Holidays...

Here is a brief run through of our holiday season...

Thanksgiving was quiet and small this year! We had Charles' mom, Ann, over and that was it. It was great!! I got to use my Great Grandma Thelma's dishes and Calvin built structures out of gum drops and tooth picks.

Calvin turned four! He got a big boy bike from Mommy and Daddy. We had a little birthday/ Family Home Evening at my sister Aubrey's house. Thanks Aub! That same night, my sister Jessica that lives in Logan went into labor with her first. Emelia England was born at eleven something our time and after midnight Logan time. So, she just barely missed having the same birthday as Calvin. In the words of Beau (her daddy), "She decided she wanted her own day!" Sadly, I still have not been able to go see her yet:(

We went to a Christmas Parade in Boulder City. My mother in law, Ann, works at the bank out there and she walked in the parade passing out flashlights and chocolate coins (cuz she works at a bank :)) My sister in law Saralyn was there with her adorable daughter Brooklyn (pictured above) and my brother in law, Doug, came too. It was chilly, but fun!

A big group, as you can tell, made the journey to Town Square for our annual visit to see Santa! This Santa hates us! We squeeze all of our children in there cozy hut and only pay for one picture (which we split probably 5 ways) and then scan the image and send in to each other. It is pretty funny to watch. It is a very brief visit with Santa.

Christmas day was quiet and relaxing. We usually are racing to breakfast with my mom in the morning, but this last year we did breakfast Christmas Eve morning. So, I found myself anxious to fill up the time Christmas Day. The boys opened presents, we ate lunch, then Calvin and I caught a movie: "Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakqual" It was fun just us two. In the picture, Calvin is demonstrating his slap bracelet he got in his stocking. It is broken now by the way. Laird has a thing for shoes. He grabs shoes from my closet and whines until I put them on him. He was really cute when we put his Elmo slippers on for the first time.

My sisters and brother (including his adorable wife Britney) met my mom at the Lied Children's Discovery Museum while everyone was on Christmas vacation from school. All the nieces and nephews had a blast. Calvin really looks up to his older nephews. He thinks they are the coolest. I hardly let Laird out of the stroller to explain his face!

I took the boys to the Natural History Museum as well. Since we left Utah, Calvin has been asking to go to the dinosaur museum (Thanksgiving Point) a lot. This was the best I could do. It was lots of fun though. There was no one there, we got to watch them feed the stingrays, Calvin got to make an animal mobile, and Laird got to run around! They have a new exhibit opening up I think this summer that is a replica of King Tut's tomb. It is supposed to be interactive and really cool. I am excited to take the kids when that opens.

Last, but not least, we had dinner New Years Eve at IHOP (kids eat free!) and then hung out with some good friends, Deloy and Michelle Blanchard. Her son Markie and Calvin are good friends. They play good together (most of the time :)) and ask about each other often. I hope Michelle is not too mad at me, but I have to explain the shiny masterpiece in the pictures. Her son Markie asked for a machine for Christmas. So, instead of having a "no can do" attitude, Michelle made him one out of boxes, silver spray paint and other miscellaneous gadgets. This "machine" is a kid's dream! It has Christmas lights sticking out of holes, buttons to push and knobs to twist. It was adorable. My son asks for this stuff all the time...man did she make me look bad:) It is one of the things I love most about Michelle. She just makes things happen!

So I hope everyone had a good Holiday Season! Happy New Year Ya'll!