Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Years....

This year for New Years Eve, we originally were going to go up to Logan to hang with some of Bryce's buddies from high school, but Clayton ended up with Strep Throat, so we decided to stay close to home. We spent the evening at Holly and Aarons with some of our friends. It was alot of fun.



For dinner, Kristyn, Holly, and Rachel made the ingredients for Cafe Rio salads. It was really yummy. There were lots of chips and dips and all sorts of junk food and drinks. The food always makes the parties so much fun.....gotta have good food...and we definately did!
We played the card game, "Five Crowns" and then went downstairs to play "Around the World" on the ping pong table. After a few rounds of that, we headed back upstairs to finish the night off with the CBS countdown on TV, sparkling cider and confetti that the Walkers brought for everyone and lots of yelling and hugging and cheers!
It was alot of fun and the company was great. Its nice to be able to get together with a big group of friends like that, and know that everyone gets along. The kids even stayed up till midnight!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

I Can Count On You To....

....STRIGHTEN my ring on my finger when we hold hands (my ring a a little on the big side, so it moves alot) ....MAKE perfect german pancakes for dinner (this is one recipe I dont want to learn because you are the only one who makes them for us)

.....STEAL the comforter on our bed every night (and I end up with all the sheets)

......COME IN THE DOOR from a long day's work and let the boys jump from the top of the stairs into your arms (they just adore you)

....SNUGGLE with me on the couch every night while we watch "our" shows
.....OPEN the car door for me when we go out on dates (I still like this even though we have been married ten years now).....ENJOY the outdoors with me and the boys (whether we are camping or 4-wheeling)

......BE SUPPORTIVE of me and the things that are special and important to me

......ALWAYS love me!

Monday, December 27, 2010

10 Years and Counting

Bryce and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary. The morning of our anniversary, I wasn't feeling well, so I went into the doctor and found out that I had strep throat...fun! I started my medicine that night before we went to dinner and it really upset my stomach.

We went to dinner at Chili's and then came home and watched Grown Ups. During dinner, we reminisced about the day we got married and the fun little events that happened during our honeymoon!
*it was 14 degrees outside the day we got married

*we had a lunch at the church in smithfield

*Shayne, Neal, and Kami destroyed our little CRX with KY Jelly

*we spent "our first night" in the Lake Powell room at the Anniversary Inn....there were stars on the ceiling and the tub was set inside a little rock cavern with a little water fall running off the rocks

*The second night was spent at the Old Rock Church

*we went skiing with the family that day (Neal skiied on small skis)

*we drove to College Station and I showed Bryce around A&M campus and took him to all the good restaurants
Overall, its been a good 10 years. Of course we have had our ups and downs but we have grown closer to each other over these years and I am thankful that I have a loving and kind husband, who treats me good. I look forward to the next ten years!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Day

The kids slept till about 8:30 and then Cooper went out to the family room to make sure Santa came to our house. He came into our room and said, "I think he came but I didn't see any presents under the tree( they were all in piles). He was so excited but we told him to wait till I got dressed and Clayton got out of bed.
He went downstairs and was very happy to see his puppy pillow pet sitting on the couch. He picked it up and gave it a big hug. This is the only thing he asked for this Christmas. Santa also brought him some ps2 games and a razor scooter. He also received legos, some movies, 2 costumes (which he has worn every single day since christmas) , and some toys.
Clayton got a racecar track set, some pots and pans from Cooper and a tractor. He played with them a little but was more interested in what Cooper got. He loved his candy bottle more than anything!Bryce got a winch for his 4 wheeler and I received lots of clothes and a ATV helmet! It was so much fun to watch the kids enjoy their gifts. Grandma and Papa Douglas stopped by for a few minutes and we exchanged gifts with them.

For lunch, we went up to Gma Coopers to see the rest of the family. All my cousins and extended family were there and we had a good time visiting with each other and grandma always makes the best food. The kids spent their time at the barn, playing with their toys, and climbing the trees.Later, we went up to the Douglas' for a couple of hours. It was such a nice day. It was very relaxing and its always enjoyable to spend time with family! Overall, I can say that Christmas 2010 was a great time, although I definately missed those that were in Texas, and at times, wished I was there!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve

This year we went to Jacqui's on Christmas Eve night. Bryce worked 10 hours that day, so we kind of just hung around. Cooper and I watched the DVD, "Joy to the World", about the birth of the Savior. It was a nice reminder about the true meaning of Christmas. I decided to make a birthday cake so the kids could sing to Jesus and celebrate His birth. We ate a gourmet dinner made up of hotdogs and chips. I celebrated by drinking lots of Dr. Pepper (in fact so much that I couldn't fall asleep until 2:30 am).

Our favorite elf, Jingle Bell, brought the kids pajamas once again. The kids were so excited as they ran through the house looking for the elf. Once they changed into their pajamas, they were pretty wired and excited for Santa to come.
When we got home, Cooper suggested that we get a plate of cookies and milk ready for Santa. We also put carrots out on the front porch and Cooper wrote Santa a letter. After we finished all the preparations, Cooper finally went to bed and he fell asleep quickly.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Climbing that Ladder

I had a wonderful time celebrating my birthday this year. In fact, I celebrated it multiply times throughout the month. In early December, I went to lunch with some of my "cruise" buddies (3 out of the 4 have birthdays in December). We went to Cafe Rio and it was nice to just visit and not be rushed. I also went out to the movie, "Unstoppable" with my sisters and their husbands. That movie was awesome by the way and Bryce's cousin paid for our tickets which made it even more awesomer!
Bryce and I went out with Holly and Aaron to celebrate our birthdays. We ate dinner at Texas Roadhouse, which is by far, my favorite place to dine. It just reminds me of home...country music, good food, dancing at the country clubs and friendly people. It was nice and the company was great!

On my actual birthday, I received many, many birthday wishes! Confirmed to me once again, how much I am loved and how many wonderful people I have in my life! My friends, Bekka and Jacqui, took me out for the day. It was so great. Jacqui got a sitter for the kids and we went and played for the day. It couldn't have been better. We went to Cafe Rio for lunch. Then we went to the movie, "How Do You Know?", followed by a yummy Cinnabun and some Christmas shopping. It was such a nice and needed break.
That night, we had more friends over for Papa Murphys pizzas and ice cream and cookies. Bryce got me some wind and waterproof clothes for when we go 4 wheeling in the spring. He also got me a pretty scarf. Thanks goes out to all my friends and family that made my day so special!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

These are a few of my favorite things....

CHRISTMAS TREES- I love to look at Christmas trees. I prefer real trees because they smell so good, but this year we put up our fake tree. I love waking up in the morning to a beautiful, brightly lit tree. There is just something about the house being dark, but the tree being so bright. It just makes me happy. This year we had to put the ornaments half way up the tree because Clayton kept taking them off.






NATIVITY SCENES- The last couple of years, I have started collecting nativity scenes. They portray the meaning of Christmas so well, so I like having them in each of our rooms during Christmas. I have seven so far and I love every single one of them.
LIGHTS- I love to see Christmas lights and my favorite color is blue. When I was young, my dad would put up blue lights on our house and I thought it was great. We have only put lights up on our house once, but its seems like it is so freezing and snowy that it is hard to pick the perfect day to put lights up. This year, Jacqui and I took the kids up to Willard Bay to look at the lights. They have thousands of lights and different themes. We drove through the park and then took the kids on a horse drawn hay ride through them again. We drank hot chocolate and the kids sat on Santas lap. The kids had a great time.Up at the Roy City offices, they put up the most beautiful lights every year. They cover all the trees in the area and its one of the most beautiful things to look at during the holidays. We went with our friends, the Casebolts, to walk around in the rainy, drenched fields to look at the lights.
This green tree is by far one of my favorites. They have really cool lights on it! It was so cold that night, that we didn't stay out for long. Clayton did not like the cold weather. He was ready to get back to the car.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Home Visit

Clayton and Cooper were very excited when Santa just popped into our house unexpectedly a week before Christmas. He talked to Cooper and told him that if he was a good boy, he would get a "pillow pet" for Christmas. When he left, Cooper said, "That was freaky!" But, I think this was the real Santa, not some neighbor, because his beard and santa suit looked so real.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Alpine Christmas Party

We were able to attend a couple of Alpine Christmas parties this year. Bryce works for Alpine. They had a dinner in Logan at the Riverwoods Conference Center. It was really nice and the food and company was great. Many of the employees from the Layton shop came down to it.
Instead of doing a white elephant gift exchange like in the past, we encouraged the HR manager to change it to Toys for Tots. It ended up being a big success as Alpine was able to donate over 100 toys to the charity.
We got brand new jackets at the party. I absolutely love my jacket and Bryce's isn't too bad itself. We are blessed that Bryce has a job, especially during these times. I am thankful that they take care of him and notice all the hard work he does on behalf of the company.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Grandma Hatch

We had the opportunity to go visit Grandma Hatch one weekend while we were in Logan. It was so nice to be able to spend time with her and Uncle Blake and Aunt Janet. Cooper enjoyed playing "hot and cold" with Janet and he also had fun talking to Blake and singing Christmas songs to Grandma.
Clayton loved playing with Grandma's little Ice Skating Rink Set. He carried those little pieces all over the house and just had the best time. It snowed alot that day and he liked to watch the snow plow out in front of Grandma's house with its blinking yellow lights.
I was able to help grandma wrap some Christmas presents for her kids. Grandma has 8 sons and over a 100 grand and great grand kids. One thing that really impresses me about my grandma is that when I call her, she knows who I am by my voice. She is one of the kindest women I know and she sees the good in everybody.
I noticed, while I was there, that grandma is starting to forget a few things and that really makes me sad. Its sad to see your grandparents get old, but it was so nice to spend time with her. I love her so much and I am so thankful for her example. It would do us all good to be a little more like Grandma Hatch.

Friday, December 10, 2010

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love decorating for Christmas just as soon as Thanksgiving is over. We have a fake tree, but there is just something about real trees that I love. Maybe its the smell. With that being said, we trade ever year, so this year we used the fake tree.
We brought up all the boxes and started decorating the house and setting up the tree. Cooper helped me set up the nativity scenes and Clayton had a great time rummaging through the boxes pulling lights and ornaments out. We had a great time listening to Christmas music and getting into the Christmas Spirit.

Thanksgiving

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad Douglas' home. It was alot of fun. Most of the family was able to make and like always, the food was wonderful. Everyone always pitches in and it makes for a fun day!

I was put in charge of purchasing brussel sprouts for the family. One might think this was an easy assignment, but it wasn't....

1. Brussel sprouts are the Douglas' Family Thanksgiving Favorite side dish. Needless to say, buying a few won't suffice!
2. I had to go to four different stores to find these babies...finally I found them and bought $7 worth of brussel sprouts (last Thanksgiving with the family, I made the mistake of only buying 40 of them and we ran out very quickly; not going to do that again; you can imagine the looks I got....just kidding...everyone was cool.....but marilyn gave me the chance to redeem myself this year and I think I bought enough this go around)
3. I actually think Marilyn likes to give me this assignment because she knows that I don't really care for them, but it makes us all laugh.... I do try them every year in hopes that I might catch the "craze" for them, but I never do....oh well, maybe next year I will come to see the light!
We ate lunch around 2 and then sat down to play a few card games. After games, we pulled out Carrie's awesome fudge and all the great pies. I tried chocolate, which is my favorite, and cream cheese pumpking pie. Clayton loved the pies and Cooper loved the turkey. Later that evening, we went to Steph and Pauls to watch the Aggies beat the crap out of Texas University. This is a family tradition that is so much fun. This year, however, Paul came down with the real flu and Steph also was not feeling well. Go Aggies!