Ho Ho Ho

Christmas day has come and gone but what a fantastic day it turned out to be. And what a great month December has been. I love the time spent with family and friends and the magical feeling in the air. I love the Christmas tree lights and the excited kids. Everyone in our house was extremely spoiled.

Max got a Nintendo DS and the Battle of Endor Star Wars legos along with numerous other small gifts and the Super Mario Brothers Wii game. One of his most played with toys so far is the Nerf basketball hoop that hangs on the door.

Klein got a new doll stroller and her own version of a DS along with lots of little animals as well as her own Dora Wii game.

Preslee got some of her own toys- hopefully Klein won't take everything away from her and say "it's mine."

I was completely spoiled and got pretty much everything on my wish list- a Flip camera, a Powershot camera, a golf cart, ski boots and pants and a coat.

It has been a great holiday season and a wonderful year. As always, I plan to get everything done earlier next year to avoid last minute stress.

Jason got lots of golf stuff- new irons and a range finder and his own Tiger Woods Wii game. After Christmas we decided to use our money and buy ski helmets and Jason got new goggles. Max also got all new ski clothes and a new helmet.

Christmas Eve festivities at Grandma DeeAnne's

The Santa Beard game... cover your face in vasaline and dip into cotton balls. Max won the contest- this is just for show.

Klein loves her cousin Karlie

Christmas Morning Smiles

Engrossed in the games...

One of my favorite pictures of the day

The lego building begins... Jason spent hours on Christmas day building the "Battle of Endor" for Max. Max did help but it was a pretty complicated task with thousands of legos to sort through.

One of the many intense Nerf basketball games that have already taken place...

Tired but happy parents
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4 Month Stats

Preslee had her 4 month well check yesterday. She is a healthy little girl who is definitely growing. She grew three inches in two months!

Length: 25.5 inches (90%)

Weight: 13.7 pounds (46%)

Comparison Numbers

Klein at 4 months

Length: 26.5 inches (99%)

Weight: 16.2 pounds (93%)

Max at 4 months

Length: 25.5 inches (75%)

Weight: 17.1 pounds (90%)

Me (maybe 2 months)...

I wish I had one of Jason but I don't have any baby pictures scanned of his...

Jr. Mustang Basketball

This was Max's first year of playing basketball and he absolutely loved it! We desperately need to put in a hoop this spring because he always wants to practice. The weather isn't ideal right now but if it gets above 35 with no rain or snow, Max goes to the neighbor's house to shoot. He got to play on a team with many of his ward friends. It was a great experience and he really improved throughout the season. He scored a few baskets which is really important at this age. It is still a struggle to pass and move the ball but he was starting to catch on. Part of me wishes there were a few more weeks because everything is starting to click but now we are heading into ski season...

Christmas Dresses

I wanted to get a really cute picture of all three kids in their Christmas church clothes...

This picture cracks me up... Klein was having a moment but look at sweet Preslee and Max the trooper. He got to change after a few tries. He looked cute too but his church clothes are the same every week so I wasn't very worried about getting his picture. I really wanted the matching girl Christmas dresses and got ONE okay shot but you can't really see the dresses... oh well...

I did get some cute individual shots but Preslee was intent on eating her dress and Klein smiles but won't look at the camera. Trust me- they are beautiful little girls even if they don't cooperate for pictures.

Party Time

We have been busy with parties as we get closer to Christmas. Last night was my Grandma's annual party with Santa and last Saturday was JayDee's company party at Beaver Mountain. Klein didn't want to sit on Santa's lap at either party. Preslee didn't really care and Max was just excited and curious about the whole thing. Hehas been asking a lot of questions about Santa lately and hopefully we have answered them correctly. The other night he even included Santa in our family prayer... "please bless Santa not to put me on the naughty list."

JayDee's party was fun but it is a chore to get everything to Beaver Mountain and keep everyone happy in a foreign place as well as keep getting them dressed and undressed with their snow clothes. Max got a special treat- a long ride in the snow cat/groomer. He was terrified of the snow cats when he was younger but was so excited when the driver offered him a ride. He told me they went to all kinds of secret places that he couldn't tell me about. He was gone for a long time and I started to worry but he was very excited. Unfortunately, Jason lost the keys to his truck-- the only set that he had so we had a crazy Sunday trying to get a new key made and Jason ended up going to Beaver to look again. Since I didn't have a car, my dad came and picked us up to go to College Ward. I was disappointed because they didn't have a Christmas program and I look forward to that every year.

We have tried to stay focused on the birth of Christ this season. Every year we only have one gift under the tree until Christmas morning-- our gift to our Savior. It is a good reminder about what is important.

Ugly Sweater Party

Every year, our friends Steve and Cami Liechty have a Christmas party. Usually there are white elephants gifts but this year they added the "ugly sweater/retro ski wear" theme. I searched at the DI forever but there were not any sweaters for Jason or me. I ended up buying some ugly shirts but on Friday one of my students had on an awesome sweater that she was willing to let me borrow. I typically don't share clothes with students but Bri is a volleyball player and probably the only student in my classes that I would dare ask to borrow her sweater. We had a hard time deciding who would wear the prize article but it ended up being me, even though Jason looked great in it. He ended up wearing a not so ugly sweater borrowed from my dad. I was very impressed with some of the sweaters/outfits at the party-- a man in a woman's Christmas sweater does look pretty funny. This was the year of the "Snuggie" white elephant and a random miniature hamster also made an appearance. I was glad to only be saddled with a very handy notebook set and Jason got some lip gloss but gave away his Justin Bieber poster. It was a great night--lots of laughs and visiting with friends.

Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We are so blessed!