One of my (silent) resolutions this year was to write in my journal or blog more. I always say that I'm going to do it, but then life gets away from me and I lose track. So I'm starting the year off right-we're only 5 days into the new year and here's my first post.
Christmas this year (ok,
last year)was fairly mild. Clay helped me decorate the christmas tree. This by far, is my most favorite tradition of the holidays. I love to look at all the ornaments I've collected, been given, made, inherited through the years. I love remenancing about decorating the tree with my mom when I was little. And I think Clay does too. He does a fantastic job. He is so particular about where each ornament should go. and then he likes to turn off the lights and look at the tree glow.
Leading up to Christmas was pretty stress free, for me at least; but I don't know how Chris was feeling. I did about 70% of my shopping online, which made things super easy. No long lines, no trying to find impossible hiding places all over the house for unwrapped gifts, etc. I'm not quite sure that Clay (or Cody for that matter)fully understand Christmas or Santa yet, but it's still fun to start passing on traditions to my own kids. Christmas Eve we spent playing board games and opening presents with Chris's family. Matt, Chris's brother, had his son Carter for the night, so we decided it would be best to let the cousins open gifts from Grandma and Grandpa, and all the Uncles. The boys were spoiled rotten, as usual.
Cody loves sitting in boxes-but he also loves anything that sings or plays music. Little guys' got rhythym!
The big boys got lots of Army stuff. The "big hit" was a trunk full of army gear and knight gear. They love that kind of stuff.
And of course my mother in law got her traditional calendar that I make for her every year.
We got home pretty late that night-but still made time to put food out for the reindeer,
leave Santa some milk and an oatmeal cookie (figured we'd try something different this year),
and read a special Christmas book that my parents sent to our family. My Mom gets us a Christmas book every year. This time it was "Twas the night before Christmas", but it was special because they recorded themselves reading the book to us. Now my kids will have that forever no matter how far away my parents live.
Santa was so good to us this year-he even left Clayton and Cody a note thanking them for the oatmeal cookie. He said he gets alot of chocolate chip and sugar cookies, so it was a nice change.
Santa brought Cody a blue rocking horse-which he loves. And he brought both boys lots and lots of much needed clothes.
Santa brought Clayton "Batman Geo Trax". For those of you that don't know what Geo Trax are, it's trains and train tracks. Clay got alot of different sets of them when he was younger but he's just been recently getting back into them. He's got them all set up downstairs in our big game room, and plays down there on a daily basis.
After opening presents, Chris's family came over for breakfast and to join us for Church. I really should have gotten a picture of them all nice and cleaned up-that's only like a bi-annual thing... Christmas and Easter. Dang it. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.
We really did have the best Christmas ever. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if my family could've been here. I know that's the spoiled brat in me talking. I just barely saw them on our cruise in November. But I miss them so much.
A few days after Christmas, Brain, Jerad, and Chris all took me to the Trans Siberian Orchestra. They were AMAZING. I tried getting pictures of all the cool lights and effects they had going on but my little point and shoot camera just wasn't cut out for that. I did get a really cute picture of the four of us though...sweet huh?
New years was fun. We had a small get together at our house. That seems to be another tradition between us, our friends, and family. A couple years back Chris and I decided that traveling to parties on New Years probably wasn't the best of ideas with all the crazy-inhibited people out on the roads, especially with young children-so we just bring the party to us. It never really gets too big or out of control and lucky for us our kids are pretty good sleepers. They don't ever make it to midnight anyways. I kind of feel like I celebrated New Years, like 4 times...My sister who's on the east coast called to wish me happy new years at 10, my mom at 11, and then our new years at midnight (of course). THEN the next day we went our friends, Derek and Christine's house for possibly the best waffles I hasve ever had in my life! Hey that was a celebration all in it's own. Great friends, great family, great food=GREAT NEW YEARS!
In another note, this weekend I picked up one of my old childhood dressers from my parents house, sanded it down and restained it... I think it turned out pretty good...
BEFORE
AFTER
So I'm off to a pretty good start, right?
Leading up to Christmas was pretty stress free, for me at least; but I don't know how Chris was feeling. I did about 70% of my shopping online, which made things super easy. No long lines, no trying to find impossible hiding places all over the house for unwrapped gifts, etc. I'm not quite sure that Clay (or Cody for that matter)fully understand Christmas or Santa yet, but it's still fun to start passing on traditions to my own kids. Christmas Eve we spent playing board games and opening presents with Chris's family. Matt, Chris's brother, had his son Carter for the night, so we decided it would be best to let the cousins open gifts from Grandma and Grandpa, and all the Uncles. The boys were spoiled rotten, as usual.
Cody loves sitting in boxes-but he also loves anything that sings or plays music. Little guys' got rhythym!
The big boys got lots of Army stuff. The "big hit" was a trunk full of army gear and knight gear. They love that kind of stuff.
And of course my mother in law got her traditional calendar that I make for her every year.
We got home pretty late that night-but still made time to put food out for the reindeer,
leave Santa some milk and an oatmeal cookie (figured we'd try something different this year),
and read a special Christmas book that my parents sent to our family. My Mom gets us a Christmas book every year. This time it was "Twas the night before Christmas", but it was special because they recorded themselves reading the book to us. Now my kids will have that forever no matter how far away my parents live.
Santa was so good to us this year-he even left Clayton and Cody a note thanking them for the oatmeal cookie. He said he gets alot of chocolate chip and sugar cookies, so it was a nice change.
Santa brought Cody a blue rocking horse-which he loves. And he brought both boys lots and lots of much needed clothes.
Santa brought Clayton "Batman Geo Trax". For those of you that don't know what Geo Trax are, it's trains and train tracks. Clay got alot of different sets of them when he was younger but he's just been recently getting back into them. He's got them all set up downstairs in our big game room, and plays down there on a daily basis.
After opening presents, Chris's family came over for breakfast and to join us for Church. I really should have gotten a picture of them all nice and cleaned up-that's only like a bi-annual thing... Christmas and Easter. Dang it. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.
We really did have the best Christmas ever. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if my family could've been here. I know that's the spoiled brat in me talking. I just barely saw them on our cruise in November. But I miss them so much.
A few days after Christmas, Brain, Jerad, and Chris all took me to the Trans Siberian Orchestra. They were AMAZING. I tried getting pictures of all the cool lights and effects they had going on but my little point and shoot camera just wasn't cut out for that. I did get a really cute picture of the four of us though...sweet huh?
New years was fun. We had a small get together at our house. That seems to be another tradition between us, our friends, and family. A couple years back Chris and I decided that traveling to parties on New Years probably wasn't the best of ideas with all the crazy-inhibited people out on the roads, especially with young children-so we just bring the party to us. It never really gets too big or out of control and lucky for us our kids are pretty good sleepers. They don't ever make it to midnight anyways. I kind of feel like I celebrated New Years, like 4 times...My sister who's on the east coast called to wish me happy new years at 10, my mom at 11, and then our new years at midnight (of course). THEN the next day we went our friends, Derek and Christine's house for possibly the best waffles I hasve ever had in my life! Hey that was a celebration all in it's own. Great friends, great family, great food=GREAT NEW YEARS!
In another note, this weekend I picked up one of my old childhood dressers from my parents house, sanded it down and restained it... I think it turned out pretty good...
BEFORE
AFTER
So I'm off to a pretty good start, right?
