Merry Christmas

 

Our first Christmas on our own!  This is the first year we didn't go to Utah for Christmas which meant creating all of the fun and magic of the Christmas season was totally up to me and Dane.

 



 

 We saw Santa 4 times this year, Beck is the most observant child ever so it confused him because he knew right away they weren't all the same guy in the red suit...but as soon as we went to see Santa at Briar Cliff he knew that must be the real one because he knew Beck's name before Beck even told him and the first thing he noticed was that he was wearting his basketball medal. 

 

 

Our sleepover underneath the Christmas tree

 

 

The kids acted out the nativity at a rest home...it was darling

Church was cancelled the Sunday before Christmas because it snowed...so of course Dane went right to work building himself a snowman, he was much shorter than usual but I'm glad we got our snowman.



We made "gingerbread" houses out of rice krispies this year...genius idea from pinterest...they were super tasty and they didn't collapse everytime we went to put a piece of candy on them.



 

Christmas Morning!!

 



 

 

 

Everytime Beck sat on Santa's lap this year he got stage fright and ended up asking for things he already has (like tools, which he just got for his birthday), or things he really didn't want (like a monster truck, he has been over the truck phase for a couple years now).  So finally on his last chance seeing Santa I told him to think of something he really wanted and to not worry if Santa laughed at him (we figured out that was the root of his problem).  He finally decided to ask for a badge which was too good to be true since the night before I had picked up a fancy badge at the dollar store!  I didn't even plant the idea in his mind, it was pure inspiration.



 



 

 

Quinn gave the best reactions this year she was ecstatic about each and every thing.  We knew she would be easy to please since all she wanted for Christmas was candy.  Two different times Santa asked if she wanted anything else along with candy like a baby doll and both times she said "no, just candy".  Santa got a baby doll for her anyway and she was really excited

 



 

 

It was such a great Christmas we had our traditional breakfast of cinnamon rolls and breakfast casserole and then went to see Frozen with Trent and Lindsay and the kids and then came home for bbq next door.  Glad we have some family out here to celebrate with.  Our kids are at the perfect age to make everything so fun this year so grateful for this darling crew of mine.

Moms Are The Best...Especially Mine

 

 

I knew before we started residency that it wasn't going to be a cake-walk but I thought (and hoped) I'd be able to make it past the first 6 months before I had to call my mom to vent about being a little overwhelmed with life.  Not the case... I called her the day before they left to Arizona for Thanksgiving knowing that she would know exactly what to say to give me a little bit of comfort and encouragement and on the day they got home from Arizona she called me to tell me she had booked a flight to come out and visit me that next week.  A few days with my mom was exactly what I needed we spent most the time shopping and eating which are the two things we do best and just had a really good time.  I'm so grateful to have a mom that will drop everything right in the middle of the busy holiday season just to come make sure I'm happy...I'm one lucky girl.  And let me put out a disclaimer that even though I know this post sounds really dramatic about residency...I don't want anyone thinking I'm over here having a real major breakdown...I just wanted my mom for a few days ok!

Basketball...Take Two

best pose ever..two of the most manly men I know

 

We signed Beck up for basketball last year and it turned out to be a traumatic experience for us both, but I decided to give it one more shot this year.  I knew where I went wrong last time so this year I made sure that he was one of the older kids on the team instead of the youngest and I signed him up with his best bud Nate.  It went much better this time around and now he doesn't even claim to hate basketball anymore.  They spent 3 nights practicing and then they had 3 games, the games were HILARIOUS none of the kids had a clue what was going on they just ran around chasing the ball and pushing eachother down.  I could tell Beck felt totally uncomfortable and confused but he stuck with it and on the third game he made a basket and then holy cow he came alive!  All the sudden he was doing everything he could to get his hands on that ball including stealing it from his own teamates of course. But the most exciting part of all was when they gave everyone on the team a medal after the last game...I truly don't know if I have ever seen him more excited in his life, he wore it proudly around his neck for days after and has requested we get a special hook on his wall to hang it on...and sometimes when hes feeling really generous he even lets me and Quinn hold it for a couple minutes

 

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