Christmas Morning

Holidays are definitely a billion times better when you have kids! I have had a real hard time getting the Christmas spirit this year, but every time I saw Liv light up over Santa I got a little bit of the magic! She was so excited for Santa's arrival, and she made sure that he knew that she wanted the Talking Dora Kitchen... I think we saw five Santas this year to deliver the special request! So Christmas Eve was full of excitement as the magical hour arrived. Ironically enough, it was Gary that had a hard time going to sleep that night, and of course Liv wouldn't sleep until he did so it ended up a late night. I was real excited for them, so I didn't get much sleep. And when the kids slept in, it was torture for the mom! Anyways, we got them up & Liv was all alight with excitement! Once we got the rest of the Young household up and going we got the first present unwrapped & then all craziness broke loose! We spent the holiday with Todd's family so there was 11 people unwrapping gifts all at once... Crazy! It ended up a good Christmas. Liv got a lot of "My Littlest Petshop" toys, as wells as some "My Little Ponies", a nice dress up chest, and of course the Dora Kitchen! Gary boy made out nicely with all sorts of Mickey toys and Tonka cars (the soft squishy kind), and the guitar which he rarely parts even to go to bed! The kids were so happy &, therefore, so was the mom and dad!!

Wordless Wednesday

"Excitement"

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For Kate

I still love this pattern. I finished this blanket a couple weeks ago and gave it to my dear friends, Sheena's, precious baby girl, Kate! Sheena is a whole lot braver than me, she has two girls that are each about a month younger than mine... now another one! She is a real good friend and a cute mom and I am grateful I was able to give her one of my favorite blankets!

Preschool Christmas Party

Last week Liv performed for us at her Little Learner's Preschool Christmas Program! She was the star! I was so impressed! Liv usually shies up around new people so I thought for sure she'd just want to curl into me and not move. But I was so wrong! She was usually the only one standing up and doing the hand movements up high and wide for all to see. I could tell that she didn't know the words too well but she went right along with whatever the teacher was doing! Watching her perform and see her understanding filled me with joy & made it all worth it! Good Job Liv!!!

Montgomery Party

The Montgomery Christmas Party is one of my all time favorite Christmas traditions! First Grandma cooks us a real yummy ham, which we all enjoy while telling embarrassing stories about each other! After several memorable tales told and belly's full the kids get into costume for the retelling of the nativity. The story of the first Christmas, the reason why we are all joined together, why there is even this holiday! Grandma's story telling as evolved from just Uncle Lynn reading the bible version to involve the Americas in the Book of Mormon and reader's insights to what the feelings were at the time. After the nativity we do some caroling. This year I was lucky enough to play the violin with Linda, she's amazing! I know, surprise surprise, I play the violin... a little! We laughed a lot as I stumbled through, but Linda made us sound perfect, so everyone loved the performance! Soon Santa would arrive! This picture I spotlighted is my favorite... it's Liv's first reaction to seeing Santa come down the stairs and join the party. Absolutely priceless! All the grandkids get their turn to tell Santa what they'd like for Christmas, and to report on our naught/nice status! Santa gives us each a little gift, it's very nice of him! Then the family does gift exchange based on names drawn at Thanksgiving. We play with our new toys and games while ending the night with ice cream. It is so much fun & always unfortunate for it to end! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Montgomery for the fabulous party and favorite tradition!

Snow Fun

The kids were so excited for the new snow that dumped on Utah last week. So Todd and I bundled them up and headed into the cold. They both were very cautious and stepped lightly on the white fluffiness. Liv was okay, but didn't dive right in, while Gary hated the stuff. One touch did him in. Of course I had to snap this shot before I could let his daddy take him inside. After another downfall the kids gathered their excitement again so we could go out and build a snowman (Liv has been so excited about them & draws them all the time. It's so cute that she knows it takes three circles and sticks for arms). Well, I built the snowman while Liv dictated by counting the snowballs! It turned out real cute, Liv was so excited! She actually became very fond of the snow and finally laid back and made me a whole bunch of snow angels. So when Gary was screaming to go in, Liv was screaming to stay out... that was quite a scene! But I'm so glad that the snow was such a hit because it is a perk of living in Utah!

Eclipse

You may or may or may not have noticed that this book has been removed from my "book of the month" list and no review has been written. The thing is that I decided to quit reading Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. Now I know that this is not going to go over well with several of my friends for they love this series, but to each his own... I loved Twilight, thought it was a great romantic novel. Then I was incredibly disappointed with the second book, New Moon (click here for those book reviews). But I decided to give the third book, Eclipse, a try to see if it could save the series' grace. A third of the way through I had to put it down to read some required reading, but was completely unable to pick the book up. As soon as I heard that extremely whiny voice of Bella's again it was like nails on a chalkboard, I can't stand it. The fact is I wouldn't enjoy my teen kids reading this book, if I had them, the fact that Meyer justifies dieing for your first love is beyond me. I know, I know, you'll all say that it's just a book, well it's not... people, especially teens, are very impressionable. I was in love during high school, thought he was the only one, but as the years went by it turned out that even though we loved each other we weren't right for each other... yet here we are promoting infatuation as a love worth dieing over. Anyways, it's just rubbed me completely wrong, so I'm done with it.

Click here to review my friend, Book Nut's, oppinion of Eclipse.

Wordless Wednesday

"First Snow"

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Sunday Spotlight

My husband, my sweetheart, the dad of my beautiful kids, Todd - This past week my sweet husband had his 28th birthday. We've had a couple of wonderful celebrations, plus one more to come. He deserves such celebrations, he's supported the several other parties that I've thrown without complaint. Mostly, though, I want to make sure him and all of you know how much this man means to me. He works his tail off to build beautiful houses for others and "bring home the bacon" for our little family. We've had some rough patches, but we always end up on top with a chuckle on our lips. He is incredibly goofy, and sometimes totally lacking in seriousness at appropriate times... but that's okay. I love how fun loving and carefree he always is, and watching him play with the kids is an exceptional moment. I love when he says to the kids "you are my favorite toys!"