Nativity and Dennis' visit

 In December we went to a live nativity in Alpine.  I have never been to one before; it was a lot of fun.  It was really cold so we bundled up and headed out with our good friends, the Dennys.  We had to wait in a long line (well the boys had to wait we took the kids into the church where it was warm) and then rode up to the farm in a horse trailer.

 Izzy loved it because there were animals.

 And more animals.

 Baby Jesus.  We told her that we celebrate Christmas because of Jesus' birthday.  So daily she wants to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus; it is pretty funny.

 Izzy and Owen eating cake batter.

 Dennis drove up with his girlfriend, Sara, to get his car from Kathryn.  They were only here for 1 1/2 days, but we managed to have a great time.  We went skiing at Snowbird and ate at Rodizios!

They headed out Sunday for their long (24 hr) drive back to Texas and we headed to church.  It was a great weekend!

gingerbread houses 2011

Last Saturday my friend, Jen, invited us to her mother's house to make gingerbread houses.  She said it was a tradition in her family.  She said I should bring some candy to decorate my house with, but everything else would be provided.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but thought it would be fun to hang out with Jen so I went.  This is what I showed up to:

 A table covered with candy, tables set up, gingerbread houses, frosting, Christmas music, and great company.  It was such a fun day; it's a tradition I want to start in my family.

 Jen's mom bought the houses at Costco, they came with frosting and candy.  But apparently that frosting isn't good enough nor is the candy.  They have their own special frosting recipe so the candy sticks really good.

 Izzy was in heaven.  She ate candy all day and played with Jen's nephews.

 Mike wasn't sure if he was going to come, but he was glad he did.  He had a great time.  He did most of the decorating of our house.

 Some of the gang.

 The back of the house

 The front of the house.  It turned out great! I had never done this before and had such a fun time doing it! Thanks Jen for the invite!

 Jen and I. Seriously she is the best ever!  We did our masters together at BYU even though we didn't really start hanging out toward the end of our program.  Then we worked at Provo Canyon together for three years.  She is the sweetest, nicest person ever! We have gone on lots of trips together, had many late nights playing games, and lots of texting! I didn't have unlimited texting when we became friends, but you have to have it if you are friends with Jen! When I first found out about Craig's death, I called Jen, I knew she would come over and stay with me til Mike got home from Denver. During all the hard times since then she has been there for me-calling me, sending me texts, inviting me to do things, making sure I'm okay.  Everyone needs a friend like her!!

 Since I was in the festive spirit, I got Izzy all dressed up and took her to see Santa on Monday at the mall.  Once again she was scared of Santa and the pictures didn't turn out very well. Maybe next year!

 Izzy and Owen riding the train.  Izzy loves Owen!  They are just a few months apart and she always wants to play with Owen, which is nice because I love to hang out with his mom, Kristy!

Her cute Santa outfit! I love this time of year and I'm so grateful for such great friends and family!

Thanksgiving 2011

I flew to DC with Christina, Mike's sister, and Izzy on Tuesday night.  We had a direct flight and Izzy slept for about 2 hours, which was really nice.  On Wednesday we hung out with Guillaume and Dana and then everyone else arrived Wednesday night.  

 On Thursday we went to see my cousins.  Kevin lives in Richmond and Keith flew in from Texas with his family.  I got Izzy all dressed in her Thanksgiving shirt, but then we decided not to take her because she isn't always the best in the car.

 It was so great to spend the day with my cousins.  There is nothing like family!  I was anticipating Thanksgiving to be difficult because it was the first one without Craig.  He always made the deep fried turkey, organized Dad's projects, entertained us with his sarcastic humor, and guard Dennis in the football game after we ate.  I was really sad Wednesday night; I guess it hit me that Craig would not be celebrating Thanksgiving with us again.  So it was really nice to be with family Thursday, talk about memories, and laugh.

Izzy had a great time playing with her cousins while we were gone.  I think we were happier to see her than she was.  Can't you tell?

We went bowling Thursday night.  Izzy even bowled a few times, but she preferred dancing and trying to get candy out of the machines.

After the Black Friday shopping we took the kids to a park.

All the kids loved playing with Matt.  Izzy loved hanging out with Benson too.  She called him Benson Potter; it was so cute! They played together so well. I am glad she got to spend time with her cousins.

We celebrated Christmas while we there.  Benson is so cute with his girls. 

Mami handing out the stockings to the grandkids.

The chaos of opening presents!  Izzy got a horse and barbie from Mami and she loves it! Every morning when she woke up she asked where it was.

At first, Izzy was more interested in eating than opening presents.

When we flew home my grandparents were here visiting.  They came in for my Grandma's sister's funeral.  I am so glad I got to see them!  They are amazing to me! 72 years of marriage and they are still going!!

And of course we played skip-bo!!  It was a great week.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family and are able to see them so often!