Merry Christmas

My two favorite 'presents' underneath our Christmas tree this year.

Christmas Eve

We were spoiled and received several inches of snow on Christmas Eve. We took advantage of the snow and took Luke sledding. My parent's neighbor have the perfect slope in their front yard for a mini-sledding hill.

Luke really liked it for a couple of runs, but then decided that pushing his truck around on the crunchy snow was more appealing to him.

Luke and trucks are never far apart.

Emma was a little tuckered out. Once she was asleep I put her inside and Bryan and I competed against each other for distance on the sledding hill.

 

The starting line...

...and the finish/winner line. 

Yep, I took that bad boy all the way down the side walk to the adjacent street with just a little steering. Boo-yah---Winner! Winner! Poor Bryan, he almost made it to the mail box. :)

 As the sledding competition wrapped up, we were treated to this sunset.

After dinner, we opened one present that contained new pajamas. I sweetened the present with Luke to include a new movie, popcorn and his very own root beer. I knew that new pajamas alone wouldn't be too thrilling. We're still experimenting with what traditions we want to do as a family on Christmas Eve. I think the pajamas will stick, but I'm not sure about the movie.

Emma was content with the paper.

However, she is a girl and can always appreciate something new to wear.

We enjoyed watching the movie for a little while and then it was off to bed.

'The children were nestled all snug in their bed,

while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads...'

Graham Cracker Houses, Round Two

While at my parents' home, we made graham cracker houses with all of the other cousins that could make it. We missed the families that couldn't be there. For family members reading this, what do you think...should I try again to pull a family reunion together again???

Anyway, back to the candy and houses. It was a fantastic time with everyone. Lots of sugar, lots of laughs and even though there was a little cheating in the games (that's right, it's been a month, but I still remember) it was lots of fun!

All of the cousins that could make it. We were still missing seven other cousins

Gwen assembling/constructing the homes.

The distributors of candy, or quality control.

Madi and Katelyn demonstrating their artistic sides.

The dynamic duo: Peyt and Aubrey

Chandler concentrating to get the precise candy placement on his graham cracker house.

"The candy goes where???"

By the looks of those cheeks, Luke had it figured out. All he had to do was follow his mother's lead.

The finished products.

When the candy on the table disappeared, Luke went to other "sources." Sometimes, the two guys below would beat Luke to the goodies...

Meet Milo (a.k.a. Julio to some) and Daphne, Tom and Staci's dogs. 

A few random pics to finish this post with. I loved seeing everyone and especially watching the cousins play. 

Makes me feel such a twinge a homesickness as I look at these pictures. We had a great time!

Bryan's Birthday

We celebrated Bryan's 33rd(!) birthday last month! We had a steak dinner, a few presents and a delicious (if I do say so myself) german chocolate cake that I made from scratch. Bryan is a wonderful husband and father. He is so good at both that he had a hard time eating his birthday dinner in peace!



We were able to go enjoy a birthday lunch, just the two of us, at Maddox while visiting family in Utah over the holidays. It was nice to be able to finish two sentences in a row and actually eat our food while it was still warm!

Running Just "A Little" Behind!

Wow, not sure what my excuse is this go around for slacking on the updates of what's been going on around here! Hopefully, I can get caught up in the next few days...we will see.

Rick and Jasmine stopped by on their way to one of Rick's work assignments in December. We love it when family or friends come to play. We made graham cracker houses while they were here. This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

           

The anticipation was a killer!

Jasmine and Emma

Most of the construction crew... Emma patiently waiting for her turn with the frosting bag.

Luke shares my thinking of graham cracker houses; what goes on...

must come off! 

His graham cracker house was very modest this year as most of the goodies went straight to his belly. 

He's got the beat

He can't help but bob his head along to some good tunes. Luke loves music!

Has It Been A Month???

November felt like a very busy month, I'm not sure where it went! We had a nice Thanksgiving that we spent with Mike and Melissa's family in Erie. Luke had a lot of fun playing with all of the toys and trying to keep up with his older cousins. Melissa had decorated so fancy, it was beautiful. It is always nice to spend holidays with family. We were having so much fun that we forgot to snap a picture, but it was a great day. I'm extremely grateful for our little family. It's crazy for me to think that just 5 years ago Bryan and I were dating!  If someone would have told me then that I would be married with 2 kids and living in Colorado in only 5 years, I would have responded that they were crazy! Life is full of adventures and different turns. I feel so blessed, and sometimes a little crazy. :)

Speaking of our little family, Emma recently approached the new adventure of solid foods. She tried oatmeal cereal for the first time and LOVED it. She was grabbing the spoon out of my hand! It was pretty funny to Bryan, myself and even Luke to watch her take command.

Judging by this last picture, bring on the steak!