Merry Christmas!

    We had a very Merry Christmas and we hope you did too!

The traditional Christmas Eve pjs.

McClane's turn.

Brock was so excited.

Carter was mostly.... disappointed. I guess he's not a big fan of the Plane's movie.

Isaac was thrilled.

Mark was ecstatic for his ACDC pjs. I'm not even lying when I say he almost cried.

Kayli was pretty "Happy, Happy, Happy" with hers.

Greg got his traditional package of socks from a good friend, I'd say he's pretty happy about it.

All ready for the BIG day!

       Christmas morning line up. There was a small delay due to a snowstorm that put Greg out plowing starting at 5 in the morning. He came home a little after 7 a.m. so the kids could see what Santa had brought them and then he headed back out after 8:30 or so.

This line up thing can be pure torture for us and the kids.

This little princess was pretty excited to find this stool that's just her size.

Planes and more planes for McClane.

Camping gear is what he asked for and camping gear is what he got.

Kayli got the digital polaroid camera she'd requested and the Ellen Degeneres book that apparently she found while snooping in my bedroom. Nothing like spoiling your surprise!

Brock was pretty happy with his small stash of fun stuff. Santa found a few toys he could 'hit' on purpose.

Isaac was a little worried that he hadn't made his request for a MiP robot known to the "big guy" but luckily Santa got the memo in time and Isaac is one happy boy!

Carter, looking and probably feeling a bit disappointed with his gifts. You can't please everybody I guess.

Isaac made this cute snowman to add to my Christmas decor.

Kayli bought me this cute phone case, I love it!

Charlie using her new table for the first time along with Brock's new best friend.

    And NOW this is happening and more will come next post. Happy New Year!

Sorry it's blurry, it's the only photo I've taken since our arrival in Oregon. Charlie thinks her Grandpa is pretty great.

I love my in-laws!!

   I married into a pretty awesome and FUN family! Greg actually is pretty reserved compared to his siblings but he has been known to be silly occasionally. This past weekend was Kristin's 40th birthday! (I'm 13 days older but I really want to be just like her when I grow up!) Melissa and Heidi threw her a very fun surprise party and here are several photos from the night.

Yummy cupcakes.

These were some fun photo boards of Kristin that all the guests could sign.

The balloons were a great distraction for the little people.

Before the fun began!

Charlie enjoyed her cousin time. Baby Ella was so cute!

And cousin Lydia was a big helper on keeping Charlie from running in the halls.

Sorry for the blurry photos but some photos are still too good to NOT share! Melissa, the baby of the family and not a DIVA AT ALL!

Greg warmed up to the silliness a little.

WHY!?

And these are the moments Greg's pretty sure he was adopted.

Or maybe he's just holding back most of the time. This is an inside joke that only these 6 really appreciate. I seriously love these people!

The night got a little long for some people.

     Then we went to Temple Square Sunday evening to enjoy the lights and atmosphere. Kayli used my phone to take a few photos.

We took a quick peak inside the Tabernacle. Everything is so pretty and festive.

The Assembly Hall.

McClane told me he wanted to "GO HOME!" at least 100 times and when I told him "no" he made sure to inform me with his "I hate you, mom!" 100 times as well.

Charlie was a trooper and only wanted out of the stroller the last half hour or so of our visit.

Greg's little brother Josh and his little family, Camille and J.J. were with us the last little bit and kindly took a photo or two of all 9 of us.

Just a little blurry with the flash. Next time we'll bring gloves for a few more of us too. Overall it was fun.

     Later in the week McClane had a visit to the dentist for his second cavity to be filled. He is such a good boy and never complains even when his mouth is numb, which can be a good and bad thing. Because he did not complain I failed to remember that he needed to wait to eat his lunch and therefore here is the mangled mess he made of his lip. I guess my "mom-of-the-year" award will be postponed for another little while! So SAD and yet he still hasn't complained.

Lip and tongue pretty much hamburger!

And when you're a Lone Peak police officer and someone parks in your designated spot at the high school you get to park like this....

I've also witnessed one of them rolling through a 4-way stop. They just might possibly be on the naughty list right now. ;-) Seriously though, I do appreciate their overall service but let's not forget they're human too!

     So if you haven't seen a calendar lately we only have 6 sleeps until Christmas!!!!!! Only 5 sleeps if you live "down under". This reality is still not sinking in and if you're a kid it's still FOREVER away! Oh to be young and excited instead of old and anxious!

Merry Christmas!

Cookies and cute.

   Not the busiest week but we did make sure to decorate gingerbread and sugar cookies. (Thank you Costco cookie kit people, you make my 'mom' job so much easier!)

He's such a goof!

The gingerbread we're missing some parts of their anatomy so Brock helped them out a 'little'! (Boys, Seriously!!)

Carter needed his photo to be a selfie.

While driving to the "festival of trees" last week Charlie was getting sleepy so the kids were helping her stay awake and that involved car seat 'dancing'. Enjoy the video! P.S. Please ignore the song, Greg has found a radio station that is now his new favorite but not mine.

   Enjoy the last full week before Christmas arrives.

Birthday and Christmas festivities

      I'm so glad 40 is just a number and birthdays are really just another typical day. That's not to say we didn't do some celebrating but nothing over the top.



My new chair and balloons..

 

Carter makes some great faces.

Chocolate and ......

Jello cheesecake, what could be better for  my 40th day of birth?!

My new chair may be a little stiff right now but it's got a recline that's perfect for this....

This is a rare treat!

Then we did some fun Christmas stuff to start things out for this month of December.

They love hunting for a live tree.

Perfect fit!

Then we went to the Festival of Trees. (One of my favorites.) There weren't any 'over-the-top' trees but there's always some fun ones. 

I'm totally down for this kind of Christmas Tree.

This was a SWEET set up too.

Some of these people were happier than others.

And you can't forget the candy houses or temples.

Some people and their talents really impress me.

 

And the other interesting/awesome things on display.

This would be awesome to find under the Christmas tree.

Or this.

Or THIS!

Then we went to the Live Nativity here in Alpine and can I just say, TOO MANY PEOPLE!!!!! The line to ride over in the horse trailers was literally around the stake center where they had everyone parking. We had tickets for the very first session on the first night and luckily we didn't have to wait too long but there were people cutting in line and really not helping me have a very Christ like attitude, but the kids were happy and behaved well enough and it was still a neat experience but I honestly don't know if I'll sign up next year, it's just gotten too huge.

This was a good baby!

The ride back in the horse trailer.

Not the best photos but they'll do.

I love McClane, he's at such a fun stage. He makes me laugh all the time. Like when he told me the 'light-up' star Greg bought for the Christmas tree was "A piece of junk." You have to hear it in his voice to really enjoy it.

Well that's the fun from this week. I'm not sure what's next but we're definitely enjoying our Christmas season so far and we hope you are too.