Jingle Bells and Cat Scans

Charlie (Left), Thomas, Tami, Genna, Kate,
Me, Gracie, Jake and Dave.
We bonded.

This year Christmas was a blast! We had Dave's sister Tami [Nickerson] and her family stay with us the days leading up to Christmas. It was so fun!!! I'm a little nerdy and believe in matching PJ's during Christmas, so I made our guests play along. They were good sports about it. I was way sad when they left. I wish we could have house guests all the time (anyone is welcome). It definitely made Christmas more fun.

Thomas and Jake Bonded.

Genna and Gracie Bonded.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Dickson's. We ate great food and had the little one's delight us with a reenactment of the Nativity. All was well until one of the Wise Men found a sword and started to duel with one of the Shepherds. Then Uncle Bruce decided to wrestle Dave, which turned into a dance off (don't ask me how... that's a Dickson party for ya). Carefully watching their uncles inspired the young ones to have a dance off of their own, which then turned into a wrestling match. Weirdos.

I think Dave won. That's my man!

The Traffic Cop.

The Running Man (are people still doing that LOL!).

Not sure who won this match.

Dance Off/Wrestling Match

My family came over Christmas morning to watch the kids have their Santa experience. I am one of 'those' moms who thinks that Jesus received 3 presents, so my children should only get 3 as well. I forgot that grandparents, aunts and uncles give presents too. It quickly turned into a mad house. I lost count of how many toys they got, but most of them weren't from us or Santa. They were also mostly loud and annoying. My brothers were very proud of themselves for that.

Messy, messy, messy!

Jake wants to be a Chef/Doctor
when he grows up.

We spent the rest of the week with a sick Gracie (ear infection) and a little depression that Christmas was over and the Nickerson's had left :(.

Gracie was still sick so we decided to spend New Years Eve at home. We had Olive Garden, sparkling cider in fancy glasses, played board games and were in bed by 10 p.m. For New Years Day we went to Nene's house for breakfast and Rohmer Park for sledding. Jake crashed pretty hard on his first run. He had a scratched up face, a double bloody nose and a cut up lip.

We all thought he was fine, but I had one of those "Mommy Feelings" on the way home so I took him to the doctor. They sent him on to the E.R. where they did a CT Scan and decided he'd had a concussion. Poor kid! He was tough though and held real still during the scan. He thought it was like a ride at Lagoon.

Scratched raw and red from forehead to chin :(

Being brave for the CT Scan.

What a fun way to ring in the New Year! I'm sure the E.R. bill will be giant, but I'm glad he's okay. We'll have to wake him up every 2 hours tonight and keep a close eye on him the next couple of days, but he'll be fine. Something to be grateful for!!! Happy New Year everybody and good luck with those Resolutions!

A Nie Inspired Birthday Party

If you ever want to feel uplifted check out the the Nie link to the right. Also read her sister, C-Jane's blog. To sum it up, StephaNIE NIElson (Nie Nie) is an awesome mom, wife, daughter, sister, church member, etc. She has a blog that tons of people were reading. Then in August she and her husband were in a plane crash. Nie was burned over 80% of her body and her husband was 30%. They are both recovering after months long comas, skin grafts, rehab and more.

Their family is a great example of love, faith, sisterhood and charity. Nie makes me want to be a better mom, a doting wife, a better missionary, wear skirts and aprons more, eat healthier, embrace my freckles and celebrate every chance I get. So here's my first Nie inspired birthday celebration. I bought balloons to do the balloon wishes, but they went flat before we got to it. Next time...

Chocolate Fountain, Martini Glasses and Spiked Punch
(with Sprite that is).


Gracie's First Dozen Roses.


The Coolest Princess Cake I've Ever Seen.
(My bro Rob made it; isn't it awesome?!)


Sparkly Table.


Pinata. The nieces and nephews loved.



Enjoying A Party Hat.
Like father like son (see other birthday post).

Thanks everyone who came. You helped make Gracie's Birthday special.

My Baby Turns 1

Little Miss Grace turned 1 on Saturday. She was so much fun! We gave her a doll and she loved it! She also loved the cake. Cute little thing! Some of the pics are a blur, but isn't childhood as well?!

Freaking out with excitement over her new 'baby'.

Hugs

Kisses



Enjoying Balloons



Enjoying a Cookie


Enjoying Birthday Cake.



Enjoying Gracie's Princess Crown


The End.

Snow Day

Jake and Dave playing in the snow.

Watching the snow fall.

Christmas Tag

1-Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both

2. Real tree or Artificial? fake

3. When do you put up the tree? The first week of December

4. When do you take the tree down? After New Year's, Dave makes me wait but I always want it down the 26th of December.

5. Do you like eggnog? Love it! I have a great recipe.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Cabbage Patch Kid

7. Hardest person to buy for? Husband

8. Easiest person to buy for? Both of my kids are easy...they don't even know what they want

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail of course.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I'm not going to say.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? August

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Guilty

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Candy and treats

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white

17. Favorite Christmas song? Breath of Heaven, Silent Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.... and Rudolph

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve (always pj's) and Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The commercialism. People seem crabby too. Aren't we supposed to enjoy the season?

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? All colors

24. Favorite place to have Christmas dinner? With Family

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Clothes (apparently I need them... JEN!)

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Dunno

I tag anyone who wants to. Oh, and Jen HAHAHA.

Thanksgiving

This week I was very busy making homemade pizza, scrubbing my grout with a toothbrush (I know... Beverly would be so proud), enjoying Gracie's new funny face she pulls and countless other chores and blessings.


This year we were blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of our family. It was way fun! We had tasty food and a fun game with the Dickson's. The only downer was when we were playing, "I have never..." and Gudgy said, "I have never taken zit medication!" There was an audible, "Ohhhh" (whining and pouting) from those of us who had to move chairs. It was still funny even though some of our egos were a little bruised.

Then we went to my side and had the best turkey ever!!! I've never been a fan of turkey but my master chef brother made it mighty tasty! I couldn't get enough.

That night I was crazy enough to head to Park City with my sis-in-law Richelle and her friend Carla (who is hilarious). I swear I've never laughed so hard in my life. We got a little slap happy around 3 a.m. and I actually I strained my voice laughing. I can't even remember what was so funny but all three of us were like little girls giggling at a slumber party. I found some great deals up there and it was so fun I am totally going again next year.



Then I headed down to the doorbuster sales in Layton. Lame sauce! I didn't really get anything because I was unwilling to risk my life or beat someone up over some cheaply priced item. I had fun with Jen though and I ran into Diddle, which was fun.

This week we also watched "Meet the Robinson's" as a family. I love that movie! There's tons of great lessons to learn from it. "Keep moving forward" has become our new family motto. On that note, another great movie is "The Ultimate Gift". It is great! I'm boycotting any TV or movies that aren't uplifting so if anyone knows of any great movies with good messages the whole family can watch let me know.

Gracie's First Word

This was about a month ago but was dang funny. We caught her first word on tape by accident. "KISS!" Ignore me without any makeup.