Christmas Morning!

Christmas this year was so great. The pictures say it all. The kids were so excited and it was so fun to see their faces light up with all the new goodies that came their way. We decided next year to go to Disneyland with my family in November'ish and my mom got the kids the cutest piggy bank with this poem:

This little pig
Will sit in your house
Right now he is quiet
Just like a mouse

He will get heavy
If you put money inside
And soon you'll enjoy
The Disneyland rides

So mind mom and dad
Leave no chores undone
Cause mickey is waiting
To show you some fun!

It wasn't just about the gifts this year at all. It was so neat to teach little Macie the reason why we celebrate this special Christmas holiday and we went through the whole nativity scene with her to explain that it is the Savior's birthday we are celebrating. She was cute and sweet and of course LOVED the gifts (likened to the wisemen bringing gifts to the Savior!) Anyway, my mom also wrote this so sweet poem and I just love it:

How grateful we are
For the dear Saviors birth
And all that he taught us
When He walked the earth

He didn't have much
And was born in a stable
He didn't have ipod's
He didn't have cable

So as you are giving
Your gifts bought with love
Don't forget to give
thanks to our
Father above.

So sweet and so true. Hope you all had a merry one!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Our Chrismtas Eve Dinner...super fancy that I am pretty sure we used paper goods!

Baking Cookies for Santa! (MOMMY!!)

Our favorite elf Mr. Peeps! This was so fun this year to have a special elf that was magical and would move to a different spot each night to watch the kids for Santa. On Christmas Eve, we put him on the tree so Santa could take him back to the North Pole!
The view of the mess from up high! That dang kitchen took Dave forever to put together! So much for just whipping it right out!

Here are a few of our "newest" family traditions on Christmas Eve because we are up here in Boise all by our lonesome's. We didn't make it to Utah this year to be with our families so this is what we did instead.......which I have to say was super fun and the kids had a blast!

Christmas Jammies! Macie the great!

Debuting Chefs Daddy Dave and Macie Moo!

Bunco has begun....finally!

So ever since I moved up here to Meridian I have been talking about putting a Bunco group together. A year in the making and we finally played our first game last night at my house. I am so bummed that I didn't take pictures...but we had the best time! I can honestly say that I have just grown so much to love it here and have made some great friends. After Bunco, we all went and saw the movie, "August Rush!" Talk about a feel good movie. I was loving every minute of it and it is a must see!!

Christmas Cards and the stress of it all!

I will tell you why I am so bitter this year about my Christmas cards. My really good friend Amber Buhrley makes her Christmas cards year after year....as do many of you! More power to you girls!!! I thought about it and said, I like the print your cards at Costco machines and go type of card...you still get the cute picture. So, then Amber proceeds to show me the cute paper she had just purchased to make her cards. That sold me and it actually seemed a little fun to put them together. She talked me into making my own cards as well this year.

It took some time to cut, glue, fold, and create, however, they were all made with love! HA! I was so thrilled to have completed the task and they were all addressed, stamped, and ready to drop off at the post office. I took them in because I needed to mail a package and I was informed that the "bumps" which were really brads and sooooo cute, were going to cost me an additional .17 per card. Do the math and times that by 65 cards plus the already .41 stamp on there....and paper, embellishments, pictures, and TIME! Okay, so I just needed to vent about this little tradition that we all make ourselves crazy over. I think I overdid it this year and for all of those of you are on my address list....dont fool yourself and I hope this isn't a trap because I will not be making my cards every single year. I will simply create a Christmas message with an updated letter on our family and enclose a picture. amen.

Much love to you all and Merry Christmas!!!

Girls Retreat!!

Tiffany, Lorrie, and I during a tour in the kitchen at Buca Di Beppo!

Dallas: St George, UT, Married, nurse (the best one out there )pregnant with twin boys! Rachel: Salt Lake, soon to be Kamas UT, Married with 2 kids; Anjali 2 and Ethan 6 weeks! Tiffany: Springville, Married, pregnant with her first little girl, Kennedy! Lorrie: Star Valley, WY Married, dental hygienist, 2 boys: Dylan almost 4 and Daxton 4 months. Lindsay: Meridian, ID Married, 2 kids, Macie almost 3 and Dalan 16 months, blah, blah, blah and NOT PREGO!

Tiffany, Dallas, and I at the crime scene at our hotel on our floor. Oh yea....Murder Inn...

Tiffany, Me, Lorrie, and Dallas at our hotel!! Group photo...missing Rachel.

We had the best weekend EVER! Since we are all scattered, we decided that a girls retreat in SLC would be the perfect meeting point for all of us! We have talked about getting together for a while and finally made it happen. It was so great to pick up right where we left off and reminisce and talk about our lives now with children...and a few on the way! I am happy to report that I am the only not pregnant, nursing mama at the moment and it felt so great. Hey I did my time 2 summers in a row!! We went out to dinner at an Italian family style restaurant called Buca Di Beppo and of course had to order dessert....chocolate brownie ala mode~! We then went back to our hotel to catch up and had a night that we will never forget. We laughed, cried, (due to deaths in the family) and then our night turned to panic and fear, which is a whole different story....which goes a little something like this:

Rachel was leaving to head home, ya know the whole nursing the baby in the night thing! She pushed the elevator door (see picture above) and when the elevator opened, she saw part of the crime scene with blood all over the floor and walls....talk about a pit in your stomach. We then realized that there was blood all down the hallways of our floor and we were so scared....and so curious. In the meantime, Rachel was ready to get home because it was snowing and the whole nursing thing. We all walked her down to her car so she could get going. As we came out of the staircase doors....more blood all over the hallways of the hotel lobby. We were not at a Motel 6 or even a Comfort Inn....this was at a Hilton! (In your face Paris!) Anyway, come to find out there was a gang fight that broke out which resulted in a table being thrown out the window and all other kinds of damages to the room as well as injuries. We were all shocked and it resulted in a long night of restless sleep and bad dreams....but so worth it to see all those cute girls!

The next morning, we all got up and got dressed (sharing one bathroom!) it took us a bit to get out the door. We went and had lunch at a really great Mexican restaurant and then headed to the mall for some shopping. It was the perfect trip and we cannot wait to plan another reunion...maybe in the spring next time girls!

Anyway, it was refreshing and rejuvenating and so nice to come back to my home with my hubby and kiddies, ready to fulfill the mama in me! They are the best thing that ever happened to me...and my roomies witnessed all the fun and heartache of dating, cramming for exams, lots of late night popcorn and brownies, the freshman 15 on my part....and we are all now happily married in a new chapter of our lives. Fun times!!

A perfect day!

So I just need to tell you all what a fantastic day today has been. My friend Kirsten somehow roped me into going to "boot camp" at the YMCA this morning at 5:30 am. I am a gymboree'r, but usually don't get my butt there until atleast 9:30-10'ish. I found myself all night long tossing and turning so nervous that I would sleep through my alarm clock. I awoke at 5 am and had no idea what I was about to experience. Real live boot camp. Talk about a super good, wake me up, man yelling to MOVE IT, kind of work out! I felt the burn....but it felt great.

I then made it home by 7 and was showered and ready to go by 8. Kids still sleeping until around 8:15, Macie more like 9. (We had a late night....we took her to dinner and to see the movie Enchanted for Family Home Evening with our friends, the Buhrley's.) Anyway, kids fed, dressed and out the door by 9:45 and back to the YMCA by 10:15 for my 60 minute massage. Is it bad to tell someone the first time you meet them that you love them. I confessed my love to this massage therapist who worked wonders and unknotted the knots in my neck. INCREDIBLE

I knew getting home would be a breeze to feed the kids lunch because then it meant nap time! It has been just a beautiful day and the sun is shining, literally.

Who knew that early mornings would hold so much joy and accomplishment for one person in a day. Too bad I love my sleep so much. I am going to try to get up a little earlier and enjoy just a little bit longer me time....I'll let you know if I survive by 4:00 this afternoon! Am I super selfish?