Christmas

Christmas Morning 2008. I awake at 6:30 to get showered before we get the kids up. I turn on my blow dryer and the power goes out. I promise it wasn't my fault. Scott becomes emergency preparedness super man. This a moment he lives for. He gets out all of our candles and cool little candle holders he's been dying to try. He also gets out or power inverter. Too bad it hadn't been plugged in lately and had discharged. It's ok though, good learning opportunity. Then we get the kids up. We shine the flash lights on them as we video tape them. They are all very excited about their gifts from Santa. Santa doesn't wrap the gifts he gives our kids so their the first ones the see. Santa did good this year. Hayley loves her digital camera. Jaden is shocked he actually got his Lego Star Wars AT-AT. yay. Mariah giggles over her Indiana Jones play set. She's not so much a girly girl. Isabella at first doesn't see her shiny new DS and is a bit sad. She soon spots it and squeals with delight. Gabe's gift can't be missed. All the kids see it and crowd around his rideable dinosaur. It doesn't really walk but it sure makes lots of noises. Gabe was both trilled and terrified. He likes to play with it as long as an adult is nearby. We then dig into the rest of the presents. It's always a bit of a challenge to slow everyone down. The flashlights and candles really come in handy as does the flash on our camera. We finish up our gift giving. Everyone is happy. Now it's time to head off to Grandma's for breakfast. With the power our it takes a lot longer to get out of the door. Once we get outside we notice six inches of snow already accumulated on our driveway. We're going out anyway. We must venture out. We get as far as our corner and are inclined to stop and help a neighbor get unstuck. On our way again we realize this storm is bad. We're a bit worried but continue on. We make it to Bangerter and 4700 South and it stops snowing. In Bountiful it wasn't snowing at all. They'll get it later. We make it to breakfast late but the food is still waiting. Judy makes the best Christmas breakfast around. We eat and eat. This is easily one of my favorite things about Christmas. Now it's time to open presents with the Turners. The kids all get tickets to "Walking with the Dinosaurs" and big travel bags for our trip to San Diego the next day. This is our big gift. An all expenses paid trip to sunny California. yay. We visit for a while and then head down to see my family. Once again it's time to exchange gifts. My mom went all out this year. She made us all something called a "wonderbox". You boil whatever want to slow cook and then place it in the box and it cooks without any additional heat. My preparedness hubby is trilled. We call Adam and Danielle with my webcam and we watch as we open one another's gifts. I love my Mac. We then move on to eating. Croissant sandwiches are delicious. After a nice visit we head home to start packing for our trip. I love spending the day with family. We miss you Adam and Danielle.

Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve always includes three things. Dinner with my in-laws, the Nativity re-enacted at my parents, and new pajamas. Pizza and shrimp. mmmmm. Even something as simple as this is always grand when it's served by Judy. At my parents house my mom has the greatest box of costumes ever. Hayley was a wise man, Jaden was Joseph (I owe him five bucks, apparently he is way to cool to be Joseph), Mariah and Bella were shepherds, and Gabe was a sheep. After the stirring rendition of the birth or our Savior (played by Janie's dog Sugar) we all opened our PJ's from GrandMerry. She used to sew them all but now that we are so many she buys half and sews half. I think it's a good compromise. She did a great job this year both in buying and sewing. We then hurried our little ones home to bed so that Santa wouldn't have to circle our house for too long.



p.s. Adam and Danielle it just wasn't the same without you. Because you didn't provide us with a baby we had to use the dog. We miss you.

i did it all by myself.

girls staying up way to late

I have three friends that have been my friends for the last 8 years. For almost as long as that we have gathered together each December to exchange gifts. We were going to go out to eat but instead Shalynn had a deliciously wonderful idea of making dinner for us. Her and I kept it a secret from Mindy and Haylie. She didn't want them to try and help and I just love to surprise people. I picked up Mindy and Haylie and drove them back to my house. I told them that we had to go in and use the bathroom before our long car trip. It took Shalynn and I a long time to come up with a lie that I could deliver without laughing. They really were surprised and Shalynn had the camera ready to capture the moment. After we ate Shalynn's masterpiece we exchanged gifts. We each took our turns sitting in front of the tree to open them. Shalynn gave to me this year and got me a knife sharpener and a new game. She is practical but know my love of fun. It was perfect. I then whipped out my potions and gave everyone a pedicure. The best part was that Shalynn let us paint her toenails. I don't think she's had them painted since before she was married. Her husband has an aversion to strong smells, or anything with an odor. Love you Stan. We then did what girls do best. We gabbed and gabbed and gabbed. It took me three days to recover from how late we stayed up. Thanks girls. I love ya.

Soup n' Sing

Every year our friends the Brown's have a soup and sing and their house. It's pretty self explanatory. We each bring a soup to share and then we all gather around the piano and sing Christmas carols. This year our group included the Browns, the Nelsons, the Tullises, and the Greens. Mindy goes all out. We have props for singing the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and red dots for our noses when we sing "Ruldolph". Thanks Mindy for continuing this tradition, it is one of my favorites.

our new duds

letters to friends

I have a good friend who is at my house quite often. She has a little girl who plays with Jaden when they come over. I'll call her K. The other day she brought some of my kids Christmas letters. I thought I would share them with you.

Dear Jaden,
You are one of my best friends. I like playing with you more than Hayley and Mariah. I don't even play with Mariah because she plays with C and I want to play with you not them form your friend K. Merry Christmas.

Dear Hayley,
Merry Christmas
You are my friend even though I play with Jaden a lot. I just like playing with him a lot.
From your friend K.

Dear Mariah,
Merry Christmas.
I'm sorry I don't play with you a lot but you are still my friend.
I just like to play with Jaden a lot and sometimes Hayley.
From K.

Dear Bella,
Merry Christmas
Thank you for playing with J.
J likes playing cars with you.
From K and J.
Merry Christmas


Do you see a theme here?

birthday in review

Birthdays with us seem to last for several days. Hayley began the celebration of her birthday by taking a few friends to Color Me Mine. We then went as a family to Tepanyaki for dinner. It was the best the kids have ever done at a restaurant. Now if they only offered the same prices as McDonalds. The next day we had the family over for a dinner, cake, and presents. The end.



p.s. It really was quite a good weekend.

Hayley is 12

Twelve years old. As tall as Jaden. Jaden is 2 years younger. Loves to read. Getting better at Tae-Kwon Do. Can take a kick in the face and not cry. Loves to draw. Very bright. Makes up stories for Bella and Mariah. Sings along to the songs when she plays the piano. Loves my homemade bread and cookies. Super picky eater. Favorite food is salmon and tofu. Go figure. Getting closer to being a teenager. Drama already beginning. Snaps her fingers. Very emotional. Loves her 6th grade teacher. Writes amazing stories. Draws fairies. Likes to write and act out plays. Excellent bathroom cleaner. Strong will. Thoughtful. Likes to take her time doing things. Enjoys the process of doing things. Even if it's just brushing her teeth. She must spread the tooth paste just so. Then examine her teeth in the mirror. Then she brushes. Like i said, she takes her time. Doesn't like to be rushed. Loves her siblings. Fights with her siblings. Plays with her siblings. Fights some more. Loves hugs and kisses. Innocent. I love Hayley. Happy Birthday

mysterious elf

I seem to have an elf living in my house. I can tell because he likes to leave piles of my tree decorations lying around. He puts piles of the stars on the couch and leaves some behind the tree as well. Sometimes he strikes four times a day. I have yet to catch him in the act. He is very sneaky. It's ok though, whenever I start putting them back on the tree Gabe is right by my side to help.