Favorite Christmas Moments

1. Kolby and Mal were old enough to really get into Christmas this year. They bought each other gifts and helped wrap them
too. When Mallorie opened her Barbie car from Kolby, she was so excited. She gave him a hug and told him thank you. It was so cute!
2. Kolby had just seen the movie Elf and came into my bathroom while I was in the shower. He started singing "Baby It's Cold
Outside" and told me what I needed to sing. He then preceded to act out the whole scene. It was hilarious.
3. After getting back from the store, the missionaries were walking by and offered to help me w/the groceries.
After they left Kolby said that they were sure nice. I explained that missionaries help Heavenly Father by teaching people and serving others. We then talked about when he goes on a mission some day. He said that he wanted to go on his mission to Idaho. After I told him that missionaries go somewhere away from their family, friends, and distractions, he thought for a minute, and then replied, "I want to go to the North Pole to teach Santa."
4 . Mallorie singing, "Have a happy holiday birthday" to me on my b-day.
5. Acting out the nativity with Jeremy and the kids - Especially getting to play the donkey.

Santa Came

So it snowed soooooo much that we didn't make it out to see the lights, but we did act out the nativity. Kolby and Mal had Jeremy play the various inn keepers, and then I was lucky enough to play the donkey. First Kolby tried to hop on, and I had to explain to him that Joseph didn't ride the donkey. Then he let Mal ride, but decided he'd guide me by my hair. It was quite funny, but not sure if we want to do this again next year. After drinking their "magic sleep" (hot chocolate) they went to sleep pretty quickly. Kolby woke up at 1 AM, though. He came into our room saying, "Mom, Santa already came. I saw my scooter!" I had to tell him to go back to bed. Then at 3 AM, he came into my room again saying the same thing. At that point, I picked him up and put him in our bed, and he slept in until about 8:30 or so. Mallorie slept all night without waking up at all until morning.

Kolby and Mallorie after church

Here are the kids after church. Grandma Terri bought them their outfits, and they did look so cute if I do say so myself. In most of the pictures I took of them, Mallorie had her eyes shut, and Kolby was being a goof-ball. Well, tomorrow's Christmas Eve and this year is the first time we've spent Christmas with just ourselves. It will be nice to have a laid-back holiday, but strange not to have family around too. My plan for tomorrow is to have Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight (tradition), open our one present (pajamas), go look at Christmas lights, then come home and read the story of Christ's birth from Luke. I thought Mal and Kolby could dress up like Mary and Joseph, and we'd use a doll for baby Jesus. I have fond memories of doing this one year as a kid, with our good friends, the Mays, and my brothers and sisters. Hopefully the kids will love it too, and maybe it can become a new tradition.

My Birthday Surprise

Well Jeremy was out of town on my birthday, so we celebrated the day after. He surprised me with dinner from Johnny Carino's. He set a table up in the basement with candles and he had sparkling apple cider with the little plastic champagne glasses and all. It was so sweet. He had wanted to get me out of the house while he set up, so it would be a surprise, but none of our neighbors were home to help him out. So, instead he had his sister, Jessi call me and try to distract me. She told me she wanted to plan a surprise for Jeremy's birthday, which is the 27th, and asked if he was home from work yet. I knew he was on his way because I had just talked to him. (In actuality he was in the driveway.) So, Jess told me to go in another room where he wouldn't hear me if he came home. Well, Jeremy had hoped I'd go in the bedroom to talk to her, but instead I went downstairs, to the basement. He wanted to set up in the basement, and lead me downstairs so I could see my birthday present, which was above the stairs as you go down. Oh, well I guess things didn't go quite as planned, but it was still a good surprise.

Fake Tree

Here is our fake tree upstairs. It's more formal.

A Real Christmas Tree

This year we have two Christmas trees, and I love it! We have had a fake tree every year since we have been married. (Jeremy is allergic) But, I have really missed the smell of a fresh pine tree. So, this year I finally talked him into getting a real tree to put in the basement. It is far enough away from him that it doesn't bother him and I can still come down here during the day and enjoy the fresh scent. Kolby and Mal-Mal had lots of fun picking it out. Kolby said, "I can't believe we got a real tree!" Here's Kolby and Mallorie in front of our real tree.

Klan Philly

Here's Philly and their newest Klan member. I love this picture, and not just because they had an amazing photographer. Trevor is always soooo happy. He smiles so easily for pictures. Phillip hated his face in this, though. But, what can you do? I say two out of three ain't bad.

NC Klan

Here's Taryn and her family. I thought their picture turned out really good, even though she didn't like it. She had an excellent photographer.

Durango Pictures

Here's the ID Klan. I'm not crazy about this one. Mal-Mal kind of has a funny smile. She always tucks her top lip in whenever we tell her to say, "cheese." The rest of us look really cold, so I'm still debating about having this one turned into a Christmas card. I need to hurry and decide, though. I'm running out of time.

Colorado Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Colorado. The cousins had lots of fun and all got along really well. We played lots of Guitar Hero and even had a bon-fire, complete with smores. It was great.

Kolby, Mallorie, and Aubrey

We spent the night in Springville, UT on our way to Cortez. We got to see Jeremy's sister and family since they were in town for Janessa's sister-in-law's reception. We were especially excited to see Aubrey since the last time we saw her was last year at Thanksgiving and for her blessing. Can't believe how much she's grown in a year. Kolby and Mal had lots of fun spending time with their cousin. They really love little kids. They'd make a great big brother and big sister someday. We only wish we could see Jeremy's family more often.