Christmas celebrations!

We had such a good, busy Christmas holiday that I am both happy and sad to have it over with. I love the Christmas season and the excitement that it brings. I remember counting down the days until Christmas as a child, and even now I find myself anticipating the big day with the same excitement as I did back then. It just seems to keep getting better as my kids get older. Now they get to share the excitement with me.

We got to host our family Christmas Eve party at our house this year, and we all had a really good time. It was a little crazy at times with all the kids. Every year it seems to just get noisier. We even got a surprise call from my brother who's in Argentina. I just hope it didn't make him too homesick to hear all the celebrations going on without him.

The kids getting rides from Grandpa.

All the kids in their new jammies!

I was too anxious to wait for my kids to wake up on their own so I had to get them up at about 7:30. Jared wanted to wait until later, especially since we were up in the night cleaning throw-up out of the carpet. Ashten had some sort of a bug. The kids were so fun to open presents with. Treyson busted through his and was ready to play, while Ashten opened a few and then she would stop to "take a break". I guess next year Santa will have to bring less. Jared's parents came over to see the kids and their presents before we headed over to my parent's house for breakfast and more presents. We spent the day at my parent's visiting and playing a lot of Wii. It was a really fun day and the kids did really well handling all the excitement.

Ashten got her barbies from Santa.

Treyson on his new bike.

Traxton "enjoying" his new stuff.

The rest of our weekend was spent with more family during a reunion with my grandma's family from back east and at my cousins wedding. We had tons of fun, but it is also really nice to have it over with. My kids need a couple of days to recover and get back to our schedule, and so do I.

Snow and birthday all in one!

Treyson was one lucky boy this year. He woke up to a yard full of snow. That is just not something that happens very often when you live here. Jared took the kids out as soon as he was able and not only built a snowman, but an entire snow family. It was our family. I couldn't believe how well the kids did. I pretty much walked outside to snap some pictures and then went back inside my heated house, but the kids stayed out for so long and didn't complain about the cold at all. I realized that if it is going to continue to snow, I will need to purchase some water proof gear for my kids. Their clothe gloves and jeans, just don't cut it.
After building a snowman, Treyson went on a lunch date with Aunt Dally and grandma. He was so excited to go and thought he was super special. When Jared came home from work we took the kids to jumping jacks and then to dinner. It was a super fun day and I think Treyson really enjoyed himself. He is such a good boy with such a soft heart. He loves his little brother and is very protective of his big sister. If she gets in trouble, he usually cries more than she does. We love him so much and are so thankful he was sent to our home. Happy late birthday bud.

Trip to the North Pole!

I have been really out of this blogging thing lately; mainly due to the fact that our computer is still out of commission. So much has happened, but I'm going to have to skip most of them. Last weekend we went up to Salt Lake for Jared to attend meetings at the Bee keepers Convention (yes they actually have a convention for that) and also to celebrate Christmas with his family. While we were up there we went up to Heber City to go on the Heber Creeper's Polar Express ride. We went with all Jared's family and the kids had such a fun time together. They had little elves serve chocolate milk and cookies before santa climbed aboard and gave all the kids bells. Ashten has had a lifetime fear of santa, so she didn't even want to get on the train when I told her he would be there. She was really nervous, but she did really well and didn't even cry-which is a big deal where santa is concerned. Afterwards she even talked about how nice he was. I'm really hoping that we are over the fear now. The whole weekend was so much fun and it was great to spend time with all the family.

Getting ready to board the train

All the cousins on Jared's side.