Golden Birthday Weekend

I turned 29 on the 29th this year. Everyone tells me that when you turn the same age as the date of your birthday it's called a "Golden Birthday". Kinda cool. My last year of being in my 20's (that's a little weird saying out loud).

Sunday the 21st was the day that the Smith's celebrated my birthday. Heidi left for a cruise with her brother Christian on the 27th, so she wanted to make sure I got a special day before she left. I forgot to have pictures taken that day, but know that it was very nice. They are always so good to me. Heidi made my favorite meal (Salmon and veggies), we played games and practiced our Christmas Eve Eve caroling. It was a great evening. I love my second Family.

The following Sunday (28th) was my very last Relief Society Lesson I would be teaching. Sad day. I have really enjoyed being a RS teacher. But I have been doing it for 2 years and I guess they usually only have the teachers teach for only 1 year. So I was blessed to get an extra year.

Being it my last lesson I wanted to give the sisters a small token of my love. My lesson was about the Second Coming, so I decided to pull the parable of the 10 virgins into it. And I gave out a vial of oil to each of the sisters to remind them to keep them oil of "conversion" full and their lamps of "testimony" burning so they may be ready for the "Bridegroom" to come.

Now that I won't be teaching anymore, I'm anxious to find out what my next calling will be.

That evening I went over to my parents to celebrate my birthday. Jesse had to go to work that morning, so he couldn't be there that night. But he had the day of my birthday off, so I'll take it. :)

Everyone was so generous and sweet with their gifts.

My mom had made a German Chocolate cake for me. She went to get the candles from the cupboard and discovered she didn't have any. So I pretended to blow out my birthday candles. I'll have to wait till next year to blow out 30 of them. EEK.

For Christmas Day, my mom had asked me to come up with an activity for the family. I thought making gingerbread houses would be fun. But the day didn't provide enough time for us to do it, so we decided to make them at my birthday. Chan turned on Disney Pandora and we all sang our hearts out to all the Disney songs. And we all were laughing how we were struggling keeping our gingerbread house from falling over (or if you're Tyson, your house just caved in).

Cy and I joined up to make one, but he was more interested in eating the candy instead of putting it on the house.

The next morning (my actual birthday) Jesse came home from work with these in hand. Such a sweetheart. I just love him.

 That morning I went to the gym, then the rest of the day I spent it grocery shopping, and just taking it easy. That night Jesse had plans for us. He didn't tell me where we were going. All I knew was there was dinner involved at 8:30pm and we were leaving at 6:00pm. So I needed to take a little snack with me to hold me over until our dinner reservations.

Alexa came over to the house to watch the boys for us. Which was so nice of her. We love her and grateful for her help so we could go out.

To switch things up a bit Jesse took me to an IMAX  3D short film at the Clark Planetarium. It was fun to see something different. I love his way of trying to make things different and special.

After the movie we drove to our dinner. I had no idea where we were going. I tried to guess, but I was totally wrong. We just kept driving. And I think he took a random way to throw me off. But I loved that he was being mysterious about it and trying to surprise me. It's romantic and cute.

Might I interject that it was a very cold night. Remembering me saying that this December has been a warm one? Well ever since our Christmas Day snow storm it's been getting colder and colder. And we could tell on this night that there was a storm blowing in. As Jesse got near Millcreek Canyon and we started driving up it, we just watched the temperature start to drop. It was so windy too that we could see all the powered snow blowing across the road.

When we reached the top, we pulled up to the Log Haven Restaurant. I had never been to this restaurant before, but I was excited to try something new and to spend it with Jesse.

We walk in and they seat us at our table that was right by the open fireplace. Mmm. So cozy. I loved it because we could still look out the windows at the snow covered pine trees and still be toasty warm by the fire.

Everything was perfect.

After we ate a delicious meal together, enjoying each others company, we drove to 7eleven to get some Hot Chocolate. It was so cold that it sounded to good.

I loved our little romantic evening together. Once again Jesse spoiled me. I'm such a lucky girl. We were talking about how he's been with me for 10 birthdays now. 10 years? That's just crazy talk. 10 years of birthdays together? It's so weird and so cool at the same time. But what I will say is that they have been the best birthdays. Year after year he always makes me feel very special.

All I want for Christmas is my First Front Tooth

In the middle of the night (Dec 21) we were woken up by Ryker telling us that his tooth fell out. Apparently while he was sleeping he was woken up to something in his mouth....and it was HIS TOOTH!

 

I couldn't believe it. I knew it was loose because he could wiggle it back and forth with his tongue. But I never expected for it just to fall out by itself.  

If you look at the picture close enough his big tooth is already poking through. He was dying to show everybody. But we told him not to say anything to anyone and just smile at them and wait and see how long it would take for them to figure it out.

Hearing him tell the story of how it happened made me smile every time. He was so proud of it.

Looking at his big holey smile makes me happy. He looks so cute with it. From that time on we joked with him about the song "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth", but we changed the words to "first front tooth".

Merry Christmas!!!



I had big concerns that Christmas Day would feel stressful and not relaxed. Especially since Jesse wasn't suppose to get home from work until 8:30am. Then we were to be to my parents at 11:00am, then the Smith's at 3:00pm. I was worried it would be a stressful day and I just don't like that. But to our surprise Jesse got home at 7:00am. The guy that was suppose to replace him called Jesse and said he would go in early for him so that he could get home to his family. Isn't that so nice?

 

Of course Ryker was already up and ready to open gifts. I had to wake Cy up but that wasn't too hard when I told him it was Christmas Day. Alexa had spent the night so we were all excited to have her and her little dog (Baloo) there with us Christmas Morning.

 

Before we opened gifts I wanted to remind the boys the true meaning of Christmas. Throughout the season I have tried to set aside different nights to discuss and ponder each character in the Nativity Scene. Ponder how they might have felt on that night and what makes that person special to the story. Well because we still have 3 more people to talk about I decided to finish it up on Christmas morning.

 

It's a good reminder to think about our Savior and what he means to us. This year the church sent out pamphlets with a video and it was titled "He is the Gift". And it really got me thinking. Christ was a gift to the whole world. And it's a gift that keeps on giving. Not just during Christmas...throughout my entire life. Because of Him I can become a better person. And that's an amazing gift to be had. 

With that in mind we go at the gifts. I had to get a picture of the boys in their Christmas Jammies. Well Cy is only half dressed, but I'll take it because he usually doesn't even like to sleep with anything on.

They were so excited this morning that it made my heart happy. I giggled so many times over the little things they got a thrill over. Cy was so happy to open up some new socks. Haha.

Christmas Stockings!

Because Jesse got home so early we were done opening gifts by the time he "would" have been home. By 9:00am we had eaten breakfast and opened all our gifts. So that gave Jesse an hour and a half to get a little nap in before the festivities began. And Lexa took a nap too because she was up most the night arm knitting a bunch of scarfs for her friends. So while they napped and the boys played with their new Lego toys, I cleaned up the kitchen and got ready to go to the parentals.

 

Might I add that we woke up to a White Christmas? Remember me mentioning a few posts back that this December had been a very warm one? We were all wondering if we would ever get any snow for Christmas. Well to our pleasure we got tons of snow. And it just kept coming down all day. So much fun.

 

After naps and getting the car loaded up we headed to my parents house. This was the first time in a really long time that the ENTIRE family was together. It was a joyous occasion.

 

 

We exchanged gifts, ate a yummy brunch and played games. And before we know it our time had been spent and we had to head to our next destination. 

On the way there we passed a guy who was changing a flat tire. I mentioned that we should stop and help him. So Jesse turned around to see if the guy needed any help. And turns out he did. I guess he couldn't get the last bolt off of the flat tire, so Jesse got one of the tools out of the truck and was able to get it off for him. The man said he could get the rest from there and thanked us for stopping. I was happy that we could do a little service on this day.

When we arrived we all gathered around the dinner table for our tradition of reading the story of Good King Wenceslas and drank our hot chocolate and/or herbal tea. King Wenceslas was a good example of serving others and being kind to his fellow men. Another good reminder of how we should be not only Christmas Day, but throughout our lives. I love that they have this tradition. I guess they have been doing it every since Jesse was a baby.

The rest of the evening we opened gifts, ate yummy food, played games and relaxed.

It was such a fun day spending time with family. I was so worried it would feel hectic and crazy, but it was just right. I'm so blessed to have my families all close by and to be surrounded by people that love me and my family very much.

Another great Christmas for the books!

Christmas Eve

Jesse left for work that morning and I spent the first half of the day wrapping presents. I had never been one for last minute thing like that, but this year it's just how it worked out. I never found any spare time to wrap gifts, and if I did have time it was at the end of the night and was feeling totally exhausted and just needed to sit and turn my brain off for a moment.

 

I still wasn't feeling all that well this day. My sinuses were just screaming and it made me feel so tired. But I had wrapping to do and then I had promised the boys I would take them to see a movie. So I needed to be a big girl and just deal with it. Haha. I did make me feel bad though because I was actually looking forward to this day and I just wasn't feeling it. All that sounded good was to sleep all day long.

 

But once I got ready and headed to the movie with the boys I was feeling a little bit better. I let the boys pick the movie and they chose "Penguins of Madagascar". They were so excited to go see it. I actually took them up to the theater in Ogden so that we could stop by the fire station to visit Jesse after our movie and a little dinner. 

 

 

Back when we walked through the Ogden Temple Open House we had stumbled upon this Mexican restaurant called Sanora Grill. And it was so yummy that I wanted to go back again since we were going to be in Ogden. It was fun that Alexa got to join us. She has been going through a rough time and is getting divorced. So I wanted to make sure she had something to do on Christmas Eve. We love having her around and was happy that she was able to join us for dinner. I just love her to pieces, and how could you not love that beautiful face of hers?

After our yummy dinner we drove to Station 3. Jesse has been a floater for the past year and so he's rarely at the same place when we go visit. But recently he got stationed at Station 3 and now has a locker room to keep all his Turnout Gear and bedding in. That freed up the trunk of my car.

When we arrived the firemen were sitting down to eat dinner. So I felt bad interrupting their meal. But they are always so welcoming and kind to us. The captain was spoiling the boys with a bunch of treats.

We then went into the garage where the trucks were and the three of us (Lex, Jesse and I) while the boys ran around.

I was happy to sit down and relax a little bit.

Before we decided we should go, Lex took a picture of our family in front of the fire engine. Classic. But I gotta do it.

When we got home Lex helped me wrap the boys gifts. I was so grateful that she helped me because it would have taken me all night long. Thank goodness for sisters.

Christmas Eve Eve



With Jesse's schedule this year we had to adjust our Christmas Eve plans with his family. He was scheduled to work 24 hour shifts on the 24th, 26th, 28th and 30th. So we decided to celebrate "Christmas Eve" on the 23rd with the Smith's. As we were planning it we all started calling it Christmas Eve Eve or Christmas Eve Squared.

 

Since the majority of the Smith Siblings all had to work on the 23rd until about 5:00 we made arrangements for everyone to meet at the parentals at 6:00pm and then we would head over to a nearby Retirement Center to do our traditional caroling to ones who don't get too many visits. Bringing them some Holiday Cheer.

 

We had practiced a few songs the Sunday before (Dec 21) so we could be ready for Tuesday night. Mom had actually bought musical bells so we could play a song with them. They figured out how we could play Silent Night together. We all had one bell and we had a little chart of numbers telling us when to play our "note". Some runs were better than others, but for the most part it was pretty good.

 

My favorite part was Ryker's little solo of "Up on the Housetop". He would sing the verses by himself and then the rest of us would join in on the Chorus. It made me so happy every time he sang for them. And their faces would just light up when they heard him sing. I was so proud of him for being so brave. Especially because it brought so much joy to those cute old ladies.

 

I was still feeling pretty crappy from my cold so my energy level wasn't where I'd hoped it would be. But it warmed my heart that we could bring some Holiday cheer to these old folks.

 

On the car ride back to Mom and Dad's house, Ryker was telling Jesse and I that he was feeling so happy. We explained to him that was because he did a service for someone and that gives you a happy feeling. Also Jesse told him that Jesus was happy that we did something good for someone else, and that is what Christ's wants us to do.  

 

When we got back to the house we all dug into a scrumptious Christmas meal. Heidi was so cute and set the table with her Christmas dishes.  Sadly that's the only picture I took that night. I think it's mostly because I wasn't feeling so good.



After dinner I think we all just laid around. I honestly can't remember if we played a game or not. I think I was in a food/ head-cold coma. I do remember falling asleep on the couch at one point. Haha.

Feeling the Hustle and Bustle

December certainly flew by must faster this year than I remember it happening in past years. It was exhausting this year. I picked up days at the salon and worked longer hours on the days that Jesse was home. So by the time the Christmas break came I welcomed it with much enthusiasm.

 

One of the December Monday nights, Heidi took us to the Zoo Lights. This December has been one of the warmest ones I can remember. I barely have needed a jacket on some days. I'm not kidding there have been some days that are in the 60s. That is just unheard of. Usually by now the cold weather has set in and going to see any Christmas lights at night can be miserably cold. But it wasn't too bad at the Zoo Lights. 

While we were at the Zoo we waited in line to see Santa. They had it set up that as we were waiting that the kids could write their Christmas list down for Santa. Then they could put it in the mailbox. I helped Cy write his down and the first thing he said he wanted was a Reindeer. Haha. I think he said that because we say two "Reindeer" just outside to door hanging out in their gated area. We got to look at them as we waited in line to go inside the building. Which is where we wrote up the Christmas Lists.

I love that the Santa had a real beard. And he was so cute with the boys and very patient with the parents taking pictures of the kids.

It isn't Christmas unless their is sickness going around. It started with the boys and then eventually Jesse and I got it. (Which made working for us that much harder). But poor Cy ended up with an ear infection. I had to take him to InstaCare one morning to get him on some antibiotics. I kinda loved that he wanted to snuggle and have me hold him the whole time.

One of Ryker's top teeth became loose a few weeks ago and it looked like it was just hanging by the skin. He wouldn't even let us touch it. As a matter of fact if we even talked about pulling it out he would break down and cry uncontrollably. We couldn't figure out what his deal was. He is a sensitive boy, but this was beyond sensitivity. Something about it just freaked him out. I wanted to pull it out so bad. But that wasn't going to happen. One Sunday, Alexa, Jesse and I tried for over an hour to talk him into letting us pull on it a little bit just to see how loose it was. But he just wouldn't let us. After so many tears and everyone getting frustrated with the situation, he just went to bed.

One of the fun things about this time of year is the Preschool Christmas Program. Cy's first one. Yay!

He was so cute up there singing the songs. It made me laugh though because I could tell which parts he didn't know and the parts that he did. He'd just stand there and stare when he didn't know the words, but then when he knew them he was really into it.

Jeri Eggett is such a good Preschool Teacher. She also is the one that teaches swimming lessons in the summer. She has a lot of fun with the kids, but I love that she demands respect and the kids give it to her. They all just love her so much. For some reason Cy doesn't call her Mrs Eggett. He calls her "Sister". That's her name to him. Whenever he sees her or talks about her. It's Sister. Haha. I think it's really cute and I think Jeri really likes it too.

It's amazing all of the things that we can cram into one month. Extra parties/programs, shopping, hours at work, and planning. It's such a busy time of year. It can be fun, but overwhelming after awhile. I hope I don't sound like a Scrooge, but Christmas isn't nearly as exciting when you become an adult. I kinda miss that childhood magical feeling of Christmas. There was one day that I mentioned to Ryker that there were 9 days until Christmas. And it made me laugh because I was feeling panicked that I only had 9 days left to get everything all ready for the big day. And then he was acting like 9 days seemed like it would take forever.

I think I want to try and work less next year. It was too much for me this year that I think it gave me a grumpy attitude about Christmas. I just felt so worn out by the time the 23rd came. When I walked out the door from the salon I was so excited to leave. I think mostly because I had a head cold and that made me feel more tired than normal. But I have been looking forward to a little stay-cation. Slow things down and remember why we celebrate Christmas.

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas

I spent the day yesterday cleaning and straightening up the house in preparation for Christmas decorations. I originally told Ryker that we could put the tree up on Sunday, but that didn't happen. So when I picked Ryker up from school yesterday he was eager to decorate. He wasn't thrilled with the idea that he had to do his homework first. But while he did that I was able to finish up my cleaning. 

Then it was time to get the Christmas boxes out. And man were they excited. Haha. I guess that is what makes the Christmas season so fun. The kids get so excited about it that it makes it more magical. 

I let them put 90% of the ornaments on the tree. The majority of them are on the bottom half of the tree and near the front. There is no rhyme or reason to our Christmas tree, but that's alright with me. I get a bigger kick out of watching them decorate.    

Then last night we had some friends (Hutchings and the Bements) over for dinner and a Christmas FHE. I had thoughts about doing a Nativity lesson to kick of the Christmas season. When I told this to Candice Bement she mentioned that her Aunt had dress up clothes that she would bring. And I'm so glad that she did because the kids were giddy about it.

There was a point that while I was reading the story, all of the kids were gathered around me. Listening so intently. It was the quietest they had been all night. I loved that they were loving it. It made for a special moment.

I have a goal this December to try and have a more Christ Centered Christmas this year. Being a mother I get so wrapped up in who I need to buy gifts for and to make sure they are meaningful and thoughtful gifts. That it's easy to forget really why we are celebrating this Holiday. It's not about the packages and bows... it's about Christ! He is the Gift that God gave the world. It's an infinite gift. A gift that keeps giving. A gift that we can all have and share with each other.