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.