santa found us!

we have a few photos of christmas morning - before things got too fun, that is.

wondering if she can touch her stuff

digging for gold in that stocking

stocking stuffing was too fun this year - as much fun kid stuff as you could cram

beth is teeming with excitement and anticipation

what a good big sister

beth and her new bff

and then the camera was forgotten!  we had a great christmas morning that extended well into that night.  we finished, cleaned up, got ready, and got off by around 11 that morning.  we headed south to spend the day with our families and got into monroe a couple hours later.  after opening presents and visiting there, we met up with weston's family and had dinner and more presents.  that night, weston and i went to richfield and saw true grit.  we highly recommend it and i really want to see it again.  we stayed through sunday and then went home that night.  we had a great christmas weekend with family and it was kind of over too quickly!

christmas eve 2010

i suppose i better post about our christmas this year before it's actually next year.

i give you: christmas eve 2010

we spent the day together, which was lovely.  weston had the day off and we were out shopping.  yes, shopping amongst the hoardes of other last minute shoppers.  only it wasn't a crazy nightmare - we weren't shopping under any kind of deadline of "i have to get something!  it's christmas eve and i am out of time and options!!!"  we were just looking for fun.  weston came up empty with his quest for a new camera so we headed home and i started working on our christmas roast beast.

side-note: this year marks the very first time i have watched "how the grinch stole christmas"  did i get the title right?  i am constantly chastised for never having seen any of the christmas classics... my "yogi bear's first christmas" suited me just fine all those years :) 

anyway, i made this beauty,

 

as well as one of the yummiest meals i have prepared to date.  we ate chicken cordon bleu, roasted red potatoes, and salad.  we had the yummy welch's sparkling grape juice that i found last year and, again, it took me right back to my grandma nielsen's yummy bottled grape juice.

 

after dinner, we had kate open up her (and beth's) new christmas pajamas and got santa's plate of cookies ready so we could leave the house.

putting on her shoes

beth's not too sure about all this christmas hoopla...
 
typical...

(we were hoping kate would crash out in the car and we could put her right to bed when we got home - no such luck.)  we drove around for a good 2 hours looking at christmas lights and daydreaming about a house of our own, but kate held strong and was wide awake when we pulled into our driveway.  at least she didn't take more than an hour to finally fall asleep in her bed.

we just went to sleep hoping that santa would find our new house...

christmas gift!

there's this strange tradition in my family that whoever says "christmas gift" first on christmas morning... wins?  strange :)  but when aunts & uncles, and now siblings, are spread far and wide - it's usually the first thing you have to say (yes, even before you say hello) on the phone christmas morning.  anyway, i think i officially win :)

so to round out my christmas advent activities, i now give you:

december 22, 23, and 24

december 22: see the lights at temple square

i made weston get out of the house to drive to salt lake, join the crowds, and oooh and ahhh at all the gorgeous lights on temple square.  we arrived after 9pm (so very smart) and really did avoid a lot of people.  there were plenty of folks out but not so much congestion that you can't move a stroller around.  kate loved the lights and was completely obsessed with any water or waterfalls.  she even forgot she had asked santa for a pink car and instead was insistent that he would now bring her a waterfall...  hope she's not disappointed!  haha

 

 

 

 

december 23: get hot chocolate

it's funny, i'm not much for drinks - i'd rather eat something yummy than drink it in.  but there is something sort of magical about hot chocolate before christmas.  yes, i said before.  like the snow, once christmas comes and goes each year, i want nothing to do with hot cocoa.  but it is yummy!

december 24: make rice crispie treats

this is a quick treat that weston always loves so it had to go on the advent calendar.  i actually made these on the 23rd too so i kind of cheated, but it knocked it off the list and didn't crowd our actual christmas eve festivities :)  can't pack too much into that day or it's a) not too much fun and/or b) doesn't all get done anyway.

thanks for hanging in there with our advent roundup this year!  merry christmas!!!

White Christmas?

We got hit with a pretty big storm a couple days ago, and a white Christmas seemed like it was going to be a reality.  Then the snow got rained on for a day and a half, so most of it has melted away.  Is there another storm on the horizon for tomorrow or the next day?  We kind of hope so.

december 20 & 21

december 20th was take treats to a friend.  we packed up the girls and a bag of goodies and went to visit grandpa colton.  it was fun to be in his home, introduce him to beth, and listen to stories about growing up and his career. 

december 21st was "go to a local christmas activity" but since we had all of this snow, we built a snowman!  i said it on facebook, but i'll say it here again: the weather-folks forecast this week to be warm and rainy and we have gotten snow and more snow (yay!).  but for the "blizzard of the century" during thanksgiving, we only accumulated about 3 inches...  go figure.  anyway, i'm thrilled they were all wrong because it has given us a (hopefully) white christmas... if it will just stay cold enough to keep the snow on the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 oh, and in other exciting news, i shoveled snow for the first time in my life.  man, all you young men and priesthood leaders - thanks for shoveling for all the widows and older folks all the time!  what a job!  i had no idea how exhausting it is - especially with the type of snow we've had.  i shoveled out our little driveway, plus both stairways on either side of the house.  i was quite proud of myself :)

december 18 & 19

december 18 & 19 were to make treats: sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.  kate had a great time decorating the sugar cookies and it, surprisingly, kept her entertained for over 2 hours!  in toddler time that is an eternity! 

she is very proud of her candy cane

such a look of concentration on her face

 aren't they so appetizing?  haha

 i had to get in on the frosting action

here's the only shot of gingerbread - but i made about 5 dozen... i started halving the recipe and got interrupted so when i came back to it, the next ingredient i added was the full amount - had to embrace it and go full throttle with the recipe... anyone want some gingerbread?  it's YUMMY!

all the sugar cookies (1/2 recipe is the way to go with christmas goodies...) and 3 big bags of gingerbread!