Images of Christmas

We have had a great Christmas celebration over the past couple of days. Some of the highlights:

-Carrying on one of our family traditions by getting hamburgers for lunch at Culver's on Christmas Eve. (We always went to Crown Burger in Salt Lake!)

-Hosting an Italian dinner (in memory of my mom) on Christmas Eve- sharing the evening with friends...being able to finally use my mom's china that I have had for 8 years but have never unpacked because we have moved so much! I was so thankful to spend the holidays in our own home.

-Excited kids in new pajamas who actually went to bed and slept through the night- well, two of them did. My little "helper" Regan stayed up late doing preparations with me and then would not sleep in her crib! (No big surprise there!)

-Christmas morning fun...it is so fun to have kids this age, to see their excitement over gifts that you have picked out with such love. Ashton loved here easy bake oven, new earrings, and books. Jordan had waited all year for her baby swim doll! Regan's favorite was her baby doll and stroller. Tod and I had a mutual understanding that this year was for the kids- he still surprised me with fun stocking stuffers.

-We missed our families- we loved talking to them on the phone and webcam, especially seeing baby Sutton in his Santa hat!

-Enjoying a fabulous Christmas meal with our amazing friends- Cafe Rio food which has become an Iowa tradition for us. Last year, we missed this so much and never could have imagined that this year would bring us back to this tradition...lots of laughs and lots of fun.

-Falling into bed and savoring the memories of the day, also being glad it only comes once a year!

Christmas Break Comes Early

Yesterday we got a big ice/snow storm, so school was cancelled and Christmas Break came early! Ashton was thrilled, Jordan was disappointed because she had a big program she was looking forward to. We tried to still make the day fun. Tod spent all morning shoveling (more like hacking away at the ice!) By afternoon, things were cleared up a bit so we went over to "The Brown Bottle" Italian restaurant which is one of our very favorite places to eat! We wanted to do this because growing up, our family had the tradition of eating at Della Fontana, an Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City, around the holidays. It was always such a speical treat. After lunch we went and bought our first sled and the girls had so much fun! So, one of our least favorite things about our house has been the backyard. It is basically a steep hill...well, it turns out that it is the perfect place for sledding and since it's right out back, it's really convenient too! Here are some pictures from the day. The one of Ashton is her holding a solid piece of ice. Gotta love the midwest!

Happy Day!

My youngest sister, Katy, had her baby last night...Sutton Charlie George arrived at 7:59 PM after 13 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing!!! He weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. Oh, and he is absolutely adorable! I am so excited to be his aunt, and I can't wait to meet him in person. Way to go Katy and Nick!

Thanksgiving Fun

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving- I took so many it's going to take a couple of posts to share just a few. These shots are from Thanksgiving day- fun with the BB gun. One of my favorite pictures is of me shooting the gun- just seems funny with the belly and all. Ashton and Regan got in on the fun, but Jordan chose to watch from the doorway. It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect. More to come...