, and then say something silly like "We are all red" (this is a play on their last name Allred).

Reg and Wendi

Jeff and Mark! Mark dressed up for the dinner and looked great. Jeff wore a beanie. Haha. Mark drove all the way down here from Wyoming. It was so great to see him. 

Jeff and Mark

Betsy looking beautiful as always. ( I did not get a picture of Kathy, she kept changing seats, but I am glad she came, and wanted to add a little something about it.)

Betsy

Cynthia and Todd. It is always fun to see them, and since they are foodies just like us, we know they are going to enjoy dinner!

Cynthia and Todd

Ahh, aren't we so cute? I think so! It is so fun to go eat dinner with the fam.

We love Holiday Traditions! As our 3 little ones grow up we are establishing some traditions of our own. What are your fun traditions?

Brothers, and Sisters, and Neighbors, Oh my!!!

A few weeks ago we went to Thanksgiving Point to see the reindeer with the kids. We had some of the younger Aunts and Uncles (Joe, Hannah, John, Danny), and we wanted to do something fun. We called the neighbors, and headed out to see Dasher and Dancer.

 Derrick loved it, he did not want to be inside at all. He kept fussing to go back out where the reindeer were.

 John had a great time. I think he especially loved the hot chocolate!

 Danny sure had fun. Can you tell?

 There is Brett and Colby! Haha they are such dorks! (Sorry Colby) It was the day of the BYU vs. Utah game, so they had to show their Y pride!

 Dillan and his hot chocolate!

 Don't worry, Lexi brought baby Jessi! haha, She loves that doll.

The cute neighbor boys! Sporting their BYU gear, but wearing red, bad luck!

Of course we tried to take a family picture, you can see how well that turned out, as well as ever, Dillan scowling, Derrick not paying attention, and Lex looking at the camera with a pout face because she wants something else!

Bowling night ( a while back, I am playing catch up)

A few weeks back Nathalie invited 5 of us girls to have a GNO. She had gotten a Groupon deal for 6 people to bowl for 2 hours, and have dinner at Costa Vida for $30. So, we each paid $5, and got our bowl on. It was so fun, and really hilarious! 

Of course, we probably should have

used bumper lanes, because we were not that great. By the end most of us were doing better, or at least having too much fun being goofy to care.

Amanda and Sarah smile for the camera!

Nathalie, Our amazing hostess of the evening!

Nat's sister Adhis, wearing her bowling shirt! We thought maybe we should start a league.

Katie and I sat on the bar stools, and they lean forward, so there were awful because you kept slipping off. Haha, oh well!

I am a bit behind on my blog, so I thought I would do a quick catch up. We sure had fun bowling, eating, and talking! Kid free nights with the girls are always tons of fun. Thanks Nat!

Christmas Gingerbread Houses

Tonight the kids went to Grandma's house and she surprised them with a fun Christmas activity. They made "gingerbread houses" out of graham crackers, goodies, and frosting.They had a great time. Of course, they were devastated when they were told they couldn't eat them until she took some pictures, and until I arrived to see them. They called and asked me to come right away. So, I hopped in the car and complied. They sure had fun.

 Danny

 Dillan

 Lexi

 My two cuties!

 Hannah, she had the most candy piled on and around hers.

 Joe, getting into the Christmas spirit.

 Everyone got into it, even Grandpa/Dad

 Fun stuff. Of course now it is just the remnants of frosting and sprinkles, some grahamcracker crumbs, and the candy they did not like.

All I want for Christmas...

One of the real joys of Christmas is the wonderful, mythical belief, or faith (as I like to think of it) in something like Santa. The excitement of twinkle lights, paper wrapped gifts, bows, the scents of evergreen, cocoa, peppermint, and more. The holiday season is full of magic, and it is so fun to see it through the eyes of my three sweet kids.

Brett had tonight off, so we decided to have family home evening in the car as we went out to have some fun. The kids got some gift certificates to Jason's Deli, so we headed there for some dinner. Since it is in the mall parking lot, we decided to go visit Santa. It was an unplanned activity, with ice cream faces, and messy hair, but the kids had fun...with one exception. Derrick was terrified of Santa. I tried to set him on his lap, and he started shaking in terror. So, we tried putting him on a rocking horse in front of him for the picture. That did not work either. He freaked out. But, the See's suckers totally helped, and I was able to stand off to the side so he could be in the picture. Note my arm in the first picture. 

Of course he looked much cuter in picture #2, and to spice things up a bit, they added a candy cane border to the picture. My kids are super cute, and they sure enjoyed rattling off their lists of wants and wishes to Santa. Derrick, of course, does not have a list, and is extremely difficult to buy for. However, I am sure I will managed. We will see if my budget manages. It is unlikely. I always make a plan, and then get so excited as it gets closer and go overboard.

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, I wish I had a penny, and a Christmas welcome mat! Just kidding. Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you get to enjoy the winter wonderland that is often Utah, and the feelings of fulfillment when you give the perfect gift, or offer that bit of service that warms the soul. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the Holiday Season!

7 years of marital bliss

Brett and I had our seven year wedding anniversary, and we celebrated it this weekend. We started off with a nice date on Friday night. We did some shopping, and then played miniature golf, which was awesome because we tied on our score, which NEVER happens. Brett always beats me. We then got some Winger's, and brought it home to enjoy while watching a movie. Thanks Joe for tending the kids while we went out. 

Saturday Brett took the day off work, and his mom and dad watched the kids. We went out to Tepanyaki and had some delicious sushi, as pictured below. Brett wasn't feeling well, but the onion soup there was just perfect for his sore throat. I need the recipe.

After sushi we went to Harvest to get dessert.  We both wanted vanilla creme brule, so that is what we got. It came with these cute heart shaped cookies, perfect for celebrating our love. haha. We loved it. We also got some Kristian Regale, just to make it a little more romantic and fun. We sat by the fireplace, and Kristian (our nephew) served us even though Kelsey was supposed to. It was great. Very Cozy. After that we saw a movie, and went home. We spent the evening with the kids. We took them to Cafe Rio, and saw a man who looked like Santa. He let them tell him what they wanted for Christmas and told them to be good, etc. It was really fun.

 The next day we went to Church, and then took the kids over to my mom and dad's where they would spend the night so we could get away. We went up to Wolf Creek. There was snow everywhere on the way up, a little scary to drive in. We left a little early, so we stopped at my sister Christa and her husband Logan's house, and they invited us to stay to dinner with them and Joy, Kevin, and Brooke. It was yummy, and Brett and Logan enjoyed watching games while us girls talked, and laughed about the Saturday's warrior's song..."He's just a friend like those I count in dozens, the kind unselfish friend who understands my pain..."

 At the resort we checked in, and cuddled up under some blankets because it was FREEZING. We had a great time talking and watching movies. The next morning I had to get up early to send some files to a client, and had to trudge through snow up to my knee to get to the main lobby where the internet was. Needless to say it woke me up. So, I had Brett get up too, and we went and played some raquetball and sat in the sauna. It was great. Then, we went back to the condo and Brett used a snow shovel to clean off our car. We went to breakfast, and packed up our stuff and left.

We went to Jasmine's for lunch, and had our favorite squid salad. We were in a real sushi and Chinese mood this weekend. 

We got back to Utah County and had some fun shopping. We bought some clothes for the kids, and some sweaters for Brett. Then we saw Morning Glory, and by then it was almost 7 pm. We called Mom and Dad, and asked if they had eaten, then got take out at China Isle (our favorite chinese place), and went back and enjoyed it with the kids and the parents.

Needless to say, it was a fun, relaxing weekend, and it was great to be able to spend it together without the kids, and knowing they were in good hands. Seven years down...eternity to go...