Hope Yule Like It

We had such a great Christmas. During the week we went to Temple Square to see the lights, which was so fun. We listened to the story of Jesus while admiring the nativity. Boston is very inquisitive, and it's a great opportunity to share my feelings about my Savior. I'm surprised at how much he knows (though after a primary lesson, he brought home a picture of Jesus and told me it was Santa. Beards can be confusing for li'l tykes!).

Trav waaay overdid the gifts. It was pretty fun to watch him the first night pulling out presents from his little hiding spot, but by late night wrapping party #3, I was starting to feel guilty. I know there are many kids who probably didn't have a Christmas. We are so fortunate.

We always have a sort of revolving door around the holidays. We cooked (by we I mean mainly Trav) 3 delicious meals for Christmas.
Christmas Eve: tri-tip steak on the grill, fresh grilled green beans, sweet potato casserole, cheesy potatoes (also known as 'funeral' potatoes)
Christmas morn: sausage and egg breakfast casserole, blueberry muffins, fruit
Christmas dinner: soup buffet- loaded baked potato and creamy Italian sausage delight, rolls and an amazing salad with cashews, pears, and a yummy lemon poppyseed dressing (thanks Dad and Renita)
Oh, and there were some yummy desserts. Am I always talking about food? Hello!

One thing I absolutely love about my family is that we rarely talk about the weather. I always learn so much from my parents and enjoy thought-provoking conversation. Sometimes we're serious and sometimes we're silly, but it's never boring.

Here are a few quotes overheard during the various festivities:

1. "I'm not judging! I got major freakin' problems!"
2. "How many ppppeople did I kiss?"
3. "Tell Baby Jason to watch out for the dog's naughty bits."
4. "One movie I'm not going to see is that one with Emma Thomson and Dustin Hoffman! Why do they keep giving that guy movies? He's disgusting."
5. "Sara, why don't you try on your new slippers?"
"She's afraid everyone will see her knobby toes."

Hey, I didn't say our conversation was always high class!







One of our family traditions: new Christmas pjs.


Sarajane's new pjs are a delight: footed!

My Aspen: Good!

Ahhh, Aspen. Just want to go back! I've always pictured a true 'me' vacation being somewhere warm, but I may have changed my mind! I absolutely loved sitting by the fire with some of my favorite people in this world drinking hot cocoa, loungin' in the hot tub, skiing, shopping, snowshoeing, snacking, and playing games.

Snowshoeing was more fun than I thought.

Snowshoe rental, $13, Jacket: $200 (in the year 1998!), a dog humping your friend on the hill: priceless.

Seriously, when a random puppy comes running up the hill and your friends get all nervous, the right thing to do is to bend down, make a snowball, and throw it to distract the dog. Well, the dog apparently thought that was invitation to jump aboard. Aaron was the only one to attempt to save me amidst the roaring laughter. My dear husband just kept on shootin' pix. It was hilarious!

Great men apparently think alike. . .they simultaneously debuted brown sweaters our first night on the town.


If you've never been to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. . .mmmm. Two words: yummy filet.


Her cuteness!

Super Girl

I knew I'd find this somewhere. Sarajane, you are such a superhero!

Global Warming? Big Fan.

December 1st and I'm excited to announce that we spent over 2 hours at the park. December 1st!!! I arrived equipped with 3 children (we often borrow our carpool buddy from preschool) and a pile of chicken mcnuggets. Glorious.

I Heart California

I never reported on our fabulous vacation to California in October. I took about 700 pictures (yikes!). What a joy it was to go with Ben and Shannon and their li'l ones. While more children may cause more frequent travel stops, it is so fun to share great times with friends (and also laugh together—or cry—at the kids' scattered meltdowns!). We spent some time in Newport Beach and a couple days in San Diego. So much I could say, but let's let a few of the many photos do the talking.

Thanksgiving

We had an amazing Thanksgiving meal and a great day with friends and family. We had 10 guests, including my sibs, Trav's dad, Sarajane, and Eleanor. We've been keeping some old traditions and adding in a few of our own. Chef Trav did some fun new things, including homemade cranberry sauce and potatoes that had simmered for hours in cream and other deliciousness before later getting mashed to perfection. Bridget provided 6 fabuolous desserts. After dinner, the 4 a.m. Black Friday planning was underway. (Needless to say, this morning's shopping excursions were lengthy and exciting. T loves the thrill of the hunt.)

It really wasn't until the quiet of the evening today that I got to thinking about everything I have to be thankful for. I feel pretty undeserving sometimes of all that I've been given. . .

Granny Annie: Grillz Just Wanna Have Fun

When we were in Cali, "Grandma From the Beach" (as they call my mom) gave each kid a dynamo pack of goodies: Halloween straws, their Halloween light-up shirts, insanely messy sparkle play-dough, books, and candy bracelets. The favorite items, however, were the sweet, jacked-up grill teeth. Upon returning home, my dad came for a visit and announced that he'd always wanted some of these faux fangs. Boston had fun modeling them with Grandpa.

At one point on the drive home, I turned around to find that the kids had put their teeth on. Bad pic, but this adequately captures the snot and drool. Love her!