Christmas

Well another year went by really fast and Christmas is over. The kids couldn't wait for it to come and it was over in a flash. We had a late start to getting ready for it because of the move, but we made it 

and it was a lot of fun to watch the kids. 

First our annual pj picture. 

My favorite thing is the socks. I think I get way to much for them, but I loved them growing up and get really excited for them each year. 

 This year each kid had their own paper. No names on the gifts just colors, They had to open their sock to find a scrap of their paper and that's how they knew which ones were theirs. I thought it was a lot of fun, and a way for the boys to be excited still. 

Kids say they woke up at 3 or 4 but we didn't get up till 6. It was still too early, but better than 4. They were opened in what seemed like a flash. 

 Vegas was Brad's Christmas and he got me a snowboard. I can't wait to go again and hopefully this year teach the boys too. 

And it was a huge mess all day. Beck got a tablet (which we told him if he breaks this one he is paying for it) and some pops (vinal action figures). Cam and Jacks got a Wii U together. Camden got a game for it and some ninja stars (for display only). Emery got an Easy Bake Oven and tablet also. Jacks also got a lot of Paw Patrol figures and this big dinosaur that makes noise and moves. He is still fun to get toys for because he really gets into playing with them. 

By the afternoon our house was a still a mess and pretty much everyone was on an electronic. 

We had a snack day and made appetizer type food to each. the kids loved it and thought it was fun to have different things that we don't normally eat. 

 Fun fact about Emery, she loves brown sugar. Whenever we cook with it she likes to eat it, and if we'd let her she'd eat it by the handful. 

I'm sure this next year will go just as fast, we can't seem to figure a way to make it slow down. 

Vegas

This past weekend Brad and I went to Las Vegas to watch a bowl game. It was BYU vs Utah, so it was a big rivalry game and something Brad talks about doing a lot. We went down Thursday am and drove all day. It has to be one of the most boring drives. All it seems to be is straight lines of never ending road. 

 We had a nice dinner the first night. I bought a dress for the first time in 10 years. It was so good, but way too much food. That's how Vegas is, huge portions. 

 We walked the strip and through hotels and shopped a lot. 

 We stayed at the New York New York and they have lots of New York style food places. One was a crepe place, so we had one each for breakfast. As you can see they were huge, but so good. I also had a croissant doughnut one of the days there too. There was way too much good food while we were there. 

 It was fun to just walk around, eat food and people watch... there are lots of interesting people in Vegas. Saturday was the bowl game. Lets just say that BYU didn't play that great in the first quarter. when it was 28 to 0 a few people around us left and at 35 to 0 (remember still the first quarter) even more left. We did leave at half time so we have some daylight to drive home. While BYU didn't win, they did work to only lose by 7. 

The weather there was great. We just wore a light jacket at night and t-shirts during the day. It was fun to see all the people who wore big winter clothes because they thought it was too cold. It is a whole different world in Vegas. Lot and lots of people. You can get alcohol anywhere and I mean anywhere. Candy stores had it for sale and it was in every convenient store. On the way home we stopped half way and Brad got gas while I went into the gas station to get him a 5 Hour Energy. I walked in and there was hard alcohol on the first shelf out in the open. I looked all over for the energy drink and couldn't find it. When I finally asked the lady said they keep it behind the counter. Somehow that was more important to keep from people than the alcohol?  There are so many cool things the kids would love too. Lots of arcades, shows and fun things to look at, like at Excalibur. You'd just have to bring shields to wear after dark there. Maybe if we ever go to California we'll have to stop on our way and spend one night there so show them some fun things. 

Grandma Arrington

Last week my Grandma Arrington passed away and returned home to be with my Grandpa. I know she has missed him since he passed away, so I know she is happier now that shes with him. Yesterday was her funeral and it was so nice to learn all sorts of new things about here that I didn't know, like how she liked to shoot guns and was actually a pretty good shot. I'll miss the phone calls with her, no matter how short they were it was always good to hear her voice. I could only find a few pictures with her in them. I'm not sure she liked having her picture taken. 

This one is of Jacks when he was about 3 months old. 

I have a lot of good memories with her, like the weird but awesome toys she had at her house, her doll room, that was creepy but awesome also to see what she was able to make with them. She always had popcorn out, which is probably why now I love it so much. She loved to hear me play the piano and I think about her and my Grandpa whenever I play mine now. She was a great grandmother and i can't wait for the day when I get to see all my grandparents again. 

More Christmas

Last week the school had dress like a reindeer at school. The kids got some ears to wear and Emery wanted to have a red nose. Good thing we had lipstick. 

 We made cupcakes Saturday while we wrapped presents with the kids. I left Jacks with the empty bowl and came back to this sweet face. He was pretty happy with himself. 

 The finished cupcakes. Almost too cute to eat. 

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Christmas Concert

 The kids had a school Christmas concert this week. Emery's grade sang songs and the boys grade did a little song/play thing. Beck was a reindeer and Camden was a penguin. It was pretty cute to watch them be so happy that they were able to perform. 

This is the line that Beckham had.

The House

I realized that I haven't really posted many pictures of the house. We have done a little in pretty much every room, but not finished all of them. Here are a few finished, or pretty much finished rooms.
This is Beck's bathroom upstairs. The bonus room is Dr. Seuss themed so we kept that in the bathroom too. The shelves are meant to be the Cat in the Hat. 

 Our small little section for Christmas. It's really the only part of the shelves that's finished, but we'll have to take it down in a few weeks. 

 Our room. We have a lot of the grey, blue and beige throughout the house. I like how our room turned out. 

 Our little photo wall in our room.

And our bathroom. 

Jacks' room was easy because we kept the theme from the last house. 

 The only thing left to do is make the last weapon and Brad will paint a scene on the blank wall. 

We are slowly working on Emery's room, the kids bathroom, Beck's room and the bonus room all at once. I took wall paper off in Emery's room this weekend and that was not fun. Give it a few months and at least all the kids rooms will be done. 

Snow!!

We woke up a little while ago to a lot of snow, well I drove home after work in it, which wasn't fun. The kids had a lot of fun playing in it, although Jacks didn't last very long. 

Christmas Stuff

For projects this year we are just doing a few small things while the kids are in school and then we'll do more once they are on break. The school also had a dress up day everyday until break, so that helps the kids have fun too. Yesterday it was dress like a tree. The boys went as a giving tree. They wrote on the cards things like "boy age 9 like cars." I thought it was a cute idea for them to think of. 

 We made a countdown and I really should have thought it threw more, Emery and Jacks can't tie, so it was a little crazy to get them done, but they love the candy they get each day from it. More projects coming soon. 

We also set up our tree after Thanksgiving. The kids always love to set it up. It may not match but the kids love it and that's what counts. 

Camden Dance

This year Camden was the only one who wanted to do dance again. He really likes it and does really well with it too. This past weekend was his Christmas recital. 

He did a flip at the beginning and tried at the end but his shoe slipped. He did a great job.