A very memorable Christmas

We have had a wonderful past several days.  And now there are only 3 more days until the wedding!!!!  I'm so excited for the big day.  Needless to say, this will be my last post until the wedding is over. . . I have much to do on my "to do" list, but it's all good and fun.

On the 23rd, the kids all went skiing together and had a great time.  There are three snowboarders (Ky, Cam and Brad) and three skiers. On Christmas Eve day, I made red and green french toast for breakfast, then we all (except for Brad who left on the 23rd to spend Christmas with his family) had a fun afternoon playing games and accumulating points to be used towards the prize table later in the evening.  Jess was the big winner followed closely by Brody.  We played Wyoming Rummy, nic nic, pictureka, look up, dip dip dip, and the clapping game.

We spent an enjoyable Christmas Eve at Tom and Freda's along with every single person in the family except for Brad and Teresa's oldest boy Cameron.  It was awesome to all be together.  We had a tasty meal, then played several fun games.

We were divided into 5 teams.  The first game, we had to be the first to make a person into a "real" looking snowman using one roll of TP.  Cam's team got extra points by using a carrot nose.  Then we had 10 minutes to make a pinewood derby car using 2 candy canes, a hershey bar, some chocolate coins, lifesavers and 30" of masking tape.  Everyone took this task quite seriously.  It was fun to watch them race down a slanted table.  Our team was victorious!  All the kids went in on a flat screen TV for Freda to have in her bedroom.  She was surprised and excited- and therefore shed a few tears!  No one was surprised. . .

We came home at 10 to play our traditional hide the pickle on the tree game, and family trivia.  Ky was the winner on trivia, and Mike on the pickle game.  Santa surprised the family on Christmas morning with surround sound for the family room!  We can't wait to get it installed and start enjoying it.  We had a wonderful time together opening gifts and being together.

Later that morning, we spent several hours at the Skeens with them and Sara and Jaken eating a tasty breakfast and playing 4 square and wall ball in their gym.  I love that they have that gym!  It was so much fun.

It's hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone.  I love this time of the year, and am so grateful that we can pause and take time to reflect on the birth of the Savior.  I loved all the family time and think that spending time with loved ones is the best gift of all.

Party!

We have been so busy the past several days having fun with Kylee and Brody-and lots of other family.  It's been awesome!  I don't want it to end!   I uploaded my pictures backwards, so I'll tell about the most recent activity first.  On Tuesday night, Gary and Nancy had a lovely dinner party in honor of Haley who was visiting from D.C.  It was great seeing and spending time with her.  We enjoyed a sleigh ride, ate a delicious meal, and played several fun games.  The six of us entertained ourselves for awhile having fun taking awkward family pictures.  It cracks me up looking at them- and it was even funner taking them.  Thanks Linny for being our creative photographer!

This one wasn't awkward (right?) but a cute one of everyone.

Kylee, Brody, Jess, Brad and Andy entertained themselves for far too long in the kiddie room at Gary and Nancy's. They had a blast sliding and rolling down this little hill. It was entertaining to watch.

It was nice to visit and catch up on everyone's lives.

Earlier that day, Lindsey gave Jessica a family bridal shower at the Skeen residence. It turned out so great!  The theme was "something blue" and so the decorations, some gifts, most people's clothes, and Jessica's hair reflected that!  So creative and clever! Good job Linny!  We ate, played games, gave marriage advice, and opened presents.  They got some great stuff!  Thanks ladies for coming and being so supportive.  We missed you Carol and girls!

Besides all the DARLING decorations, notice the awesome cake Kylee made!  Didn't she do a great job?  It was sad to cut it up and eat it- but we have the pictures, so we were able to.

Monday night, Ann organized a sisters cookie exchange. We missed Von and Mom for that, but had fun the 4 of us. We met at Bajio for dinner, then went to Ann's to exchange the dozen cookies we brought for each other.  We also made caramels and fudge.  It was a fun night.

The Bundy's came over Sunday for dinner and an evening of games, then Lindsey and girls spent the night and Lindsey helped with some wedding stuff on Monday.

We had a blast Sunday night playing candy bar guessing game, Christmas song guessing game, perfection, memory game, dip, dip, dip, clapping game, signs, sardines, and scum. 

We also ate a tasty meal.

It won't come as a big surprise to hear- with all the activities and fun I've been having the past 3 days- that I completely forgot to turn in Jess and Brad's information and picture for a wedding announcement to appear in this Sunday's newspaper.  AHHHHHHHHHHH!  I'm so mad/sad about that.  We may do one after the fact- we'll see.

I'm sure I'll have lots more fun and memorable activities to report on in the coming week and a half, then I'm afraid it's back to normal life. . . oh wait- that is after my weekend trip to Arizona the first weekend in January to stay with Kylee while Brody's in Brazil for 3 weeks!

Mike, Jake and Cam's Excellent Adventure

Mike and the boys had a grand adventure going to the MNFB game between the AZ Cardinals and the San Fran 49ers on November 29th..   The boys went to their first three classes on Monday, then Mike picked them up, they drove to SLC, and flew to Phoenix.  Kylee was there to pick them up, take them to Glendale for some lunch at her apartment, then drop them off at the game (which is 10 minutes from her apt.)  They loved the game, even though the Cardinals got beat (sad for Jake, happy for Mike and Cam.)  They had a great time.

The next day, Kylee took work off so she could spend the day with them. They all went shopping for awhile at a mall and had lunch, then met up with Brody for some rock climbing.  That night they had dinner and watched a movie.  When I asked Mike what movie it was, he struggled to remember the name of it and came up with "the weather calls for cheeseburgers."  I said "do you mean 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs?'"  Hahahaha  that made me laugh for the rest of the day!

I'm so glad Mike and the boys were able to have this fun time together, and to get to see Kylee and Brody as well.  I hope they remember how great this was on Christmas Day when they have a lot less gifts to open!

In other news. . . it's 6 days until Christmas, and 12 days until the wedding!  I have to say- getting ready for Christmas and planning for a wedding hasn't been as stressful as I would have thought.  So far.  There are still a lot of things to cross off on my wedding to-do list, so the tides could change.  It's been a joy to do it all, and I wouldn't change a thing.  It's wonderful to have Kylee and Brody here now, and to enjoy time together as a family of eight now.