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...

Happy Birthday!

He doesn't really like the whole "blogging" thing.

He's not one to be overly sentimental.

But still, I couldn't miss the chance to say that I am the luckiest girl to be married to this man.

There are none better.

Happy Birthday!

Some November Pictures

Here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks. First, we have Jordan in her cheerleader costume- the one that Grandma Cindy made. After Grandma had worked so hard on it, it got lost in the mail and Jordan waited patiently all week for it to arrive. She even borrowed a costume from a friend for her class party the day before Halloween. So when Halloween night arrived and still no costume...I started to lose hope. Literally, as we were on our way out the door to the trunk-or-treat, the mailman arrived with the costume. Jordan was so happy- as evidenced by her in her car seat in costume with Dad's soda in hand!

Next, we have a lovely picture of me...taken by Ashton. A friend who lives far away asked if I was showing yet. Ummm, yes. I hate to think what I will look like in 19 more weeks.

And finally, Regan showing her attitude and her sweetness!

Halloween Traditions

For Chris, Melissa and Katy!

This time of year reminds me so much of my mom. Halloween was her favorite holiday, and we had a lot of fun, simple traditions that we always did. I have tried to do many of these same traditions with my own kids. On Wednesday, we carved pumpkins which is always fun and hectic with little ones. I am including the picture of Jordan because if you look closely you will see the paper she is looking at is a copy of the same one we always used to find our jack-o-lantern faces. It is from the 1969 issue of the Friend magazine.

Last night was trick or treating (for some reason, it is held on the night before Halloween in our town). We were absolutely spoiled because the weather (especially for Iowa) was perfect. Warm enough to actually just wear your costume and not a hundered layers! (We had Hannah Montana, High School Musical cheerleader, and Dalmatian Dog) Anyway, after a fun evening, I was tucking the girls in bed, and I ran to get my Halloween poem book. Every year for as long as I can remember, my mom would read this poem on Halloween night. I can still hear her voice saying the words. I am including a copy of this poem especially for my siblings who truly understand the magic of having a parent like my mom.

Tonight, we will have our traditional spooky Halloween meal with the menu posted. This year it is Layered Bat Wings with Witch's Brew (Lasagna), Skeleton Fingers (Bread sticks), Cat Eyes (Corn), Goblin Greens (Salad) and Ghost Blood (Milk). I can't make it too gross or the girls won't eat it! I just love doing these fun things with my kids.

Happy Halloween By Jack Prelutsky

It's late and we are sleepy

The air is cold and still

Our jack-o-lantern grins at us

Upon the window sill.

We're stuffed with cake and candy

And we've had a lot of fun,

But now it's time to go to bed

And dream of all we've done.

We'll dream of ghosts and goblins

And of witches that we've seen,

And we'll dream of trick-or-treating

On this happy Halloween.