A 2nd Christmas-Dec 26th

 The morning of the 26th we got up and going. Matt and my dad went to help someone in their ward move so Kim, my mom, and I loaded up the kids and went to check out Targets after Christmas sells. Although we didn't find anything it was nice to spend time with family. When we got home we put the kids down for naps and about 3pm Nic, Kyle, and Grandma Harris arrived. That evening we celebrated Christmas again with the cousin and sibling gift exchange. Again we got spoiled and had a good time. Gracie got a Frozen super soft blanket that she loves.

 The kids tried really hard to be patient and watch while each of them opened their gifts. It was fun to see what everyone got.

 Nic had my name and bought me this shirt that seriously is so me. It says proud supporter of messy hair and yoga pants its cute and so comfy I may need more than one of them.

After gifts it was time to get dinner ready. We each made our own pizzas. The girls had a good time although they only ended up putting cheese and ham on them it was all about the fun of putting them together. My mom was really thoughtful and had bought g.f. equivalents for me so I would have something to eat as well. It was nice since it can be really hard when we are together with family to not feel wierd that I can't eat like everyone else.

 After we got the girls put together Matt and I built ours while the kids played

After feeling our bellies with pizza we played games and watch movies really it was another chill night. I was grateful for that I stil haven't been feeling great and get tired very quickly.

Christmas Day

Christmas this year came so quickly probably mostly because of all the craziness going on in our lives. But whether we were ready or not Christmas came. Here is is all ready to go for Christmas morning.

Matt and I had decided to do a smaller Christmas I was a little worried that the girls would be disappointed that they didn't have as many gifts to open but I couldn't have been more wrong. The girls got up as normal about 8:15am and we got up and moving while the girls went to see what Santa had brought them. The girls took turns opening their presents and taking 15-30 minutes to play and check out each gift which made it way more fun and took us over an hour to get our presents open. Hallie with her princess book collection.

Reading their books

Playing with the safari potato heads

Gracie's favorite gift for sure was her little einstein dolls...she has been asking for them for months. Luckily Santa was able to find them we looked and looked and they were very difficult to find.

Hallie loved her animal cookies from Santa they are her favorite

Gracie's Frozen books set was another huge hit

Hallie said one of her favorite gifts was our family gift of the game telestrations...she loves that game

Probably Hallie's favorite gift was her karaoke player 

After we had opened and tested all of our gifts it was time for breakfast. Matt and I are still trying to decide what we want to be our traditions and when Christmas breakfast is concerned we are still testing things out. This year we did breakfast burritios and they were a huge hit

My favorite gift was all the snow. I think there is something so magical about having a white Christmas. 

After breakfast the rat race began and we had to hurry and get everything ready to head to the airport for our flight to Vegas. I wont lie I was hoping that they would cancel our flight so we could stay home in our pjs and watch the beautiful snow and enjoy building snowmen, sledding, and hot chocolate but no such luck. The roads were slick most of the way but we made it in plenty of time to get checked in and grab some lunch before catching our flight. The girls love that they each have their own bag to pack snacks and activities. They also each chose a gift to take to grandmas. I felt really bad all they wanted to do was to play with their toys and hang out but they were very cooperative to get us where we needed to be

Once we got on the flight the first discussion is always what the girls are planning on ordering as far as drinks and snacks...they think that is pretty awesome.

We were thrilled that the flight wasn't full so Matt sat on one side of the isle with Hallie and I sat on the other with Grace. While they de-iced the plane Gracie told me she was tired and wanted to lay down with her blanket shortly after that she was out before we were even off the ground! This never happens she is not a kid that sleeps many places than her bed so it was a very quiet ride to Vegas. When we got to Vegas we waited for the entire plane to get off before waking Gracie up. When I woke her up she asked if we were at grandma's. I told her no we were at the airport but would be to grandma's house shortly to while she replied, "you woke me up to early I wanted to sleep until we got to grandmas." Such a silly girl.

We picked up our rental car and headed to grandmas just in time for Christmas dinner. It was actually quite cold and while waiting for the car Hallie said, Mom I wish we were home building snowmen. We had ham, turkey, potatoes, rolls, and carrots. It was fun to have everyone together and catch up over some warm food. But the kids were only temporarily deferred because they had already seen the presents grandma had waiting for them. After they filled their bellies they opened their gifts. Hallie was thrilled with her new bride dress. My mom had made her one 2 years ago but she has since grown out of it although she still tries to put it on but I can't even zip it up anymore. She spent most of her weekend in this outfit

Gracie got a life size doll that is pretty much the same size as her. She still isn't quite sure what to think about it sometimes she likes it and sometimes she says its weird and wants nothing to do with it

Luke had a hard time wanting to let someone else open gifts but he warmed up to the girls pretty quickly. He was excited to be in a picture with Hallie in her dress

After we opened gifts it was time for some much needed down time. We were all exhausted and enjoyed just laying around hanging out

Christmas was a whirlwind but that seems to be the theme of our holiday season this year. We really enjoyed our morning at home with a slow pace and we are looking forward to having Christmas mornings and weekends at home from now on hoping it will allow us to more fully enjoy our holiday season and focus on the real reason for the season

The Muppets Come to Temple Square & the Ward Christmas Dinner

Last week Kerry called to see if Hallie would be interested in going on a "date" with him and Joy to see the Muppets perform with the MoTab choir in their Christmas concert. Hallie was thrilled and super excited she talked about it the entire week. Saturday they came and got Hallie and headed for Salt Laqke. They had also invited Kaylee to go with them. When they stopped to pick up Kaylee there was a school event going on with Santa and some other fun activities. Hallie got to sit on Santa's lap and make a craft before they headed for the concert.

 They rode front runner from Brit's house and got some dinner at the food court. Hallie picked Chick-fil-a. She had a kids meal and came home with a fun little game as her toy.

Then off to the concert they went. Hallie's favorite parts consisted of cookie monster asking if anyone had brought a cookie in their purse for him and big bird being late for the performance.

While Hallie was off having fun with Grandma and grandpa we did more packing and then called it quits just in time to go to the ward Christmas dinner. Amy Gull is the girls babysitter and has been for about 18 months now. The girls love her and she truly loves them. It melts my heart to see how excited they get when they see her. At the ward party Gracie couldn't get enough of her. They served some casserole and potluck sides and desserts. It wasn't very good but it was great to catch up with friends and take a break for packing. Gracie sat with Amy during the program and when I got home she sent me these...seriously so sweet.

 By the time we got home we were all tired and ready for bed. It was strange to only get one kid ready and tucked into bed. Then Matt and I settled in and cuddled on the couch waiting for Hallie. We both fell asleep until Joy text Matt to tell us they were almost home. It was 11:40pm and Hallie was so tired. We all said a quick goodnight, got Hallie ready for bed, then headed there ourselves. It was a long that wore us all out....I'm sure there will be many more of these days in the near future. Im so glad that Hallie had the opportunity to spend some time with Kerry and Joy. She had a great time and will remember the night for a very long time. It meant a lot to me that they took the time to take her with them. Love is truly spelled T.I.M.E.