The Holidays

The holidays were a blast this year! We were able to spend time with extended family, and to spend time as just our own little family.

On Christmas Eve we spent the day with my family doing our traditional "play day", and then on Christmas day we were surprised with gifts from Santa, had a wonderful time at church, and then visited with Chad's family.

My favorite part of Christmas time is watching the pure excitement of my girls. They make Christmas worth every penny, every long line in a store, every late night wrapping....you get the idea. Christmas is just so magical for them, and seeing them so happy is magical for me.

Here is a picture line of Christmas Eve to Christmas Day:

Breakfast with the crew

The bounce house: I think this picture says it all!

Look who stopped by for a visit....

Those sneaky elves....they must have snuck in when Santa was visiting to drop off new jammies :)

A lot of hanging out....

This year we decided to only have appetizers for dinner. It was a huge success!

(I'm not exactly sure why my forehead looks so huge in this picture...just focus on the food :) )

Of course we had to play the chimes!

Christmas Day:

Yay!! Santa came!

Visiting at Grandma Beverly's

This is a picture of one of the coolest presents the girls got this year. Drew and Kirstin gave them these hair clips. Can you tell what they are??

We have been SO blessed this year, and we have the most wonderful families in the world! We love you all!

Merry Christmas!!!

Echo's of Christmas

David and Paige invited us to go to Echo's of Christmas this year. I had never heard of it before, but they do it every year at Liberty Park, and it is a live walk-through story of the birth of Jesus.

You walk from one section to another, and they tell a portion of the story, but they don't just tell it, they sing! And, they have really good voices!

As we walked through, it started to snow, but Grandpa was prepared with had warmers to go around. And, the snow was wonderful because it gave the atmosphere such a peaceful feeling. The girls had so much fun, and I really liked taking a break from all of the commercialized Christmas stuff, and putting the focus on what Christmas is really about.

It worked fabulously, and I think that we are going to try and make it up there every year. To top the night off, David and Paige brought hot cocoa (with marshmallows, Yum!) and cookies. Warmed us up, and brought a smile to little ones faces! Thanks you guys!

Sorry, the pictures aren't the best. I guess that is what you get when you take them with your phone :)

Licensed Practical Nurse

I'M DONE!

The time has finally come, and believe me, it has been a long time comin! I finished my last final today for my LPN Program! When I first started this program it seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, but now that I am done, it seems like it went by in a blur.

I have had so much fun, seen so much drama, and made some of the greatest friends! It is bittersweet for me to be done, because I am going to miss these wonderful people like crazy!

I'm excited to be starting this new chapter in life, and thinking about getting a job makes my stomach do flips! I haven't had a job in........7 years???? Wow!

I still need to take my state boards, and have my graduation ceremony where I will be pinned, but I am done!

The support that I have had from my family has been amazing! I couldn't have done it without them! I know that this isn't the end of the road, but it is a huge stepping stone, and I am really proud of myself :) I will be starting the RN program soon, but while I am in between semesters, I am going to soak up EVERY second that I can with my girls and Chad! I have missed that part of my life SO much while I have been in school. Life might feel normal again for a little while :)

I plan on getting a job as an LPN, so, WATCH OUT Utah! I might be your nurse soon!!!

Life Flight Clinical

Some of the greatest friends!!

Mindi, Brittney, Me, Sarah, Kelsi, and Lisa

Lab group

This was after we took our finals 1st semester....

Jade, Bobbie, Me, Brittney

Zoo Lights

FABULOUS!!!

This was the first year that we have ever gone to the zoo lights, and I have to say that I was quite impressed. They were really good! It was perfect weather, and there weren't very many people at the zoo, so we didn't have to fight any crowds. The girls loved seeing all of the lights that looked like animals, and they thought it was "super cool" to see the animals at night. The tigers were up, walking around and roaring at each other. Eeek! It was kindof scary :)

We are definitely going to try and hit the zoo lights every year from now on. Plus, you get to meet some of Santa's reindeer! What could be cooler than that??

New Calling

Chad has been released from primary!!!!

This has been a LONG time coming. He has been in primary for about 3 years, and was ready for a change.

He is now........the 11 year old SCOUT LEADER!

He isn't quite sure what to make of this new calling, but he is excited.

If you have any great ideas that 11 year old boys would like, let us know!!

DisneyLand Part II

Our trip was wonderful!! Almost my entire family was able to come (we missed you, Jared and Lauren!!), and Drew and Kirstin were able to come for a couple of days as well. It was so nice to have a break from "life" and just be able to play! And play we did.

I have over 300 pictures, not including the ones that we had taken at DisneyLand by their "people" (when I get those I will probably do another post :) ), so I tried to go through and just pick a couple.......There are a TON in this blog, but I think I did pretty good :) Enjoy!

6am...on our way!

M&M Factory in Vegas

Walking the Strip ( We got ALOT of stares! lol)

Waiting for the Bellagio show

All snuggled together in one bed. Surprisingly they slept better this way then they do at home.

Watching a movie in the theater room at the house we stayed in in Anaheim

Uncle Drew and Pemberlynn

Aunt Kirstin and McKinzley

Star Tours

Fairy Godmother

Walking down Main Street

In their princess dresses

This picture was taken right after I accused Snow White of holding hands with Chad. Ya, turns out she wasn't really holding his hand. I'm pretty sure I scared the crap out of her.

Taylin dancing with Phineas and Ferb

After Grizzly Bear River Run. Soaked!!

Being there at Halloween time was so much fun!

Eating icecream :) So yummy!

The Beach. It was one of the coldest and most windy days of the week. The girls loved it!

Seaweed is a really strange plant.

SEA WORLD

Looking at the dolphins

Starfish

Exhaustion is starting to set in.

Face painting!!

SAN DIEGO ZOO

They let them pet the tortoise!! So neat!

I wish I could have put all of my pictures on here! We had such a fabulous time! I'm SO glad that we were able to go, and that the girls were able to have this experience. We decided on the way home that we are going to try and go back in about 2 years. It really is a magical place!