Christmas Eve

So every year Jason and I spend Christmas Eve with his family. Usually his Aunt Sandy does a huge dinner at her house but this year his Aunt Colleen offered to do it at her house. Colleen did a wonderful Prime Rib dinner with all the fixins. It was wonderful. After dinner the kids all anxiously awaited the arrival of Santa. The use to hire a Santa to come but last year Nana decided to just purchase the Santa costume and then his cousin's husband Rhett dresses up and brings gifts to all the kids. Along with the gifts he brings candy canes in his hat. After each child sits on his lap they pick a candy cane out and if it is broke then you have been naughty that year. Well as the kids went up they were all getting ones that were not broke. Then our little Kennidee went up. She was so scared and we finally convinced her to sit on his lap. When she pulled out her candy cane it was broke. Her reaction was priceless. I wish I would have had a video camera. It was so funny. All the kids got their presents and then after they got to open them and were so excited. After Santa left we played the traditional game of White Elephant Bingo. We left with all sorts of interesting things this year. Hope the family enjoys the gifts that Jason brought. After we left we headed home and the kids were so excited to jump into bed so that Santa could come.

Me with the kids at the party. Aren't they the cutest ever?


Here are each of the kids on Santa's Lap. Kyson still does not like Santa



This Jason's cousins little girl. While we were singing for Santa to come she was totally dancing. She is such a cutie and has such a fun little personality that I had to take a picture of her.

Here are picture of the kids with their presents from Santa. Kyson had so much fun opening his that I took quite a few pictures so he has a collage. Be sure to notice those big brown eyes that I love so much. LOL

Polar Express

A few months ago at Jason's company party we won tickets on the Heber Creeper for our family. We were able to chose what time we would like to go so we thought it would be fun to go on the Polar Express. So last Tuesday after Jason got off work we met him at the mouth of Provo Canyon and headed up. Luckily it was in between storms so the roads were not too bad. We thought it would be fun to take the kids in their Christmas Pajamas so before we left I got Kennidee and Kyson in theirs. We left with plenty of time to have dinner at Dairy Keen in Heber. Well I was not that impressed with it. But when we were getting ready to head to the Heber Creeper I could smell something and so I checked Kyson's diaper. Well lucky for us he had exploded up his back then when he stood it went right down his leg (Isn't he a little old for this)? So of course I was not prepared and had no other clothes for him. So I took him to the bathroom for a baby wipe bath. We then headed out the door with Kyson in a coat and nothing else. At least we had a blanket. Talk about horrible timing. Of course we had to be in Heber for this to happen where there is no Walmart, Target or anything for that matter. How in the world do people even live there? How do they survive? So we found this ghetto store called Kings and luckily they had some cheap pajamas that served their purpose for the night. We then headed to the Heber Creeper. While on the train they served hot cocoa and cookies and read the Polar Express. Mrs. Claus came around and then Santa came around and gave all the kids bells. It was so fun and the kids loved it. I hope that we are able to do it again sometime.

Dawson Christmas Gift to Mom

So Dawson came home from school a week ago and he brought me a present. He insisted that I opened it now cause it was for the tree. So I opened the cute Reindeer bag that he made and there was a Christmas ornament with his picture. Then there was a coupon book. I as laughing so hard I had to scan it and post it. So here it is. Make sure that you read the From line as well. He is such a funny kid.

So now that you have read them the question is.... Did he not get it or is he just a little Man and figures that anything I get to do for him or with him is a privilege for me. LOL He is so cute and we love him. I am seriously saving this forever.

Kids Christmas Pictures

So I went out and got the kids pictures done at Kiddie Kandids for Christmas a few weeks ago but I am finally posting them. They turned out cute. Kyson is the biggest goofball and laughs so much that it is hard to get a picture of him without his mouth open. He is so funny though and we loved the pictures.

Frosty the Snowman...

The last week we have recieved TONS of snow! I (Jason) was working from home the day Kyson had tubes in his ears and most of my calls had cancelled on me, so I decided to take the kids tubing on a little hill over by Kacy's mom's house. They had a blast, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera. I did manage a picture of Kennidee making a snow angel in the front yard.

Well yesterday it DUMPED again. Kennidee has been asking me when we can make a snowman, and since this was very wet snow, I decided to make a snowman with her after work. Not the greatest one, as we were in a hurry to get it done before it was pitch black, but she was very proud of her snowman.

Also here's a flashback picture of a snowman that I made with Dawson several years ago. Look how little he was!

Viva Las Vegas

After missing last year's Vegas Bowl, I decided I would head down again this year. Kacy had to work so I decided I would take the kids. Dawson went with me in 2005 and still talks about some of the things we saw down there, so I thought it would be a good time for me and the kids to make some memories and hopefully watch the Cougars beat Arizona... Well BYU played an unemotional game and lost (Please Santa bring them a good secondary and a new offensive coordinator would be a great gift as well). But that didn't ruin the night, the kids had a great time (we wont talk about the last hour of the drive down... left at 6 in the morning on Saturday, or the car ride home on Sunday afternoon). We saw the new Volcano at the Mirage (Kennidee was a bit scared), then we walked to the Bellagio and saw the fountains. Dawson kept saying he didn't want to see any stupid fountains but then he saw them and loved it. They finally got back to the hotel around midnight (1am Utah time) and were exhausted. They crashed and slept great until around 9:00 (10 utah time).

Funny Kennidee story... we got a room at the Riviera for $29, gotta love the rates the week before Christmas! We walked into the Casino to find our way to the hotel check in, Kennidee immediately runs to a slot machine and pulls the handle, I explain to her that you have to be older to play these games, she asks how old, so I tell her 21. She then declares, as only Kennidee can... "When I'm 21 I'm SO going to play these games". LOL

So even though BYU lost, it was still a fun weekend for Daddy, Dawson and Kennidee.

Our Tiny Dancer

So on Friday Kennidee finally had her first Dance recital. She is taking Dance from this wonderful studio called Showcase USA. They do such a wonderful job and have a ton of different groups. They have to do 2 different recitals on the same day and just split the groups. Now anyone that knows me knows how excited I was for this day. I seriously have been waiting 4 1/2 years for my little girl to have her first dance recital. Sounds silly I know. I was not sure how Kennidee would do cause she is pretty shy. But she did so good. We were so proud of her. She was so excited to wear her super cute costume and she was very excited to be able to wear Mommy's makeup. She looked so cute. She went right up on stage and performed. She was not sure where to look so she watched her cousin Talia on the other side of the group most of the time. It was so much fun watching my beautiful little girl up there doing something that she enjoys so much. They did their dance and sang to "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" Here are the pictures. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Kyson 18 months and surgery

So Dec. 2nd I took our little Runt in for his 18 month appt. He is still itty bitty. He was in the 12 % for his weight weighing in at all of 22 lbs 9 oz and he is in the 20% for his height being all of 31 inches. He is so little. We also found out that day that his tubes that were put in back in January had fallen out and he had another ear infection already. So I called the ENT Doctor and they said to go ahead and bring him in. When we went in they suggested doing tubes again cause chances are he is going to keep getting them if we didn't. Plus we were still on the same deductible so that was great. So we went in last Thursday for tubes again. In January when we had them I was so scared for my little man but this time I knew what to expect and knew that it wasn't that big of a deal. He cried when they took him from me but I figured he would. He is such a Mommy's boy. But the nurses said that when he comes out of Anestestia he would cry. Well when they brought him to me after they all loved him. He did not cry at all. He just sat and snuggled with them. The kept him longer then usual cause he was so sweet and they did not want to bring him back to me. I thought that was funny. When they brought him to me we just snuggled until they told us we were discharged. I love our little Kyson. He is such a sweet boy.

Visit with Santa

So on Tuesday we finally were able to take the kids up to see Santa. When we first got to the mall the line for Santa was not too bad. But we went and did pictures at Kiddie Kandids first and then ended up standing in line for 1 1/2 hours to see Santa. The kids did okay in the line however by the time we got to see him Kennidee was tired and would not sit on his lap which resulted in me being in the picture. I figured that Kyson would not want to sit on his lap so no surprise there. But this was the best picture that we could get.



While we were waiting in line we were playing with the camera. I thought this was just a cute picture of Kyson cause of his big brown eyes. I love his big brown eyes.

Tis the Season!

So it has been a while since my last post. We have been so busy. I feel like this month is flying by and we have not been able to enjoy the joys of Christmas yet. I went back to Kiddie Kandids for Christmas and I also was on a commitee for the Festival of Trees. Well when we got back from St. George for Thanksgiving I ended up in the ER with Kidney Stones and a Kidney infection. Thank goodness Jason was able to stay home that day and help with the kids. Unfortunately he did have to go to work the next day and I still had to be Mom. So that week was a crazy week with the opening of Festival of Trees and then work. By the end of that week I was drained and tried my best to take it easy the next week so that I could get feeling better in time to enjoy some of the holidays. I am finally feeling alot better. Now I am ready to enjoy the holidays.

This time of year is my favorite time of year. Here is a few reasons I love Christmas.
* I love hearing Christmas music
* I love getting cards from friends and family.
* I love the Christmas lights
* I love the gift of giving
* I love the the whole spirit of Christmas
* Most importantly I love the true meaning of Christmas and teaching my kids about it

With Christmas less then two weeks away, shopping being done, company and family christmas parties being down we finally get to start enjoying the holiday season with our kids. We get to give them their Christmas pajamas, take the kids up to Temple Square to see the lights, go to Thanksgiving point to see lights and go on the Heber Creeper Polar express train.

I am so grateful this year for all that we have been blessed with. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope that everyone can remember Christ in Christmas this year and be grateful for all that they have be blessed with as well.

An Elf for Christmas!

So the other day Dawson and I were having a conversation about Christmas and I asked him what he wanted for christmas. Well he has been telling us that he wanted a Nintendo DS for quite a few months now but for some reason this time I got a different response. Our Conversation went as follows

Mom: Hey Dawson so what are you going to tell Santa that you want for Christmas?
Dawson: I think I am going to ask Santa for an Elf
Mom: A real elf? Why?
Dawson: Because then he can just make me everything that I want him to make.
Mom: Okay well Santa fired some of his elves cause he couldn't afford to pay them so I don't think that he can spare any.
Dawson: Well maybe when he fires another one he can just bring it here
Mom: Well where will he sleep
Dawson: On my bed with me
Mom: well who is going to take care of him?
Dawson: Me
Mom: Well okay with what money
Dawson: well dads money

I gave up at this point because he obviously had thought through this prior to telling me this. It think it is so funny that he would think to ask for an elf. Sometimes he cracks us up.

The day finally arrived!

So this post is a little late. But things have been crazy around here. So on November 20th I went to see the anxiously awaited movie Twilight. I had purchased tickets almost two months prior and was so excited. Well I did not have high expectations for the movie because movies are never as good as the book. So we had tickets for 11:59 that night and I was so exhausted from running all day but the excitement kicked in and surprisingly enough I stayed awake. So after seeing the movie I walked out totally disappointed. It was horrible. Terrible acting, low budget and NOT the Edward I pictured in my head. So I slept on it and still felt the same way. Several of my friends watched it the next few days and it was interesting to hear their feelings on the movie. Some agreed with the way I felt and others loved it. So after much thought I decided that I needed to see it again. Over Thanksgiving weekend while visiting family in St. George us girls decided to go and see it again. I have to say that I enjoyed it alot better. I actually now can't wait for the second one to come out. If you have not seen it yet then I suggest if you don't like it to go and see it again. I felt like the Bella was perfect physically however she was a little monotone. I was not too fond of Edward however in some parts he looks okay. Alice was perfect. Jasper as horrible and looked constipated most of the time. Rosalie was okay but not as pretty as she could have been. Emmett, Esme and Carlisle were awesome. Laurent, Victoria and James were great as well. I am still not sure about Charlie. So let me know what you think if you have seen it already otherwise I am curious to know what you think when you do.