Christmas Morn

Well, Christmas has come and gone. We were hoping to be snowed in for the day, but our snowstorm arrived Christmas night. The kids were good this year, and got up when asked (7 am), although Hayley's alarm woke me up at 6:45 am. This was set so she could do her hair for the pictures! Since when did she turn 13?! Anyways, I think the kids all enjoyed their presents and hopefully forgot the ones they didn't get. Here's some pics:

The family enjoying a little Guitar Hero on Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's.



The kids at Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas Eve.

Hayley with her Dancing with the Stars PS2 game. Watch out Edyta!

Tyler with one of the only gifts from his Santa list - Batman Legos video game!

Zach with Guitar Hero III. We'll never see him again!

Justin with tissue paper?! He was across the room from me, and all I could see was the wrapping paper flying all around me from the other three kids, so this was one of a few that I actually captured of Justin.

Childhood Innocence

On Friday night, we had our Ward Christmas Party. This year, they planned a nice dinner for everyone with a short version of "The Polar Express" (which is the only way to go for this long, drawn-out movie). We were told to wear pajamas. Hayley, Justin and Tyler did for our family, and the rest of us went in our clothes. I don't know about anyone elses ward get togethers, but my kids like to hang out with friends. I have long since given up on trying to keep the kids with us. The only kid that ate dinner with our family was Justin (gotta love Justin!), the rest were scattered throughout the gym with their friends. After dinner, the movie started, and all the smaller kids sat to watch. My older two started roaming the halls with friends. Zach and his posse found a classroom to watch "Napoleon Dynamite" on his PSP. Wish I would have known, cause I like that movie a whole lot more! Hayley and a couple of friends just wandered, giggling like girls do. After the party, it took us about 20 minutes to round everyone up, and I found Zach first who (along with his friends) told me that McKay (a 7th grade neighbor) kissed Hayley! My first question was, "WHERE?!" He answered by saying, "On the head." (That better be it!) I started looking for Hayley and Whitney, along with Whitney's mom. Then, my neighbor came out and asked if I had seen McKay. This immediately sent worry. A few minutes later, I found Hayley (without McKay!), and started asking about the kissing. She confirmed that he had kissed her on the head twice, but that was all. Fortunately, Hayley found this repulsive (since she's only in the 4th grade) and had to come home and take a shower and wash her hair! I think Kris came home and felt the need to check his gun! I do not look forward to the teenage years!

My Mud Room

This is what my mud room looked like (and still looks like) after this weekend. We received nine inches of snow over the weekend, and it didn't take long for my four kids to pull out coats, gloves, hats, boots and snow pants and head to the great outdoors for several hours of fun. They built snow forts, had snowball fights, and just enjoyed the fresh white powder.

Here in Farmington, we have a large flat yard. When we lived in Draper, we had a much smaller yard with retaining walls and small hills. The kids used to ski and sled down our backyard in Draper. At times, we all miss the hours of entertainment we had in our backyard there, but the kids seem to find fun with the snow anywhere. Oh, to be a kid again!

Let It Snow!

Last night, we decorated this...(a little messy, but worth it - I think!)

And this morning, we woke up to this...

I guess Christmas can come now.

Great Ideas to help with the Holidays

If you are like me, you look anywhere and everywhere for tips, help, and ideas to simplify the holidays. I ran across this website, and wanted to share:

www.organizedchristmas.com

Also, several years ago, my sister clued me in to a great website where your kids can write to Santa online, and as soon as they hit "Send", a message from Santa immediately appears. It is so real, that the first year we used it, Zach had just learned that Santa was not real, and after he sent his letter, he began to question whether he really was or not! It makes a believer out of any kid! Where was all this fun stuff when I was a kid?! Here's that website:

www.emailsanta.com

Check it out and enjoy the holidays!

Christmas Already?!

I still cannot believe that Christmas is only 25 days away! I thought I would make a list of the pros and the cons of the holidays for me:

Cons:

-I have no idea what to get for my twelve year old, and he's not helping me!
-My three other kids list' are way too long!
-I found nothing (repeat nothing!) at the day after Thanksgiving sales!
-I hate Walmart or any other store from here until January 2nd!
-My 10 foot Christmas tree looks really bare.
-I still have family members who I have no idea what to get for them.
-Any weight that I may have recently lost, has been or will be gained back.
-Those Salvation Army bell ringers.
-Neighbor gifts (any ideas?!)
-Christmas cards
-I'm sure there are more, but enough of the cons...

Pros:

-Family get-togethers
-The excitement in my kids (that's what Christmas is all about!)
-The fun traditions we get to do (decorate the tree, decorate gingerbread house, drive to see Christmas lights...)
-Helping others
-Some Christmas music (Home Alone album, Rosie Christmas album-bought when I still liked her, Elvis Christmas)
-Baking
-Looking forward to a new year
-Celebrating the Birth of our Savior

The Big Game

It is the time of year that most people look forward to, and I tend to dread. Anyone living in the state of Utah, is either red or blue. You know, U of U or BYU. I grew up being a BYU fan, in part to my parents. I never attended BYU, but my little sister went there, so I still have some loyal ties linking me to this school. Over the years, my two brothers became U of U fans. I think they liked the reputation of the school (U of U, party school, BYU, religious school). Enough said. When Kris and I were first married, he had just graduated from Ricks College and was looking to get his bachelors. He applied to both BYU and the U, and was accepted to both. We both really wanted him to go to the Y, but one Saturday, we took a drive down to Provo to check out the housing. It was hard to find any good places, along with jobs. I already had a good job, and I was going to be the breadwinner for a while, so we decided to go to the U so I wouldn't have to change jobs or commute further. This decision changed the game for me. I now have a die-hard Ute fan for a husband, and I am now a so-so BYU fan. It is much easier for me to not get so involved in it. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge football fan, I love this sport. I just wish I could watch the BYU-Utah game and totally cheer my team on. A couple of years ago, my mom and dad invited us to come watch the game with them and my two brothers. Half of us were Utes, the other half, Cougars. (You know it's bad when my kids started picking sides; usually they try to make us both happy and tend to go for the team of the parent they are trying to please. I have lost Zach to the dark, I mean red side, and Hayley likes to side with her mom, thatta girl! And then there's Justin and Tyler who are the swing voters!) The game got to be so competitive with my brothers that it was no fun. One brother has never been a good loser (lots of board games being thrown in the air when we were younger!). By the end of the fourth quarter, I was so mad at how rude he was being, I left to the kitchen, and missed the winning touchdown of BYU to beat the Utes. It's no fun when you can't enjoy a good win or a good game. I try to remain neutral all season and go for both teams, but when this one game of the year happens, it's time to go blue! Kris is pretty good about not being too in my face about it, thank goodness.

My kids elementary school does a really fun tradition every year during the week before the game. They have one day where they pick their team colors and wear their color. Today they had a team pep rally at lunch for the big game, and they also have a canned goods fund raiser where the kids bring cans and put them in the bin marked BYU or Utah. At the end of the week, they announce the winner with the most amount. This year, I am sad to say the winner was Utah! I hope this isn't a precursor to the game tomorrow. Until tomorrow, go COUGARS!!!