Christmas in Montana

We had a great time spending Christmas in Montana. It was definitely a white Christmas for us. Despite the snow, ice, and freezing cold temperatures, there is something so peaceful about being there. It is such a contrast to L. A. It is so wide open and laid back. It was refreshing! We stayed very busy while we were there.

We went sledding. . .

(The best part was watching my 60 year old mother sled down the hill. She's the one in the red coat.)

We found cool, giant ice cycles. . .

. . . we played A LOT of Guitar Hero on the Wii. . .

. . . we had a blast playing with our cousins. . .

. . we enjoyed our Christmas gifts. . .

. . . we made a gingerbread house. . .

. . . and we ate some of it. . .

. . . and we played in the snow and drank lots of hot chocolate!

It just doesn't get much better than that!

Christmas in Utah

We were so lucky this Christmas because we got to spend some quality time with both of our families in Montana and Utah. It was a lot of driving to be able to see everyone but it was well worth it. While we were in Utah we stayed with Jim's parents and we stayed very busy doing a lot of fun things.

We went bowling. . .

I was lucky enough to have a girls night out!

We got to play with our cousins. . .

. . . and uncles. . .

. . . and aunts.

We decorated gingerbread men. . .

And we went on a wagon ride in the freezing outdoors (good thing I forgot to bring my coat that night) at Thanksgiving Point to see the lights.

We had a great time! Stay tuned for more pics from Heather's wedding and our trip to Montana!

Home again

We had a great Christmas this year. We visited our family in both Utah and Montana. Jim's sister also got married. In the end we spent 40+ hours driving in the car so we are tired and working on getting back into the routine of real life. We just got back a few days ago and I am now sorting through the 350 pictures that we took while we were on the trip. Most of which were taken by Jimmy so we have a lot of interesting pictures. He took some pictures of the floor and the ceiling, magnets on the fridge, pictures on the wall and fingers in front of the lens. But overall, he actually took some really good pictures. I'm really glad that he took lots of pictures because I usually end up getting distracted and not taking enough so he made up for my slacking off. So be patient with me as I sort through the pictures and I promise that you will be able to see all of our fun times in Utah and Montana over Christmas!

Ward Christmas Party

We experienced a first at the ward Christmas party this year - we didn't have any children crying in horror at the sight of Santa Clause. When Jimmy and Ben were Luke's age they reacted to Santa in a way that would make one think that he was the devil himself. I felt like the meanest mom trying to get them to sit in Santa's lap. This year was thankfully different. Luke got a kick out of seeing Santa at the party. He had no hesitation whatsoever sitting himself right down on Santa's lap. Jimmy and Ben were pretty excited too.



We had a yummy dinner of roast beef with all of the trimmings and a great program of the nativity scene put on by the primary children. I didn't get to see the program because I was helping the kids back stage. It is really a lot of work to do a production like that with 25 kids under the age of 12. The kids did a great job and brought the true spirit of Christmas into the hearts of those who watched it.

At the end of the night as we were getting ready to leave we were looking around for Ben. Sure enough, we found him by the left over desserts. He had plopped himself right down on the gym floor and dug into his chocolate cake. He made a huge mess but we all got a laugh out of it. When you are 4 you can get away with those things without too much trouble. Sometimes I wish I was 4 again!


Since I was so busy backstage I forgot to take pictures of the boys in their costumes at the church so when we got home from the party they humored me once more and put their costumes on so I could get a couple pictures of them. Jimmy was one of the inn keepers and Ben was a camel who traveled with the wise men to see baby Jesus. They were so adorable!

A Great Thanksgiving

I would have to say that Thanksgiving was just about perfect this year. Great food, family, friends and fun! What else could you ask for? We were fortunate enough to have Jim's sister Amber visit us again this year. I am really hoping that it will become a yearly Thanksgiving tradition. My kids adore Amber! They think that she is better than sliced bread! I seriously think that she had a kid attached to her legs, arms,or hips the entire time she was here. She was very patient with them. I need to take some lessons from her! I guess teaching 1st graders for 9+ years gives you lots of experience and patience.
Dinner was great thanks to this guy! He did an awesome job with the turkey and everything else! He worked very hard in the kitchen which eliminated tons of stress and head ache for me! Thanks Jim! You're the best!
Ben REALLY liked the pumpkin pie. Here he is stuffing his face. Who needs a fork when you've got your fingers, right! I think that Jimmy and Ben would both eat pumpkin pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day if I let them!

We had our friends the Merrells over for dinner. They also have 3 boys so the kids had a fun time playing and we enjoyed their company. Maegan is an amazing baker and she did an awesome job on the rolls and desserts! I think that Luke devoured half the basket of rolls alone!

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to go to the beach. I was really hoping that Jim would be home to watch the boys so Amber and I could go shopping. She really knows how to shop and I would have loved to get out for some girl time and serious shopping without kids but it didn't happen. Jim had to study all day. So instead of fighting huge crowds, traffic and searching hours for parking spots we went where there were hardly any people at all and plenty of parking and wide open space. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the ocean!

Thanksgiving Eve Sleep Over

The boys were so excited for Thanksgiving this year because Jim's sister, Amber got to come spend the weekend with us. She also came last year and I am really hoping that this will become a Thanksgiving tradition for our us. It is so nice to have family spend holidays with us. The night before Thanksgiving they asked me like 20 times when Amber was going to be here. They decided that night that they wanted to have a "sleep over" and set up a little tent with blankets and get the sleeping bags out. It took a while to get them to settle down and actually get some sleep but eventually they did. In the morning both of them were back in their beds. Can't say I blame them. It's much more comfortable than the floor.