The things I love the most about Christmas are also the things I miss the most when the Holiday season is over. Here are a few of them:
Christmas greetings from friends and loved ones:
The glow of the Christmas Tree at night:
My Willow Tree nativity:
Christmas this year was great! In the afternoon of Christmas Eve we took the kids to see Madagascar 2. It was funny, but I still think I liked the first one better. Later we shared a yummy dinner of soup in bread bowls with Uncle Scott and Aunt Katherine. 
Tanner was a little peeved, though, that there wasn't any meat for dinner. I tried to convince him to eat the chicken noodle soup, but that wasn't what he wanted to hear. He's definitely Grandpa H's boy...loving the meat and potatoes way of life!!
After dinner we had a nice family home evening lesson on the birth of our Savior, and Kevin read the story of His birth from the scriptures. We also talked about Samuel the Lamanite and how he prophesied of the coming of Christ 5 years before His birth. It was nice.
We were lucky enough to have a copy of Grandpa H's annual Christmas Poem and had fun reading what he had to say about each of us this year. It's usually pretty accurate and pretty darn funny!!
The boys were able to open one gift on Christmas Eve (which was pj's...of course)
and then Scott and Katherine made us some yummy crepes. By then, the boys were ready for bed and I was ready for them to go to bed!!
I was able to snap a picture of the tree surrounded by presents before we went to bed. It looked really pretty with all of the colorful wrapping and bows.
As it turns out, Santa came through again this year bringing everything the boys had asked for.
Tanner, Ty, and Treyson asked for the Wii and thanks to Grandma and Grandpa H they got it.
Santa brought all of the accessories and a couple of games to go with it...including Guitar Hero World Tour (which I'm now addicted to...it must be my inner rocker).
Tanner and Ty also got an iPod nano and some clothes.
Treyson got a new bike and was so excited!!
He also got some new clothes.
Tate got his dinosaur that he's been talking about since before Thanksgiving. It's name is Spike, but Tate changes it often. Kind of like his stuffed puppy, Hersha, that became Rocky, and then was Hersha again...which is a funny story for another day.
And...he got some clothes, too.
I surprised Kevin this year with a new racquetball racket, which he wasn't expecting. I also got him an iPod and a few new framed pictures for his office. He was mad at me for a minute, since we usually don't exchange gifts, but I know he loved the racket, so he didn't stay mad for long!!!
After a long day, and 10 hours of Guitar Hero, we had a fun and delicious dinner with our wonderful friends, the Stecks, including Brian's mom.
By about 9 p.m. my kids, and myself, had hit the wall. It wasn't hard to get them to go to bed, and I followed closely behind. It was a wonderful day. I'm a little sad that it's already over. For me, the anticipation of Christmas is what makes it so fun.
Two days after Christmas we headed to Utah to spend time with each of our families. We got delayed for about 45 minutes just outside of Kanab for this:
There was fresh (but now, not-so-fresh) produce EVERYWHERE!!
Tanner was a little peeved, though, that there wasn't any meat for dinner. I tried to convince him to eat the chicken noodle soup, but that wasn't what he wanted to hear. He's definitely Grandpa H's boy...loving the meat and potatoes way of life!!After dinner we had a nice family home evening lesson on the birth of our Savior, and Kevin read the story of His birth from the scriptures. We also talked about Samuel the Lamanite and how he prophesied of the coming of Christ 5 years before His birth. It was nice.
We were lucky enough to have a copy of Grandpa H's annual Christmas Poem and had fun reading what he had to say about each of us this year. It's usually pretty accurate and pretty darn funny!! The boys were able to open one gift on Christmas Eve (which was pj's...of course) and then Scott and Katherine made us some yummy crepes. By then, the boys were ready for bed and I was ready for them to go to bed!!I was able to snap a picture of the tree surrounded by presents before we went to bed. It looked really pretty with all of the colorful wrapping and bows.
As it turns out, Santa came through again this year bringing everything the boys had asked for. Tanner, Ty, and Treyson asked for the Wii and thanks to Grandma and Grandpa H they got it. Santa brought all of the accessories and a couple of games to go with it...including Guitar Hero World Tour (which I'm now addicted to...it must be my inner rocker).Tanner and Ty also got an iPod nano and some clothes.
Treyson got a new bike and was so excited!!
He also got some new clothes.Tate got his dinosaur that he's been talking about since before Thanksgiving. It's name is Spike, but Tate changes it often. Kind of like his stuffed puppy, Hersha, that became Rocky, and then was Hersha again...which is a funny story for another day.
And...he got some clothes, too.I surprised Kevin this year with a new racquetball racket, which he wasn't expecting. I also got him an iPod and a few new framed pictures for his office. He was mad at me for a minute, since we usually don't exchange gifts, but I know he loved the racket, so he didn't stay mad for long!!!
After a long day, and 10 hours of Guitar Hero, we had a fun and delicious dinner with our wonderful friends, the Stecks, including Brian's mom.
By about 9 p.m. my kids, and myself, had hit the wall. It wasn't hard to get them to go to bed, and I followed closely behind. It was a wonderful day. I'm a little sad that it's already over. For me, the anticipation of Christmas is what makes it so fun.Two days after Christmas we headed to Utah to spend time with each of our families. We got delayed for about 45 minutes just outside of Kanab for this:
There was fresh (but now, not-so-fresh) produce EVERYWHERE!!We were seriously questioning our decision to go up to Utah when the thermometer on the car was showing a -4 degrees as we passed through Panguitch, UT. 
It is always good to see our families, but also a little hard juggling time between both . We did a lot of fun things. On the night we got to town, Kevin's mom had her Christmas party. We had Chinese food for dinner, and then the kids played Bingo. We opened a few gifts, and also did the Hokey Pokey. The kids thought that was pretty great!
They also acted out the Christmas story. 
Mom, Kevin, Tanner, and I went up to Tai Pan Trading Company (my favorite, favorite store) on Monday and got some massive deals on Christmas decor to use next year. While we were there, my dad took Ty, Trey, and Tate to Cabela's to look at the giant fish tank and to let them play at the "firing range". That night we went up to Becca's house to let the kids play with all of their cousins. They had a blast!!
Tuesday was my birthday. We took the kids to see Marley and Me...maybe not the best movie to see on my birthday...it was great, but incredibly sad. I cried a lot. Darn dog!!It is always good to see our families, but also a little hard juggling time between both . We did a lot of fun things. On the night we got to town, Kevin's mom had her Christmas party. We had Chinese food for dinner, and then the kids played Bingo. We opened a few gifts, and also did the Hokey Pokey. The kids thought that was pretty great!They also acted out the Christmas story. Mom, Kevin, Tanner, and I went up to Tai Pan Trading Company (my favorite, favorite store) on Monday and got some massive deals on Christmas decor to use next year. While we were there, my dad took Ty, Trey, and Tate to Cabela's to look at the giant fish tank and to let them play at the "firing range". That night we went up to Becca's house to let the kids play with all of their cousins. They had a blast!! That night we met my brother, Bryan, and his cute friend, Rebecca, at The Brick Oven in Provo for a yummy birthday dinner. On New Years Eve day we, along with Becca and Rob and their kids, Michelle and Todd and their kids, and Grandma Bonnie, headed over to the BYU Student Center for bowling. The kids had a great time and I loved that they could spend the time with the cousins they love so much!!
After bowling we stopped at Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove for some lunch. It was yu-u-u-ummmy! Later that night we all met up at Michelle's house for a thrown together New Years Eve party and really enjoyed being able to just "chill" and visit with each other. We called it a night around 10 p.m., since we had to get up early to make our way back to AZ the next day.
After bowling we stopped at Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove for some lunch. It was yu-u-u-ummmy! Later that night we all met up at Michelle's house for a thrown together New Years Eve party and really enjoyed being able to just "chill" and visit with each other. We called it a night around 10 p.m., since we had to get up early to make our way back to AZ the next day.Friday morning I took down all of my Christmas decor. I put the tree away and cleaned the house. As much as I love decorating for Christmas, it sure felt good to get the house back to "normal". Around 6 p.m. our awesome friends, Daron and Stephanie Jones, and their beautiful girls, came to spend the night. They were on their way home to Utah from Safford, AZ and we were lucky enough to have them in our home for the evening. We ordered pizza and spent the time catching up. It was so great to be able to see them! We hope we can do it again!!
Now I'm just thankful that Monday is here and we can get back into our "regular" routine. I have loved our two week break and have enjoyed having the boys, and Kevin, around, but I'm a lot more productive when we are in our regular routine.
Now I'm just thankful that Monday is here and we can get back into our "regular" routine. I have loved our two week break and have enjoyed having the boys, and Kevin, around, but I'm a lot more productive when we are in our regular routine.
In the process, a cell phone was taken away, and arrangements are being made to pay for and help fix the damage. These are the moments that being parent kinda stinks, but it was definitely a good teaching moment about how every single action has a consequence. Hopefully my wall won't take another beating anytime in the near future. And, hopefully the lesson was learned. Time will tell.
Miracles never cease.
Treyson asked for a new bike, but apparently I was asleep or dead because I didn't even see him get on Santa's lap...let alone get a picture. 
On Tuesday, Tate had his Thanksgiving party at preschool. They had a feast that featured chicken (we called them "turkey") nuggets, corn, rolls, pudding, and a capri sun. 
They were so cute. Before we ate they sang this darling song to us:
After dinner was cleaned up we had a birthday celebration for Tanner. We had fun talking about the day he was born and all the crazy stuff that happened. We also had fun joking that he was born in the supply closet at the hospital, which isn't too far from the truth. He loves hearing stories about when he was small, and I love telling him about them. He had a Happy Birthday Pumpkin Pie (at his request) and opened his gifts.
We decided that since he was turning the big ONE-TWO that he was old enough to have a cell phone. He was so excited! He also got a ripstick, a nerf gun, and money (which he LOVED!!). 
It has been a great week, and it's even better that the Black Friday Ads had nothing in them that warrants an early morning shopping spree!! I'm so excited to sleep in tomorrow!!! 
Back Row: Me, Leslie, Sara, Debbie, Shauna, Michelle, Michelle N., Lynn, Rock
Then we went to the Jones' cabin and claimed our beds. That's the perk of being the first ones there!! We then went to WalMart to get the items we needed to make our yummy dinner and then back to the cabin to get the soups made. We had "Soup Of Joy" (as I lovingly refer to Zuppa Tuscana) and a creamy chicken veggie noodle soup. 
Sara
I had a great time with old and new friends, and loved being able to chat, eat, and relax with some of the wonderful women in my ward. 
Leslie and Lexine
For me, it's proven very difficult, and I don't know why. Those of you who know me know that I'm not really into that kind of stuff. I'm more of the disposable-paper-plate-kind-of-girl. Why would I stress about dinner napkins? But for some reason I got it into my head that my Thanksgiving table needed dinner napkins this year. Never mind that I don't have a fancy table cloth, or center pieces, or fancy plates for that matter. As it stands right now, I don't even have enough seating for the number of guests I'm expecting. So why dinner napkins?
There were no plates, only mustard and ketchup, and NO NAPKINS. Everyone seemed content to hold their hot dogs and to wipe their mouths with their hands (or in the case of some of the deacons, their shirts...). The simplicity of it all made sense. Why stress about something like dinner napkins when I should be enjoying that fact that I'm going to be surrounded by people who love me and could probably care less what kind of napkin I have on my table? So I made a monumental decision to stop this futile search for the perfect dinner napkin and will let my guests wipe their hands and faces on the cheesy, paper, Thanksgiving themed napkins that I purchased for my Recipe Club meeting earlier this month. They will do the same job as the fancy dinner napkin and cause me way less stress...not to mention, save me a little $$. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving I would like to thank the simple hot dog that helped me see the light and ease my napkin burden.
