Christmas Season 2010

Christmas this year has completely FLOWN by! I can't believe it's over. I feel like I just put my tree up yesterday and I did it before Thanksgiving (yeah, i'm one of THOSE peopole). I can't help it, I LOVE the Christmas season. This year I got to put up a new tree with all new ornaments. I feel like I have a grown up Christmas tree now!

We started a new little thing last year and it's becoming a tradition. There are horse carriage rides during the month of December at a fun little outdoor shopping center and the girls absolutely LOVE doing this.

This year was special. The driver let Hailey site up front with him and she was so EXCITED!

                            

         

The girls love all the Christmas lights and decorations. It's so magical to them!

This year, I also made new Stockings for everyone. I think they turned out pretty cute.

I finally got brave and went outside and built the girls a snowman. Hailey had been begging since the first time it snowed and those of you who know my circulation issues will be proud to know I did it bare handed! 

I was proud, till I ran inside, shut the door, and yelled curses because my hands hurt so bad. :-)

Family Picture on Christmas Sunday

This was Hailey's Preschool Christmas Program. It was adorable. The kids sand a bunch of songs and anxiously awaited Santa's arrival.

Santa brought his lovely wife, Mrs. Clause.

The girls were supplied with a plethora of Christmas activities from their Grandma Luke for the month of December and this was a favorite. 

The girls got invited to a Kids Christmas Party at their friend Owen's house.

They got to make a little reindeer craft and decorate some cookies.

As you can see, the sprinkles were a hit.

All in all, it was a really fun December, but SUPER busy as well. Kids make the season so magical. One of my favorite Christmas Quotes:

"The magic of Christmas is embedded in the 

Hearts of Children"

Counting Blessings

I thought i'd be doing a Christmas post tonight, but i'm WAY too tired after a long day of driving to even load my pictures on to my laptop right now, so instead, i'll quickly post something that's been on my mind since we got home.

My nerves are completely shot. Tonight, after driving home from dinner at my in-laws, we got off our exit to our house and were waiting to turn left at the light. Our light then turned green. There was a short pause before Nate accelerated and it was a good thing we weren't in any hurry and a good thing he hesitated before entering the intersection. He pushed on the gas, I yelled, and he slammed on the brakes just in time for a huge truck to run the light and almost t-bone us. He was going at least 35 and had no intentions of slowing down. I pretty much stopped breathing for a bit and we looked at eachother knowing that if we had been hit, our van would have been tipped for sure and we all would have gone to the hospital.

So, tonight, as I sit here, EXTREMELY grateful for life and my family, I feel as though I've had a heart attack and I can't get to bed fast enough. Tonight, i'm counting my many blessings, especially thankful for the blessing of safety tonight and today in our long day of travels. It's times like these that I reflect on my Savior and am in complete awe of how much he cares and watches out for us on a daily basis.

Oh Little One...

Hailey: "Mom, can I have a lot of marshmallows in a baggie?"


Me: "No, Hailey, you cannot have marshmallows right now."


Hailey: (with a very frustrated look) "Mom, Santa's watching you and you're not being very nice to me"

Santa


We love Santa. It's become a traditon every year since the year Nate and I got married to go take pictures with Santa. It's always fun and magical for the girls to sit and tell him what they want for Christmas. Besides, he gives them See's Candy Suckers! 

Another tradition is that they send a letter to Santa every year and they also get a response in the mail from Santa. Very fun and exciting.

The girls lists this year were interesting.

Santa's got his work cut out for him this year!

One of the most exciting Christmasy things we have done this year was get videos sent to the girls from Santa. Those of you with children.. you've got to check this out. It's awesome. You just imput your kids info (no personal info is required) then they send a personalized message to your child through a video. Be sure to upload pictures at the appropriate areas to ensure a more personal video. It's really cute. Our girls just lit up with excitement when they watched their videos...


Hailey's:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/n2sLvMCJZlTdENfT6tV4Dg


Addy's:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/N4nuDJ71lRTBSflNmuByYQ




Click here to create your own:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

This is Hailey's rendition of 

'Santa Clause Is Coming To Town'

What fun traditions have you been up to?

Family Pictures

My talented cousin Rachel agreed to take some family pictures for us and she came up with some great shots...

(classic)

Not only is she a great upcoming photographer, she is a hair stylist as well. If anyone is in need of some serious styling, she's your gal. 

Thanks Rach!!

this picture makes me laugh...

...every time I see it.

we seriously have some CHUB-A-LUBS around these parts before age 2. 

And I love it!!

So.Stinkin.Cut.

Thanksgiving 2010 

Now that i'm off my pitty party, I have more exciting things to write about. Like Thanksgiving with the Johnson's. I love my in-laws. They really are such a great family to be a part of. The first night of excitement was when some of the crew got to town. Wednesday the 24th, we headed up to Mom and Dad's for a potato bar dinner and visiting with the fam.

The next day, Thursday, was Thanksgiving day. We ate an amazing dinner prepared by mom and followed up with some yummy desserts. Then, the family got together and we all drew names for Christmas.

We also got to Skype with Carmen and Ben in the Phillipines.

Then came Friday. Melissa, Hailey, Addy and I all went Black Friday shopping for a bit in the morning. We didn't find anything worth standing in horrible lines for. But, we had fun anyways. That afternoon, we met up with  some of the Johnsons and friends to see 'Tangled'. SUCH a cute movie. We loved it. There were so many kids there, it was unbelievable. After the movie, we met up with the rest of the crew for dinner at Los Hermanos, a family favorite.

Saturday was a chill day. We didn't do much in the morning. Nate played in a Turkey Bowl with some buddies of his. Luckily, he came home with no broken bones. That afternoon, we met up with Jess, Justin and Avery and went Ice Skating. It was a blast. Addy liked it as long as we were holding her arms. Hailey, on the other hand, was a pro from the beginning. She couldn't get enough of it. That night, we ordered pizza and played games till the late hours of the night. I think the girls finally went to bed a little after 11pm! Yikes!







Sunday was a special day. For all of us. But especially for Adam and Tonna. Adam was ordained an Elder and it was such a great thing to be able to witness.

The girls absolutely loved having eachother to play with all weekend

It was a great family weekend. We loved every minute of it. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again at Christmas! Including Carmen and Ben!