It's all good . . .

A Busy and Wonderful Week

This past week or so has been jam packed with things - mostly good things, but it was still pretty busy.  It is a combination of getting to have Kevin back, and the fact that we are in the last few weeks of school.  Some of the highlights are:

New Toys

Kevin has a fun new Macbook, which he has been LOVING.  He even managed to find an orange case for it the internet, since they were sold out at both the Apple store in Colorado Springs and Denver.

And it is a good thing he has this new toy, because we have had to use it to watch all our TV shows from while Kevin was away.  I had them all on our DVR, but somehow when we sat down to watch the first show, Kevin accidentally deleted EVERYTHING off our DVR.  We couldn't stop laughing, because it was so funny, and yet not. 

Luckily, he is amazing, because not only did he figure out all the shows we needed to watch, but he worked out an awesome system on his new toy to watch them on our TV and use his iPad as a remote :).

Swimming Lessons

Both Lily and Derek are in swimming lessons right now, and I am still blown away at how amazing they are doing.  It was so much fun to take Kevin to their lessons so he could see it too :).  (Wish these were better pictures, but they were taken with Kevin's phone.)

Bubbly Ears

I don't know if you would call this a highlight, but I thought it was pretty funny.  Once or twice a year, we do "bubbly ears" to the kids by putting a little peroxide in their ears and letting it bubble and eat all the nasty wax build up.   (Kevin's dad once had his doctor say this was fine, as long as you didn't do it too often.)  Well, Derek was taking his turn, and Kevin decided he wanted to get in on the fun.  I love this picture!

A Visit from the Drapers

Kevin's best friend Rob and his family were heading home to Oklahoma from a visit in Utah, and decided to stop in for a couple days.  We were so happy to have them!  Too bad that our 70-80 degree weather decided to disappear while they were here.  At one point, it even snowed giant fluffy flakes.  Lily and Ellie had to go out in it.

Lily loved having the little ones around, as they have a 2 year old, Rosie, and a pretty new baby, Clara. 

We stayed up late every night (well, we, meaning the adults) playing games and talking.  The kids had a blast together.  And I took advantage of a break in the cold to go over to the Broadmoor to take their family portraits.

We had such a wonderful time with them!!

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day morning, before the Drapers headed home, Kevin and Rob made Angela and I a special Mother's Day breakfast.  Kevin made his amazing cinnamon rolls, and Rob made bacon and eggs.  It was perfect.

The kids also gave me cute homemade cards, and Lily gave me an awesome coupon book.  Earlier in the week, I got a surprise at my door with an Edible Arrangement from my mother-in-law.  It was delicious and a very fun early Mother's Day present :).  (And I love the orange watering can - I think I might plant something in it for my kitchen window.)

Last Track Meet

On Monday, the kids had their last track meet of the season.  It was supposed to be last week, but it was stormy that whole day, and so it had been postponed.  Both kids did awesome.  Derek ran the 400 m and got a time of 2:24.  He especially loved his medal :).

Lily also did well, running the 800m in 4:27.  I was so glad their daddy was there to see a race, and so were they :).

And so yes, it has been a pretty busy week.  This next week is just as crazy, but it should be just as good :).

The Best Anniversary Gift Ever

Eleven years ago, I married the love of my life in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity.  It was a wonderful day, but it was an even better beginning to what has been an amazing life together.  A few weeks ago when I was at my nieces wedding at that same place, it really made me think about how grateful I am for my wonderful husband.

He was deployed at the time, and I thought that there was no way on earth that he would ever get home in time for our anniversary.  Well, miracles do happen, and he returned three days before our anniversary, and so instead of us spending it apart, we got to spend the entire day together.

With the help of some amazing friends (thank you Tami and Lisa!!), Kevin and I spent the day and night in Denver.  We started with a session at the Denver Temple, which was wonderful.  Then it was off to a yummy lunch at the White Chocolate Grill - and even though it was called that, we had no white chocolate on our steaks :).  (Check out the wall of bottles behind Kevin.)

After lunch, we changed and Kevin was on the hunt for a new driver.  During his deployment, we had set aside money for it and he had researched which ones he thought would be best.  Then he tested out different drivers for over an hour.  I played games on my iPod - wish I had brought my book, but hey, I think it had been a year since I last played games on there - he he!  All of it paid off, because he found the perfect new driver.  (We all went to the driving range the next day so he could try it out for real, and he was still very happy with it, so I call that success.)

Then we headed to downtown Denver to check into our hotel.  It was the Denver Sheraton, and was right on the 16th Street Mall, which was awesome.  And they upgraded us to the club level for our anniversary, which not only meant we had yummy hourderves and a great breakfast the next morning, but we had a fantastic view, since we were on the 21st floor.

After a small dinner, we wandered down the 16th Street Mall, which is really cool, if you ever come to Denver.  We even found a gelato shop and indulged in some deliciousness.  Yum!  Then we caught the free bus most of the way to the Pepsi Center where the Denver Nuggets play.  You see, as an amazing and once in a lifetime gift, the Lakers just happened to be playing the Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs!  And on our anniversary they were playing in Denver!  And last minute we were able to get awesom seats.  Talk about awesome!

And luckily, we weren't the only people there wearing Lakers shirts - sort of like how it was when we used to watch them play the Jazz.  We were only 14 rows up and behind the Nuggets bench, which gave us an amazing view - especially when the weird guys in front of us were actually sitting down :).

I love watching them come out and warm up.  It is one of my favorite things.

And of course, because it was a playoff game, there was lots of extra random stuff going on, and we even got a free Denver rally towel.  Ha ha!  Oh, and we had so much fun making fun of the Nuggets' dancers.  Fun times.

The game was fun to watch, although sadly, we lost.  Oh well.  It is still awesome to watch Kobe work his magic in person.  It wasn't his fault the rest of his team couldn't make a shot.

Kevin was especially entertained by the crazy halftime show - Wolfgang Biantzia, Master of the Rings.  So funny, especially because of how into it the audience was.  Yes, highly entertaining.

The game was really fun, and we even made it on the jumbotron once, and even though it wasn't the kissing cam, I still had to plant one on Kevin.  It was our anniversary, after all :).  And I thought it was pretty awesome how our anniversary kept flashing on all their monitors.  Once I even caught it with the Lakers logo :).

After the game, we made our way back to our hotel, and were so grateful we had a place to stay, and weren't trying to drive home in all that traffic and mess. 

It was an amazing anniversary, and made even better because we were actually together to celebrate.  I am so thankful for my amazing husband and these past eleven years.  I look forward to an eternity with him :).

HE'S HOME!!

Last week, I got a message from Kevin saying that he would probably be coming home this week, a whole two months early from his deployment.  It almost seemed too good to be true.  He would make it home in time to be there for so many things - our anniversary, Lily's birthday, and countless school things for the kids.

Although things with his travel got a little tricky, and he almost got stuck partway home, everything came together, and on Tuesday night, I picked up Lily from an activity at the church, and told Lily and Derek that we had to run an errand before we came home.  I hadn't even told them their dad was coming home - there were too many ways he could have been delayed - and so they were clueless.

Lily just sat there peppering me with questions, "Why are you so dressed up?  Why are we so far from home?  Why are we pulling up to the airport?"  When we pulled up to the airport, she looked at me and said, "Is it Daddy?  I'll bet we are here to get Daddy!!"  Then Derek was all excited too, even though I hadn't told them for sure yet.

When we went in, his plane was about 20 minutes early, and so as we walked past the down escalator on our way to the up escalator, I saw him coming.  I stopped in my tracks and let out a little cry, I was so happy and surprised to see him standing there.  Soon, there were hugs all around.

After the kids, it was my turn.  I had a hard time letting go of him, it was such a relief to have him back after the past four months.  We even found somebody to take our picture :).

Once we got his stuff, we hurried out to the car, all of us anxious to get to be home and together as a family.  I did have to stop and take one more picture though :).

Once we got home, he unpacked special surprises for the kids, and some fun new magnets for my collection.  And then Kevin settled down with the kids and got to read them their bedtime story, which was the perfect.  Derek kept touching Kevin, like he was making sure that he wouldn't disappear :).

We are so happy to be together again as a family, and so happy to have Kevin home safe and sound.  And I am so grateful for the prayers on behalf of all of us, the help, the support and the friendship that got us through the past four months.  Thank you all!

A Wedding Weekend Adventure

My oldest niece, Madeline, got married in Salt Lake city this past weekend, and not only was I going there to celebrate with her as the aunt, but I was also going to be her wedding photographer.  I was a little nervous about the drive alone with the kids from Colorado to Utah - even though I have done that sort of thing more than once - and I was a little nervous for the portraits too, since it has been years since I have done wedding portraits.  Lucily, everything turned out great.

On Thursday morning, I was up at 4 am and we were on the road by 4:45.  I got to Ogden, Utah around 1:30 pm and we were so happy to make it to Brent and Marilyn's home there.  The kids immediately made themselves at home playing outside and with their toys, while I passed out from exhaustion on the couch and took an hour long nap.

Later, when Marilyn got home from work, we spent hours talking and catching up. It was the perfect way to start our adventure.

Friday morning, we were up early and back on the road, but luckily it was only for an hour when we drove to the temple in Salt Lake City.  We got there early, so we could have time to wander around temple square, which was wonderful.  The spring flowers were amazing, and the kids loved getting to see everything.

We met up with my parents and my sister Holly and her husband.  Almost 50 years ago, my mom and dad were married in the Salt Lake Temple, and so I made sure to get a picture of my parents in front of the temple.

Lily and Derek truly love being on temple square.  As Derek was showing me a "really cool fountain" he found, I lost track of Lily.  I turned around to see her deep in conversation with a set of sister missionaries from Russia and Croatia.  She was just chatting away with them, and when I walked up, she promptly introduced me and her brother.  Pretty fun :).

The temple was amazingly gorgeous in all its spring splendour.  All the colors of the flowers were the perfect contrast to the gray granite.

Lily and Derek  were so excited to get to touch the temple, as this was the first time I had taken them this close.  They also really wanted pictures on the stairs, and then Lily wanted a picture in the alcove where the brides often stand :).  (It was almost exactly 11 years ago that I stood there for pictures after Kevin and I were married there.)

Soon, we met up with everyone to go in for the wedding.  My sweet niece, Megan, watched Lily and Derek for me during the sealing, which was so nice.  The sealing was amazing, and it was so fun to be in there with 3 of my sisters too.

Afterward, I got right to work taking the wedding portraits.  And Derek got right to work running away from the various people assigned to watch him and Lily.  I often found myself tripping over Derek as he was trying to climb up the side of the temple, or when he and Lily found a potato bug.  One of the portraits, you can just see him running into the frame to escape his babysitters.

Lily kept herself busy by talking to the bridesmaids, holding their flowers, helping hold the train of Madeline's dress, and just making friends with anyone who would listen.

And I was busy taking portraits, which was stressful, but so much fun.  It was even better when I changed out of my heels and into my tennis shoes.  It only took once of almost falling down the stairs mid-shot to remind me that, even if they didn't match, they were more comfortable and considerably safer :).

And at the end, I had someone snap a picture of me with the bride, my wonderful niece :).  And I had to get one with my mom and two of my sisters.  It was so much fun to see them, especially Wendy, since she lives in Texas and it had been a while.

The bride and groom were just glowing with happiness when they exited the temple, and their joy made them very compliant as I ordered them around for pictures.  (And thanks to my tripod, I was able to get in a few of the group portaits.)

I LOVE how their portaits turned out.  There were so many that I loved, it was hard to find a favorite (I will put more on my photography blog when I get the chance).  We were very lucky with the lighting, as right when we needed it, we would get a perfect little cloud to cover the sun.  And like I said, the flowers were amazing, and it didn't hurt that the bride was gorgeous :).  Oh, and it was the perfect opportunity to play with my new wide angle lens.

After portraits, it was time for the wedding luncheon at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake.  The lunch was delicious, but my favorite part was talking to my sisters and my older nieces.  Derek was especially enchanted with my niece Megan, holding her hand and telling her all sorts of stories.  It was great :).

Then it was a mad dash to the reception in Alpine.  Holly came with me and the kids, which was so fun, and she helped me pick out a few of the portraits to edit up for the reception in Idaho Falls the next day.   The reception was another opportunity to talk and laugh with my sisters, Holly, Wendy, and Cheryl.  And Lily somehow made a friend of the cake decorator, who gave her a bag of frosting to decorate crackers with :).

The kids and I stayed at the house where the recpetion was held, and so they had a room to hang out in and go to bed, while I was free to socialize and continue my job as the photographer.

That was one yummy cake :).  And I had to capture the throwing of the bouquet (check out Lily trying to get it), as well as Madeline and Jacob's get-away from the reception :). 

Saturday morning, the wild times began again, as the kids and I left early in the morning to drive from Alpine, Utah to Idaho Falls for reception number two.  We got there a little before lunch time, and I left the kids playing with their cousins while I went into town to meet an old friend for lunch. 

Melissa had been a good friend of mine when I lived in Savannah, Georgia, and her husband works for BYU Idaho in Rexburg now.  When I knew I was going to be there, we made plans to meet up, and we had a yummy lunch at Red Robin and we talked for two straight hours.  It was so fantastic to see her!  I wish I had thought to snap a picture of the two of us.

When I got back, we all went straight to work helping with final preparations for the reception that night.  Before the reception, friends of my sister Cheryl, had prepared a nice dinner for all of the family there.  It was very nice, and good for all of us to get to sit and take it easy before the reception - and it guaranteed that everyone remembered to eat :).

The reception was beautiful and low-key.  Lily changed into nice clothes and helped serve and take away plates with her boy cousins.  I took more pictures, and Madeline was able to sneak some food every once in a while :).

Derek spent almost the entire reception watching a movie in a room off of the kitchen, which was awesome.  So glad Cheryl thought of that!

Once the reception was winding down, I sent Lily and Derek off with my parents to get tucked into bed at the home we were staying that night.  Then I got busy coordinating the present opening extravaganza :).  We set up chairs for the bride, groom, and mother of the bride, and then we had the little boys gather presents and bring them over.  Madeline and Jacob would open the presents they were given, Cheryl would write down who they were from, Melanie would place the presents in a pile, and Michelle would throw away the trash into a huge garbage sack :).  It was a blast.

It was a fun night, but I was exhausted by the end.  I went to Cheryl's neighbor's home, where my parents and the kids and I were staying, and went straight to bed.

We all got up early on Sunday morning and went to Cheryl's house for a delicious breakfast.  Then I got the car all loaded up with our stuff, Lily and Derek, and my mom, who came to spend the week with us.  The drive was long - around 11 hours - but it was wonderful to have my mom for company, and the kids were as well behaved as always in the car.  We rolled into town just about bedtime for the kids, which was perfect. 

The weekend was a little exhausting, but it was so much fun and completely worth the long drives and such to be there for it all :).  I am so happy for Madeline and Jacob and their new life together!

Zelda

I truly never ever thought that The Legend of Zelda would be such a big part of our home.  To say that Lily and Derek love it, is quite the understatement.  They love reading the strategy guides, they love watching their dad play it, and they love playing pretend and acting it out.

Well, lately they have been going through Zelda withdrawals, and so I told Lily that she could start playing the original game (we have some collectors edition one that we can play on the Wii).  She was so excited, and we even got some scanned in version of the original strategy guide on our computer for them to use.  They were ready - but not quite.

Sweet little Lily, ran upstairs and grabbed a special blanket her Grandma Valerie had made her to feel close to her daddy.  She wrapped the blanket around her, and said "Now I can have daddy close to me while I play."  It was so sweet :).

After Lily, Derek had a go at it as well, and they had a great time, even if they were a little upset that it was harder than they expected it to be.  And wow, it sure brought back memories to when the very first Nintendo came out and we would try to play that very game :).

A Very Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is an interesting day.  It can be a day full of excitement and fun, it can be depressing and sad, or it can be a time to show those around you that you love them.  Kevin and I have have had a tradition for most of our marriage that we would go out before the actual day for our special date, and usually that was our gift to each other.  This left the actual day to be about our family, and showing our kids we love them. 

I love this tradition of ours, and even though I didn't get that date with Kevin this year, it was a wonderful day.  To prepare for it, the kids and I made their Valentine cards for school.  I decided to go back to one we did a few years ago, as it is cute, personal, and VERY easy to do :).

On Valentine's morning, I woke up early to have a special breakfast for them.  For years, I have made heart shaped pancakes for dinner on Valentine's Day, but this year we had other plans for dinner, and so we had them for breakfast :).  I also put out their box of chocolates from me and a special Valentine card from their daddy.  They were so very excited about it :).

Soon after breakfast, we received a surprise call from Kevin.  It was the best Valentine gift ever, and really set my day up to be wonderful :).

My day was filled with Valentine parties.  I am Derek's Home Room Parent, and so I am in charge o the parties (which I like, because then I can contain the chaos).  Because I am in charge, I never get any pictures of his party, and so I made sure to get a couple.  And when Derek wouldn't smile for me, I had his sweet friend Molly get in the picture, and his face automatically lit up with a smile :).  (She is one of his "best girls.")

For the party, I read them a cute Valentine book, they did an art project, ate healthy snacks (since they were getting all that candy), passed out their Valentine's, and then I taught them a silly Valentine song that I used to sing with my 4th graders.  They loved it, and it was fun being back in "teacher mode".

For Lily's party, I was in charge of the activities, and her class was so much more wild and hard to keep under control, that I left and realized I hadn't taken a single picture.  Oh well.  They had a great time, and I taught them the song as well.  It was a blast :).

When we got home, their was a special package waiting for them from Grandma Valerie - girl Legos for Lily, and a Star Wars transformer for Derek.  They loved them, and really loved getting a package.

It was then that the UPS man showed up at our door with a giant box.  I was so surprised.

Kevin had sent me the most gorgeous arrangement of flowers, since we couldn't share the day together.  I love them, and so does Lily - since there are lilies in the arrangement.  What an amazing husband I have!

Then it was time for the kids special dinner.  It just happened to be Culver's night for the school, and so we went and got them their kids meals and ice-cream.  It is always one of their favorite things.

I didn't eat with them, because I was going on a "date" - actually, a large group of my friends were going to the restaurant by the golf course for a 5 course meal, and invited me to join their group.  So I went stag, but still had a fantastic time, even though I was there with 5 couples.  They were good friends and just happy to include me.  The company was great, and the food was wonderful.

And while I was off having fun, Derek and Lily were having a blast at the Young Women's camp fundraiser.  They were babysitting at the church to earn money for girl's camp, and they had all sorts of games, crafts, and other activities for the kids to do.  Lily and Derek thought they were at a giant party :).

When we got home, we discovered, not just one, but two special treats on our front porch.  Two of my friends dropped them by for us, and it was yet another reminder of how blessed I am.  And so, yes, it was a wonderful Valentine's Day.  A day that could have been sad, was full of fun and surprises, and reminders that my children and I are loved :).

PS. And another reminder to my forever Valentine, Kevin - I love you more :).

A Few Fun Things

Over the past week, we have had a few really fun things happen.  Sadly, some where only in preparation for when Kevin leaves next week, but that didn't change the fact that we had some great things happen.

*Kevin went to Denver to watch the Lakers play the Nuggets. 

He is a huge Lakers fan, and last year he was gone every time the Lakers came to town to play the Nuggets.   Because of this, he used his Christmas money to go to the first game possible this year, so he wouldn't miss out yet again.  He went alone, but had a great seat and had an awesome time.

*Dennis and Valerie came for a visit. 

Because Kevin is deploying, his parents wanted a chance to say goodbye, and so flew in for a short visit.  We are all so glad they came!  The kids had a fantastic time with them, playing games, making crafts, telling stories, etc.  And Kevin had the chance to spend some wonderful time with his parents and get a blessing from his dad.  (And we had such a great time, we realized that we completely forgot to take a single picture - crazy!)

*Lily and Derek got to go on dates with Kevin. 

Kevin let each of the kids choose a special date they could go on with him.  Lily had him take her to lunch at Chipotle, then to see "A Dolphin's Tale", and then to ice-cream at Coldstone. 

Derek went to breakfast at Waffle House, and then to the video game store and Target, followed up by playing video games at home.  They even bought a new strategy guide while they were out, which was very exciting for both Lily and Derek.

It was wonderful, and such a great chance for the kids to have some special time with their dad.

*Kevin and I went out on a date.

Back before New Years, Kevin and I had a super fun double date with some friends to the Denver Temple.  We had such a fantastic time, and were grateful that we went, because he has been so insanely busy this past week, that we weren't able to go on our normal date to the temple the first Friday of the month. 

Since that fell through, we went on Saturday to go see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.  It was great, and we had a wonderful time.  I love any chance we have to go out and spend time together :).

Ringing in the New Year!

Way back in October, I decided that I wanted to throw a New Year's Eve party.  One with just couples, and one that, hopefully, would be a lot of fun :).  Well, everything came together, Kevin miraculously gave his permission, and the whole week before the party I spent preparing.

I made food for three straight days, deep cleaned my house, researched what games to play, and even had Kevin put up lights and his disco ball for me in the living room :).

The food all turned out fabulous, and just like I had imagined. 

We had red velvet cake bites . . .

and mini apple pies (recipe to come) . . .

and Raspberry Trifle . . .

And so much more. Kevin asked specifically for Divinity, which I had never made before, but I used Paula Deen's recipe, and it was delicious.

I also had a whole array of hot foods - meatballs, little smokies, sausage dip, queso blanco, and even chocolate fondue.  And since I only own one giant crockpot, I borrowed five small ones from different friends. (I wanted everything to be done before the party started, so I could enjoy things and not worry about food.)

Our kids were awesome, as they had a few of the party snacks, and then we put them to bed at their normal bedtime, leaving us free to play for the rest of the night :).  They slept soundly through the ENTIRE party, including when we were really loud at midnight.  Like I said, awesome.

Everything was set up and ready by the party's start time of 8:30pm, and so I got to sit for a minute before the guests arrived.  I had a game for them to start as they came in - Two Truths and a Lie.

The game turned out to be so funny that my face hurt from laughing.  From one person making four different drafts, and then turning in the wrong one, to me forgetting to put a lie on the paper and putting three truths, it was awesome.

There was lots of talking, laughing, eating, and even more laughing.  We played another game later on called "How Well Do You Know Your Sweetheart?".  It was almost funnier than the first game, as you would not believe how many of us got questions wrong. 

Kevin was the only one to get 5 for 5 - pretty funny.  On the whole, the men tended to get more answers right, but we all decided it was because women talk so much more and tell their spouse everything.  What I thought was the funniest was how many times a wife would tell her husband that they were wrong when the man said what his favorite color was.  Awesome.

At midnight, we all toasted sparkling grape juice and made lots of noise with the noisemakers I bought. 

I even got to kiss my sweetheart, Kevin, at midnight to celebrate the New Year beginning. 

The party really was a blast, and I wish I could do it every year :).  Now to convince Kevin - he he!

Christmas Magic

I truly love Christmas.  I love the feeling of magic that surrounds it all.  I have fantastic memories from my childhood of Christmas traditions, and I think my children are creating their very own treasured memories. 

One of these was probably the sleepover they got to have by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve's Eve.  They snuggled into their sleeping bags and got ready to sleep in the light of the tree.  Lily even read Derek a Christmas book or two. 

And then on Christmas Eve, we had more fun.  The kids had plenty of time to play in the snow that had fallen earlier this week.  Lily made a snowbird, instead of a snowman.  I wish I had thought to get a picture before it was dark.

Later on, we watched Christmas movies, played games, read Christmas books, and ate our dinner of Domino's Pizza :).  Then we had a special scripture reading of Luke Chapter 2 and talked about the true reason for Christmas.  Lily went on to tell us, that for her "Christmas is all about giving."  Derek then piped in with, "For me, Christmas is all about the presents."  Nice.

I even let the kids help me prepare the rolls for Christmas breakfast, since it has to rise overnight.  I was so concerned about having them help me do it right, I completely left out one of the main ingredients - the butterscotch pudding.  They still turned out okay though, thank goodness :).

Once the kids were tucked in, Kevin and I brought down all the presents and filled the stockings.  There was nothing to build, and so we finished early and watched "Sherlock Holmes."  It was a great night.

The next morning, we had church at 9 am, and so we got up at 6am and I got breakfast going.  Then we let the kids come down to open their stockings.  They LOVE their stockings, and get excited about every litle thing in them, whether it is a toy, fun band-aides, a new toothbrush, or underwear.

After stockings, we had breakfast and got ready for church.  Derek wore his new tie, one my parents got when they were on their mission in Scotland years ago, but he was too small for it then.  (It is the Anderson tartan, my family's line.)  Kevin has a matching tie, and so they decided to be twins.

After church, we had a quick snack, and then it was time for presents :). 

Derek had a few favorite gifts, including his new scooter.  Now he doesn't have to borrow Lily's anymore.

We also got him a punching bag.  He has needed something to hit and kick for a while, and I figured that this is a much healthier option than hitting people or walls :).  He thinks it is awesome.

Lily got a few fun things as well.  He favorite was an MP3 player.  Kevin spent an entire day loading songs, and even a movie, on there for her.  She LOVES it.

And Kevin - he only got four presents, but they were all awesome.  He got tickets to go see the Lakers play when they come to Denver and the new legend of Zelda game.  He also got the Lego Millennium Falcon, which he had picked out himself.  He spent all day putting it together :).

And somehow I surprised him this year - something that is very hard to do.  I secretly took a painting that his Grandma Wanda had painted of him and is brother, and I had it framed.  The look on his face was awesome - it was definitely a winner :).

As for me, I got a few fun things as well - books, camera stuff, a beautiful necklace, etc.  My favorite was that Kevin and the kids gave me the wise men and angel to go with my Nativity.  Now it is complete :).  I love it!

Later on, we decided to play some of the games we got for Christmas.  The kids played Just Dance Kids 2 on the Kinnect, Kevin played Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword with the kids, and then we all played Wipeout on the Kinnect.  It was so fun, and wow - what a workout!

It was a wonderful Christmas, and full of fun, joy, and of course, magic :).

Christmas Isn't Christmas Without . . .

Advent Calendars

We have quite a few different ways to count down to Christmas, and my kids love them all.  We even have a new one this year that we got out of last years December Friend magazine - it has scriptures on each thing you hang on the tree, and they all answer questions about Christ's birth.

One of Lily and Derek's favorites, is the one their Grandma Valerie gave us forever ago.  It is a magnet manger scene, and I always catch them playing pretend with the pieces.  So fun.

And one of their favorite advents every year has to be the chocolate advent calendar I get them.  They each have their own, and they can hardly wait to eat their chocolate of the day.  They are made by a German company and I buy them at the Commissary - yet another perk of being in the military, because I can never find them anywhere else :).

Neighbor Gifts

I love giving neighbor gifts, and I must admit that it is pretty fun to receive all the fun Christmas goodies from everyone.  This year I gave away jars of homemade peach, raspberry, or blackberry jam, which was wonderful, because I had gone to all the work to make it months ago, and so all I had to do was tie on a ribbon :).

I also gave this wonderful little book called "The Story of Christ" to a few of my neighbors.  I found it at Deseret Book, and it took scriptures about Christ's birth and ministry and put them all in order into a story.  It is wonderful, and I made sure to keep one for our family.

New Christmas Ornaments

Every year we take the kids to Hallmark and let them pick out a new Christmas ornament.  They really look forward to it, and someday they will have quite the collection.  Lily picked the "Mistletoe Fairy."

And Derek picked Mickey Mouse and Toodles :).

And Kevin and I love to get something new for the two of us each year as well.  This year we found a beautiful ornament in Nauvoo while we were there in March.  I love it.

We also try to get an ornament from every place we have lived.  Last year I couldn't find a Colorado one, but I found one while the kids and I were site-seeing this summer, which was really cool.

And just in case I have never posted pictures of the other ornaments we have from the other places we were stationed, here they are.  (And Kevin and I still laugh about how completely fitting it is that the ONLY ornament we could find when we lived in Fayetteville was totally white trash.)

Watching Christmas Movies

We love our collection of Christmas movies.  We pull them out right after Thanksgiving, and then try and make our way through the stack throughout the month of December.  The kids first choice is always "The Muppet Christmas Carol." 

I also love to watch a lot of the cheesy made for TV movies on ABC family as well :).  One of our very favorites is "Elf" (Not quite sure where it was when I took this picture.).  We have to sit together as a family and watch it, laughing the whole time.

Reading Christmas Books

You all know how much I love reading, and my kids are no different.  I have quite the collection of Christmas books - more than there are days in December.  Because we have too many to get through them all with only one a day, I try to take time throughout the month to sit with both kids and a few of the books and just sit and read for an hour or so.  It is one of my favorite Christmas activities.

Giving and Receiving Christmas Cards

I love sending out Christmas cards.  In fact, I had quite the list of friends I sent them out to before I ever got married, just because I love it so much.  But even more than sending Christmas Cards, I love receiving them. 

I love reading the messages and letters people send with them, seeing the pictures and realizing how the years are flying as the kids in the pictures just get bigger and bigger.  I store them all in a little snowman caddy, and although I have thought about putting them on display, I can't think of a way I like more than just having them all together.

Christmas Music

How can you not love Christmas music?  I started listening to it extra early this year, all because Michael Buble' put out a Christmas album in November.  It is fantastic and has been making me smile all month.  Lily and Derek also have their favorite Christmas music - they are taking turns listening to"The Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack", "John Denver and the Muppets," and "Disney Magic 2009" - I can't even count how many times those CD's have moved from one room to another.

Snow

Okay, so this will be Lily and Derek's very first Christmas with snow - last year it was 50 degrees on Christmas, and before that we lived in North Carolina, Georgia, and California.  That doesn't make it any less a Christmas tradition to have snow, and although I particularly love warm weather on Christmas, the snow does make it feel magical. 

And to make sure we had plenty of snow for Christmas on Sunday, we have had two storms in a three day period that gave us about 6 inches of snow each.  The kids have been enjoying it nonstop.  They have been out playing in it with the neighbors every day, and sometimes more than once a day.

My favorite thing was watching Derek and his friend Asher take turns riding our sled down the slide.  Just plain awesome :).

I must admit that I do have a wish that all the snow will go away once Christmas is over, but that is wishful thinking on my part.  But maybe we will have a warm New Year, you never know :).