And our winter break continues:
For some of us it wasn't all play - unlucky Cameron had to work a few days in St. George, but lucky us got to join him in the sun. We were all amazed at how warm 50 degrees felt! We checked into the hotel and the girls would not come off the sunny balcony (myself included). It was so nice to just be able to feel the warm sun again! I kept thinking "Why do I not live here?" The Target in town even had cuter stuff than the one by me! I mean, come on, warm sun and a great Target - what else does a girl need? I am packing my bags....
While we were there we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We walked in and suddenly Brinn got this horrified look on her face and immediately wanted to be picked up. When I asked her what the problem was she told me that this place was too dirty. It took me a minute to figure out that she was talking about the floors. If you have been there before you know that there are always peanut shells all over the floor. It took some convincing to get her to stay and she refused to have her feet touch the ground the entire time! She is obviously my clean kid!
Cameron was finally able to drag me home just in time for his birthday and New Years Eve celebrations. We had a fun time helping him open gifts, and to be quite honest, I can't remember what else we did during the day. Oops. Sorry! But it was great fun I'm sure because every day is fun when you are with Cameron! We love you Cameron and think you are the best husband and dad ever! We hope you (at least you..) had a memorable day!
Later that evening, we had the family over for Cam's Birthday New Years Eve Party. This year, Cameron and my brother in law Joel planned the whole thing and they did a great job. First up: dinner. Not just any dinner, a true man- style dinner: steak, potatoes, rolls, veggies, and salad. And Cameron presented a fruit and cheese platter that was the hit of the party. He even garnished it and made it look so pretty. His mother would be proud - and so am I!
Next on the party plan was blowing out the candles and eating the cake. From there we moved on to the traditional Bingo game. Joel was the caller - doesn't he look so official wearing the Bella
Dancerella head set? I think he was too worried about how he looked and so he wasn't calling out anything good... I only got Bingo once. :-(
But Lauryn came out a big winner. I think she was the one that ended up with the coveted (among the kids) giant Hershey Kiss, and the
pistachios behind her back along with a few other things. She later said her strategy was to hide all her prizes so no one would take them. Next year I will try that. And maybe a little flattery to the caller wouldn't hurt either!
Cameron discovered the secret to real movie popcorn - the oil! He was thrilled to finally have the real thing. Yummy!
The party continued with movies, games, and video games of course. Remember guys planned this party..
We all made it up to ring in the new year (thanks to a few naps for some - but I wont mention names.... you know who you are!). Here we are watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV - it was quite anti- climatic the first time so, thanks to
TiVo we went back in time and re-celebrated again - the second time was
much better than the first! Welcome 2009!
And then within minutes, maybe even seconds, everyone left for home and went to bed.
Do we have to wait another whole year to do it again? Anytime you want to plan a party, Cam, I will come!
She was so excited to do everything by herself and not have to take turns with her sister.
I love the concentration... decorating cupcakes IS serious business.
Voila! The finished products. She was so proud! Only about 4 of them got eaten. The rest were thrown the garbage ( 3 days later, of course, while she was at school - even though they tasted yucky she would have been devastated to have seen them in the trash!)
Our Christmas Eve started out great with a few runs on the sleds and tubes. We are fortunate to have a great hill right behind our house (you are welcome any time). We were even more fortunate to have Grandma, Grandpa, and most of the aunts, uncles, and cousins join us! They built a jump and everyone took a turn flying off it, and a few even landed back in their sled!
This year we made Brinn walk up the hill all by herself. She was a great sport and only complained when she lost hold of the tube she was pulling up and it slid all the way back down the hill. I would have complained too...
Back to the house for hot chocolate and cookies of course! From there we went out to dinner (a Christmas Eve tradition) and then back to my parents house for dessert, games, and more family traditions. It was great fun, but you will have to take my word for it because I forgot the camera (I think that is quickly becoming a tradition too).
After checking the computer for Santa's whereabouts and setting out cookies and milk, the girls were ready for bed. They insisted on wearing the same pajamas they wore last year on Christmas Eve. I have no idea why. They even had new Christmas jammies to wear... crazy kids! They were so excited and tired!
We woke up Christmas morning to this view - pretty, no? Only you can't see the 50 mph wind gusts and the fact that the snow was falling sideways. Even though it was a blizzard, it was beautiful and it is always great to get snow on Christmas Day. 
I was too worried about the video camera, so the digital camera didn't get pulled out until after the present opening madness. But Santa treated us all well. We must have been really good! :D
It was an early morning for someone! I guess there was no other place to rest...
In this mess, I think the coffee table was a good choice! 
For some of us it wasn't all play - unlucky Cameron had to work a few days in St. George, but lucky us got to join him in the sun. We were all amazed at how warm 50 degrees felt! We checked into the hotel and the girls would not come off the sunny balcony (myself included). It was so nice to just be able to feel the warm sun again! I kept thinking "Why do I not live here?" The Target in town even had cuter stuff than the one by me! I mean, come on, warm sun and a great Target - what else does a girl need? I am packing my bags....
Cameron was finally able to drag me home just in time for his birthday and New Years Eve celebrations. We had a fun time helping him open gifts, and to be quite honest, I can't remember what else we did during the day. Oops. Sorry! But it was great fun I'm sure because every day is fun when you are with Cameron! We love you Cameron and think you are the best husband and dad ever! We hope you (at least you..) had a memorable day!
Later that evening, we had the family over for Cam's Birthday New Years Eve Party. This year, Cameron and my brother in law Joel planned the whole thing and they did a great job. First up: dinner. Not just any dinner, a true man- style dinner: steak, potatoes, rolls, veggies, and salad. And Cameron presented a fruit and cheese platter that was the hit of the party. He even garnished it and made it look so pretty. His mother would be proud - and so am I!
Next on the party plan was blowing out the candles and eating the cake. From there we moved on to the traditional Bingo game. Joel was the caller - doesn't he look so official wearing the Bella Dancerella head set? I think he was too worried about how he looked and so he wasn't calling out anything good... I only got Bingo once. :-(
But Lauryn came out a big winner. I think she was the one that ended up with the coveted (among the kids) giant Hershey Kiss, and the pistachios behind her back along with a few other things. She later said her strategy was to hide all her prizes so no one would take them. Next year I will try that. And maybe a little flattery to the caller wouldn't hurt either!
Cameron discovered the secret to real movie popcorn - the oil! He was thrilled to finally have the real thing. Yummy!
We all made it up to ring in the new year (thanks to a few naps for some - but I wont mention names.... you know who you are!). Here we are watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV - it was quite anti- climatic the first time so, thanks to TiVo we went back in time and re-celebrated again - the second time was much better than the first! Welcome 2009!
