Christmas Day 2016

Santa did come & he brought some really fun things for the kids this year.

Canyon got a little puppet theater with some puppets.

Craiger got his favorite Wii game (he's been wanting forever) & a controller.

Bladen got a really cool knights & dragon fort.  He collects knights & dragons & plays with the little action figures for hours on end.  This thing is going to make those little battles a whole lot more exciting for him.

Taya is my horse lover & look at this adorable barn that Santa brought her.  How precious is that?

Lorien is my karaoke queen so she was THRILLED to get a karaoke machine.

Cadence is definitely becoming a teenager. . . she got a new backpack & the maze runner book series.

They were all very excited about their gifts.

My mom wasn't in the best health the entire week we were there.  Poor thing.  I felt so bad for her.  But she had a good Christmas day.  Just look how beautiful she is.  I love you mom!

After opening presents, we broke out our new games & played some more.  That Speak Out game is just plain hilarious.

But my mouth is way too small to put those things in it.  I kept gagging & throwing up.  Justin thought it was hilarious.

After lunch, & showers, & just enjoying our gifts, we finally opened up our stockings.

I had a lot of fun with stocking gifts for Cadence & Lorien this year.  All the gifts I put in Lorien's stocking were Harry Potter themed.

And all the gifts I put in Cadence's stocking were Thomas Brodie-Sangster themed (aka her Hollywood crush . . . Newt from the Maze Runner & Ferb from Phineas & Ferb)

They loved it.  Unfortunately I didn't get a single picture of Trek or I opening our stockings.  I guess that's what happens when you're a grown up.  But I did surprise Trek with an iWatch (which my grandma, parents, & brother all helped pitch in money for.  I have the best family ever.)  We were SO proud that he made Major so quickly.  He is such a hard worker & such a wonderful husband & father.  He deserves it.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas Eve 2016

We had a really relaxing Christmas Eve at my mom's house.  We opened one present on Christmas Eve morning, a game from Talon & Carolyn, & we played it ALL DAY LONG.  It was called Speak Out & it's hilarious.  You put these dental mouth guards into your mouth & read cards out loud.  The other players have to guess what you're trying to say.  And let me tell you, it is IMPOSSIBLE to say anything that starts with the letter "B" with those things in your mouth.  It was pretty funny.

We made a big Christmas dinner with turkey & mashed potatoes & yams & all that good stuff, & then settled down to watch a few Christmas movies as a family.  Out of nowhere, we heard the sound of jingle bells upstairs & the kids raced upstairs to see what it was.  On Mamoo's bed was a wrapped present for everyone in the family including the grown ups.  Santa had come a little early to deliver a Christmas Eve present.

What were they?  Pajamas, of course.

Canyon was SO excited about is Baymax pajamas that I couldn't even get a decent picture of him.  He kept jumping around excitedly while I tried to get a picture.

Craiger got a Minecraft Avenger set  of pajamas.

And Bladen got Star Wars.

Taya got a beautiful Tinkerbell nightgown.

And Lorien & Cadence got matching Hogwarts/Marauders Map pajamas.  (I'm still jealous of these.  They're amazing).  We figured out later that the shirts glow in the dark.  Where it says "marauders map" in the light, it glows in the dark to say "Mischief Managed."  Totally awesome.

And of course I got Mickey pajamas.  Surprise, surprise.

Trek also got some Harry Potter pajamas.  Go go Gryffindor!

After we got our new pajamas on, we settled down & watched Santa Claus 2 as a family.  Then we sent all the kiddos upstairs to bed.  In my family, Santa doesn't fill the stockings.  Every person in the family buys one (or more) thing to put in each stocking.  It can be as simple as a candy bar or sometimes a big suprise present . . . like an iWatch (I totally surprised Trek this year as a gift for making Major in the Air Force.). 

Stockings have come to be my favorite part of Christmas.  I love the thought that goes into the little gifts & how COOL some of the gifts are.

My mom handmade every single one of the stockings.  They are absolutely beautiful.  And boy were they full this year.  We had bags & gifts in front of & behind almost every stocking.  SO MUCH FUN.

After we filled the stockings, we went to bed & waited for Santa to come & do his magic.

Christmas was going to be amazing.

Family Fun Before Christmas

We stayed in UT a full 8 days & most of them were before Christmas which was great.  It was really nice just being with mom, dad, & Mamoo & then Justin & Cari & their kids.  It was peacful, it was beautiful, & it was just a perfect Christmas vacation.

It was great for my kids to just love on my mom & dad who they hardly ever see.  And my kids fell in love with Justin's dog, Rex, all over again.  (I'll admit, I kind of love their dog too.  He's SO STINKIN CUTE!)

One thing Trek & I got to do together was go to the new Provo Utah City Center Temple.  When I was in the Utah Valley Children's Choir whcn I was 9, we used to sing in this tabernacle for all of our concerts.  I also went the the Utah Valley Symphony concerts every year as a tween & teenager in this building.  I still remember watching the news when the tabernacle burned down by an accidental fire. I was devastated.  It felt SO sad that a building that meant so much to me during my childhood was gone forever. 

When they announced that it would be completely rebuilt & transformed into an LDS Temple I cried & cried & cried.  It made me SO happy that such a beautiful building was being fixed & made even more beautiful than it was before.  As Trek & I went inside to do temple work, I was full of emotions the entire time.  I'm SO happy we got to go while we were there for Christmas.

My brother Justin also recommended a wonderful Children's Museum at Thanksgiving Pointe in Lehi.  It was AMAZING.  We spent a few hours there & the kids loved every second of  it.

They had an entire wing dedicated to weather, so Taya was in heaven.  She's SO determinded to become a meteorologist.  The kids really liked watching the tornado form.

There was an area that taught about erosion, water, earthquakes, & a hurricane wind blower.  I think the kids had fun with the hurricane wind blower.  ha ha ha.

They had a wing that was a town full of cute activities the kids could play with.  Taya really enjoyed the "play" area.  It was filled with backdrops, costumes, music, lights, & you make up & act out plays.  She was there FOREVER.

Bladen loved the climbing gym.  He got to the top as fast as he could & just kept going up & down & up & down again.  My little climber.

 

Craiger & Canyon liked the music room with me.  There were different instruments they could play including a piano that played with bubbles.

It was a really fun museum.  I think the kids had a great time, & I enjoyed our time there too.