Christmas 2008

We had a nice quiet Christmas at home this year just the way we like it. We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of ham and cheesy potatoes. The kids and I made sugar cookies for Santa. The kids opened their Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve and then it was off to bed. No one went to sleep until after 10pm. Emma and Jake woke up a little after 7am and were ready to go see what Santa brought so we headed downstairs. Matt tried to wake up Brandon at 8am with no luck. I tried later at 8:30 and he was so excited to see if Santa brought him a Diego toy. Which ends up being his favorite gift. I think he was most excited about the candy in his stocking. Emma says her favorite gift was her new books and a foot massager Jake gave her from the dollar store. Jake says his favorite gift was a word find Emma gave him from the dollar store. Maybe I will just shop there next year exclusively. They also liked the Smartglobe Santa brought them as well. We didn't leave the house for 2 days. We stayed in and enjoyed playing new games, watching movies, relaxing and eating leftovers. Surprisingly we have more pictures of decorating the tree and Christmas Eve than we do of Christmas day. We had a nice holiday and really enjoy the Christmas season this year. Unfortunately it seems to go to quick every year.

Great quote for the new year

I came across a quote today that I really liked and thought I would share it with you all. "The best way you can live is with your eyes forward and head up so you can see other people's needs and not yours." I hope everyone has a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bad timing for a snowy day.

So after our trip to Disneyland we were ready to head home. We had Matt's sister following us home. We soon realized the 15 freeway to get out of California was closed due to a freak snowfall. So we decided to go another route and headed towards Arizona to go up the 95. Well we had left Disneyland at 3pm and ended up in Laughlin at 11:30 pm because the 95 was also closed due to snow. So we stayed the night in Laughin and woke up the next morning and saw all the semi-trucks still on the side of the road. Obviously due to the road still be shut down. So we went to the buffet for breakfast and then headed back to our room. We then noticed the semi-trucks were gone so we ran to our cars and headed for the 95. Yeah it was open and we moving right along and then suddenly we were stopped. We ended up being stopped for 2 1/2 hours on the road. What the heck? We still don't know why we were stopped. The traffic going southbound was moving but everybody going north was stopped. Once the traffic got going we were home in 1 hour. The whole trip was very annoying. The funniest thing though was that school was cancelled for a snowday and by the time we got home at 3pm there was no snow to be seen. Glad to be home. These are pictures of the kids bored out there mind in the backseat during the 2 1/2 hour stop and pictures of the snow on the 95.

Disneyland Photos

Yes I realize that the 1st photo is sideways. I can't figure out how to fix it once it is already published. So just deal with it and turn your head.

Christmas trip to Disneyland

We went to Disneyland on December 15-17th. The first day it was pouring rain all morning. We did get on several rides as the lines were very short. The second day the weather was a little cool but not raining. The lines were still short which was awesome. We also went to a few shows that day in California Adventure. The last day was miserably cold, rainy and windy. We were only there for half the day which was the original plan anyway. We did have fun with Matt's family and enjoying all the fun things Disneyland has to offer and especially at Christmastime. Brandon and I watched 2 parades together. Emma and I wathced the fireworks and the fake snow fall on Main Street. We were able to get a few more autographs and pictures of some Disney characters. Jake was able to meet some Star Wars characters. He thought meeting Darth Mal was pretty cool. Brandon loved seeing Woody, Sully and Hanny Manny. Emma and Jake were having fun going on all the big kid rides with their cousins. Yeah for Disneyland!!! BOO for the weather!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Matt's family. Everyone came except for Matt's older sister Calli and her family. We missed them not being there. We had lots of food to eat and eat and eat. We played pool and the Wii most of the time. It was a fast and quick trip for everyone but we are glad they were able to come.
The day after everyone left we pulled out the Christmas tree and all the decorations and put the Christmas music on and got busy. Brandon put the star on the tree this year. He continues to remind us daily that he put the star on the tree. We even got to hang our stockings over the fireplace this year because we finally have a fireplace!! Brandon even found his stocking and thought is what pretty cool. (Please note picture above). The kids also have their own tree to decorate with all the ornaments they have either made or were given. They had fun decorating the tree with out any help from mom.
This month is already going by to quickly. The new year will be here before we know it. I hope we can all take some time out from our busy schedule this time of year, to remember not only the birth of the Savior but also his marvelous life. Merry Christmas everyone!!