our christmas

Ian got a pirate kit book and this is his Pirate Face




We've had a great Christmas. We tried to keep gifts and traditions simpler and it really seemed to help us enjoy the time together as a family more. Tuesday we went to Temple Square. We got there pretty early in the evening so there were fewer people and we only stayed for about half an hour or so. It was just right and we left before the kids got too cold or cranky. We then went to the Training Table restaurant and introduced the children to their new favorite food: cheese fries. Wesley and Fiona were in absolute heaven!
Christmas Eve we got the great news that Austin's parents would be able to make it back from Portland after all. They had been caught there in the snow storm that hit over the weekend. All flights had been canceled and we thought we wouldn't be seeing them until the Sunday after Christmas. But Jon's determination and Nadene's patience found them home to celebrate with us. So we went first to Grandma Davis' home for dinner and visiting with the Davis cousins. Then we went to Grandpa and Grandma Dee Nee's to reenact the nativity with Mark and Amberlee's family. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car and the wind was so strong and cold I decided not to go back out to fetch it. I'm hoping Amberlee or Alli will take pity on me and send me copies of their pics (hint, hint).
Christmas morning came at 8am (I'm sure we're getting close to not being able to sleep in on Christmas morning any more; this is probably one of our last years.) The children had a great time and absolutely LOVED their gifts. Wesley got a garbage truck, Ian a rescue helicopter, Fiona a baby and stroller of her own, and Lydia got a lullaby glowworm (I know she had know idea, but I felt horrible not getting her something.) They also each got a book, candy, and other fun things from us and family.
We had brunch that morning at Tina's house. She is an excellent cook and everything was so yummy. I took my camera in that time, but never took a picture. I just totally dropped the photo-op ball on that one.
We've enjoyed the snow and have spent a lot of time playing games and having fun with the kids.
We hope that all of you have had a wonderful Christmas as well. We are looking forward to celebrating the New Year and Wesley's birthday in the days to come. It seems like this time of year the fun just never ends.

hair cut

i just got the best haircut. i just love it(good job amberlee, you're amazing.) it's really similar to a cut that i had the year before we got wesley and it's so easy and fun.
this is the pic i took into her for reference

our tree tradition

we have a tree tradition that we've been doing since Austin & i started dating. it's been really fun and every year adds another great memory to our tree. like the one from the year we went to Hawaii. and the one that Dawnelle gave us when we found out we were being given the special gift of parenthood. each year everyone in the family gets to pick out a new ornament of their own. the first one was a Harley Davidson ball that i gave to Austin the Christmas he proposed. my favorite is the one we bought our first married Christmas together. we found it in a cool little store in lehi with lots of fun knick knacks and such. it's a golden frog with a crown. i fell in love with it the moment i saw it.
well, now we've included the children in this tradition and it's always interesting to see what they choose. One year Wesley chose a red ornament with glitter that looks like a corkscrew. he says it's his drill ornament.
that same year Ian chose the biggest ornament he could find. it's an old fashioned looking glass ball that is about 10 inches long (it's the first thing that catches your eye when you look at the tree).
this year we found the childrens' ornaments at Kmart and they are so darling. the boys both picked little wooden airplanes and Fiona found a crocheted teddy bear. we chose a wooden pull-toy penguin for Lydia and modgepodged her pic onto it (for each child on their first Christmas i like to put up an ornament with their picture). Austin and i are still looking for an ornament; i think it will be goal of our date night this weekend and I'll keep you updated as soon as we find the perfect one. here's the pics of this year picks. enjoy.

lots of pics

we finally got all the pics from the camera to the computer (i'm slowly catching up on everything). so here are more pics of our adorable family, i know you just can't get enough.

lydia the tattooed lady

The Muppet Show Lidia the Tattooed Lady - Funny blooper videos are here
the doctor that helped deliver Lydia sang this to us during the c-section. he even had it as a ring tone on his phone. so we wanted to share one of our favorite version of it. enjoy