Christmas Happenings

Where do I begin? I'll start by telling you that I took about a zillion pictures, and plan on adding a good chunk of them to this post. So if you feel like skipping it and getting to the point, I will tell you, it was lovely. All of it.

For those of you in for the long haul...here we go.

My favorite tradition at our house is that Mrs. Claus leaves the girls a new outfit every year on Christmas morning. (I used to do her hair, so we are tight like that...) And boy, does she have good taste? I mean seriously, leg warmers! Well done Mrs. Claus!

Our Christmas Eve was spent at my parents house with all of my siblings and cousins galore. It was just what Christmas Eve should be with Christmas music blaring, all of us laughing, the cousins checking to see where Santa was every 5 minutes, great food, and lots of games.

First on the agenda was gingerbread houses, and this was a so much fun. My family tends to make everything a competition, and this was no different. I still think ours is the best...but whatever.

Sienna just wanted to lick the frosting/glue and she was happy!

The gang.

This is my very favorite moment of the night. The girls dancing to Christmas music with Daddy. It was such a care free, beautiful moment. I sure love my family!Next up was "Santa" bingo. Even the little ones loved this, and were super excited to get some early Christmas prizes.

And then the traditional Christmas Eve Jammies from Grandma. They are sure a darling group of kids, and Grandma got them some darling Pj's. (She spoils them all rotten!)This is another favorite moment of the night. Each of the grandkids gave Grandpa a figurine to his new (and loved) Christmas village. I just thought this picture was darling and this was a tradition in the making!

Then we played "pass the present", and listened to grandpa read the Nativity. It was very sweet to watch the kids, who had been loud and crazy all night, sit down and listen and remember the reason for all the celebrating.

When we went home I expected a long battle to get the girls to sleep, but they were so exhausted they hit the pillow and were out. Of course, I was too excited to let them sleep in much on Christmas morning, and woke them up at 6....but it was worth it, because it really was so much fun. They both really felt the magic of it all and loved every single thing they got. Adyson would even pull out something silly out of her stocking, like toothpaste, and gasp with excitement. It was an unforgettable morning.And for the record,

Adyson's favorite gift from Santa:her peek-a-boo dollhouse and her Barbie car.

Sienna's favorite gift from Santa:her Tinkerbell, vacuum, and Mamma Mia. (Don't judge.)

After a delicious Turkey dinner that my mom slaved over, we made the trek to The Kidman's in Tremonton to get spoiled once again. We played pass the present (a Kidman family tradition), and played some fun games, which the girls totally dominated... Adyson just wanted to play restaurant, and served Grandma and I some delicious dinner, Sienna ate, and ate, and ate Grandma's soup. They both loved looking at her beautiful village, and watching the train go around the tree. We had such a great time, until we left that is. Because then we hit the most awful road and driving conditions we have ever been in. I'm telling you, we couldn't see a thing and seemed to be the only car headed in our direction pioneering the way. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to get home, and I darn near cried a few times. It was possibly the whitest Christmas I've ever seen, and it is beautiful, as long as you are warm and cozy in your home. :). We had a really wonderful time though, and it was even worth the drive from hell!!

Last year Christmas was a blur with everything that happened just weeks before. We tried to make it a wonderful day, but "it" was always pretty much in the back of our minds. This year, it was just all so perfect. It was spent with family, friends, and chuck full of magic. Thanks to my mom and Trav's mom for making everything so special. Our girls are sure loved! I am sad that it is already over, but so thankful that it turned out the way it did! I hope you all had a very lovely, and very safe day as well.

Phew. I'm spent.

Merry Christmas!

We have been getting Christmas cards daily in the mail, and I am feeling guilty that I didn't do one again this year! Next year I'm making it a priority because it has been so much fun to see everyone and get a little update through the mail. So thanks to those who sent them, and sorry you wont receive on in return...instead you will have to count my blog as your Christmas card!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas full of families, food, and fun! We are especially excited to celebrate with everyone this year, and can't wait for all the festivities to begin. This year I've seen such magic in the kindness of people, and cannot express how thankful we are to those of you who have done such beautiful acts to us. It has really helped us remember the "reason for the season" and made our Christmas full of magic! I hope one day Travis and I can return the favor!

May you all have a beautiful Christmas!

A wintery weekend.

4 more days till Christmas! I already have butterflies and am losing hours of sleep over excitement! We have been doing all of those last minute things, like cooking for parties, and of course buying those spur of the moment gifts. It's been a crazy couple of days, but I guess that's how we roll...

On Friday we stayed home all day enjoying the snow. I opened all my windows to see the beautiful snow, and snuggled in my jammies and read the day away. The girls tore the house apart and played to their hearts content. It was a storybook day and I realized maybe we don't have enough of them! I'm always too busy running around and doing all my work, that sometimes I forget that all of this doesn't have to be done.

We did manage to leave the house to go outside while I scraped the driveway and the girls played in the deep white blanket of snow on the lawn. (BTW, thanks Nate for finishing the driveway for me!).

All dolled up and ready to go.

Sienna was pouting because she didn't want me to take he picture, she just wanted to get out there already! Gosh, my kids are so patient.



I love the look on Sienna's face here, pure heaven!

We were extremely bummed because Friday night we were supposed to go to my Grandpa's Christmas party in SLC. It is one of the things I look forward to most during the Holidays. My Grandpa opens his home in the heart of the city to our very large extended family. We look forward to seeing cousins we haven't been able to see all year, giving handmade gifts we've all slaved over, my Grandma's wonderful cooking, and my Grandpa's wonderful laugh. He has a really thick dutch accent, and always tells such great jokes (and maybe slightly perverted...but we love it!). We missed you guys on Friday and hope to see you all soon!

And Adyson had to have me take a picture of her new ice-skating earrings. And when my kids ask me for a picture, I always oblige.

Help.

I have heard a lot about people turning their blogs into a book, and remember one of my links has done it, (I can't remember who...) but cannot find where to do it. I went to blurb.com and they do not work with blogger. Anyone have any ideas?
Help me!

Diva Dances

Adyson's dance recital was pushed back a few months, so they had a little mini recital at a retirement home the other night. It was nothing fancy, jammies-a room full of old people, and lots of super cute kiddos. We weren't really sure what to expect, but it ended up being darling and a lot of fun.

Remember when I would worry sick about Adyson being too shy and too scared?

Things have changed, oh yes, things have changed!

I'm not sure if she really understood what she was supposed to do at first. She sort of just stood there for a minute while the other girls danced, smiling. Then she started to pick it up and was just darling. She really hammed it up and was grinning from ear to ear and exaggerating all of her moves. At the end of the dance (to "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus), they all had to get down on their knee's and pose, and Adyson made sure she was right in front blowing kisses to the crowd. It was pretty funny to watch her ham it up....I wonder where she gets it?? Afterwards, once again, she asked if she was funny. Maybe we should put her in comedian lessons instead of dance?? Weirdo.

The other girls are quite a bit taller then her and while they were supposed to kneel for part of the dance, Adyson stood, and still was about the same height...she's just so scrawny! Anyways, here are some pics of the Diva doing her thang.

And next time she has told me she simply "must have sparkles in her hair."

I wanted to show this picture my great friend Eileen took of us at the Christmas party. I love that I have a pic of all of us smiling at the camera...it's rare folks. Rare. Thanks Eileen!

Just a little recap.

I've have been terrible about taking pictures of the girls this last couple of weeks. Usually I pull my camera out at least once a day, and this month I've been lucky to find time to get it out once a week! We have been so busy getting everything ready for Christmas. Baking and candy making like crazy, getting ready for a plethora of fun Christmas parties, wrapping, wrapping, and more wrapping (the girls are spoiled rotten!). And shopping! I love the craziness of this season, and love the build up till Christmas. (I'm admittedly already losing sleep over the excitement!) It's going to be a long 9 nights......

Here a bit of what the ladies have been up to.

Adyson got to be a Christmas Angel in our ward party's Nativity. It was a joy to watch all of the little kids act this out, and brought back so many memories. We talked about being reverent before hand, and I'm thinking maybe she needs to learn the definition of reverence...

She was a little ham. All of the other sweet little angels stood there very sweetly.
Adyson, on the other hand, waved, and waved some more. Then she posed. Posed, and posed some more.
Afterwards, when a friend told her she was a beautiful angel, Adyson said "But, was I funny?"

It was a treat to watch though, I have to admit. The Wisemen were fighting, the Shepard's were bored, so they layed on the floor. It was just so precious, and a definite highlight of the week for me. Beautiful.

Sienna just loved coloring the night away, and about every two minutes she would walk back to show us her picture with a very loud "TA-DA". She's at such a fun age!

Today, while we were at Wal-mart shopping, she was being a little naughty. I told her she better be good so Santa will bring her Tinkerbell, and she just told me that the Elves weren't watching her. She's too smart for her own good!

Tonight for FHE we opted to go to Preston and see the very overrated lights. This is the very fancy outfit Diva chose.

Lovely, isn't it?

And I had to add this one to the mix. It's very Nicole Ritchie.

Travis, being the super grown up and responsible dad he is, has taught Adyson to say "Get a room" when she See's someone kissing. I'm not thrilled about this!! Please don't be too offended when she says this to you, or teaches your kids. Blame Travis! He's not a very good influence.

This week we have 3 parties, lunch dates, work, a mini dance recital, and have to finish up Christmas. I love the Christmas crazy! Love it all!

A day of Favorites.

(This post is for you Kyle :)

This last Thursday marks 1 year since the crappy cancer came back. One whole year! One whole really, really, really, long year. For the last few months I have been thinking of ways to celebrate Travis, and how freaking awesome he is for going to battle once a week for the last year. When I told him I wanted to celebrate somehow he looked at me like I was crazy-"You want to celebrate me having cancer for a year???".

That's not really how I was looking at it. I was thinking more along the lines of surviving cancer for a year, and doing it with such integrity. He should be proud.

He rarely complains. He still goes to work every single day, cankers and all. He is always fun to be with, and takes great care of all of us. He is always up to do whatever the girls need, even if he feels like crap, and dang it, I knew he just needed a day to be spoiled.

(Because I am an awesome, awesome, awesome wife.)

So one of my friends had the brilliant thought to give him a surprise "day of favorites", and I thought that was a great idea. Not to mention affordable considering Christmas is just around the corner.

He woke up to one of his very favorite things in the whole world.

Krispy Kreme's, fresh, thanks to a very good friend who commutes. (Thanks again!) And we all know that hot cocoa is a favorite!

He got a bottle of this: his favorite soda.

And a pass to do his very favorite thing in the whole world:

I had planned to take him here (his favorite restaurant) for lunch, but we ended up having a Christmas party at 5:00 at the Coppermill, and we didn't really want to eat a big lunch.

So instead, I brought him some of these favorite yummy treats: oreo truffles.

And of course he got a visit from his favorite ladies.

And he got some tickets for his favorite team, the Aggies. (Thanks Ame!)

I know...I know, it seems like a lot of food, but I also made him his favorite dessert for a little bedtime snack. (I must really love him, because this is one of my least favorites!).

Banana Cream Pie...

It was such a fun day, and I think it will be a fun thing to do each year. (Only 50 more to go, give or take a few...).

I love you T.

Christmas Tag

My cute friend Melissa Tagged me this cute Christmas tag.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate. Hands down.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa loves wrapping paper at our house. Though he does put some of the presents together, but they are usually hidden till all the opening is done.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I love them all, but we always use white lights in our house.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but Adyson really wishes we would. Maybe next year?
5. When do you put up your decorations? As early as the boss allows. Usually the day before or the day after Thanksgiving. This day is as fun as Christmas for me!
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I grew up doing really non traditional Holiday food. We'd eat homemade fajitas, or won tons on Christmas eve. It's always different. I do look forward to cheese balls though, I mean really, who doesn't?
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? This is my funniest memory, I can't pick a favorite! My brother, sister, and I would always sleep in Heather's bedroom upstairs together on Christmas Eve. And each year we would wake up super early, and debate on who would wake up mom and dad. And, shocker, each year it would end up being me. Well, one year, I thought the door to our room was open, and started running into their room, only to find that it was closed. I smacked right into the door.
It did wake them up though, so that's good.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't remember.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We grew up opening jammies, and then begging our parents to let us open "just one more". They would always cave and let us open the sibling gifts. And we let our kiddos do this too.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Our upstairs tree has red, silver, and cream snowflakes all over it. Our kitchen trees have red berries, and our basement tree has tin stars, big cream snowflakes, and snowmen plaques on it.
11. Can you ice skate? Yes, we grew up doing it often.
12. Do you remember your favorite gift? I have too many favorites to pick just one.
13. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with family, teaching my kids all about Christ, sitting by the fire while it snows outside, baking, Christmas music, snuggling on the couch, corny Christmas movies, Christmas parties....you get the idea. I really, really, love this Holiday!
14. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Lorraine's fudge, and mom's Butterballs.
15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? When we were little we HATED this, but each year after we woke up my dad, he would go downstairs before us and light a fire and say "It looks like Santa's been here!". We'd all sit at the top step just listening. Then he'd come upstairs and have a shower before we were allowed to go downstairs and see it all. The anticipation was awful! But Travis and I now enjoy making the kids wait too. He goes downstairs and says the same thing, and the poor kids think they will die while waiting! We have yet to make them wait while he showers though, that's just mean!
16. What tops your tree? Upstairs a snowflake, down a star.
17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Um, is it wrong if I say both? Just kidding, I really love giving gifts, and really love when you find the perfect gift for someone.
18. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Oh, Holy Night.
19. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized? Maybe a bit. But I think it's very easy to focus on all of the good this time of year.

Results

I just wanted to quickly let everyone know that the treatments are still working. There was no shrinkage, but at least everything stayed the same!

We are now ready to celebrate Christmas!

Hello Santa

Friday night Cody and Amy had the bright idea to take the kids to see Santa at the AWESOME mall. The girls were jumping for joy and spilling over with excitement.

Here's how it all went down.

Adyson climbed right up and put on her best "I'm an angel" face. She batted her lashes, and smiled her sweetest smile, and then before she got a chance to ask for anything, Sienna had to get in on the action.

She interruppted by getting on his lap, and then right away said "I want a Tinkerbell". To which Santa replied, "Jingle Bells?".

Don't worry, she got the message through, and hopefully Santa will deliver.

Adyson finally got her turn, and asked for a Peek-a-boo dollhouse, and told Santa she's been good all year. Um, yeah. Lets just say that Adyson has had a rough couple of weeks. She has been overly tired, overly dramatic, and just downright naughty. She will have a really good week, and then finish it off by being a little stinker. I find myself wondering if we have spoiled her rotten, or if this is just a 4 year old stage. (Please tell me it's the latter....)

So the day after Thanksgiving, we made a "Naughty chart". We told her whenever she gets all diva on us, she will get a stamp on her chart, and when she hits 10, we will call Santa and tell him how bad she has been.

It has worked wonders, and she only has 1 stamp so far.

I love Santa. He makes my kids behave!

And Sienna has been singing "Tinkerbell" to the tune of "Jingle Bells" all day.

And lastly, the Santa at the CVM is quite possibly the best Santa I've ever seen. He looks perfect, he has the voice, he has the laugh, and even the perfect rosy cheeks. In case you were wondering...

Thanks Grandma!

Grandma Kidman sent the girls a wonderful surprise package the other day, and my girls couldn't have been more excited.

After we FINALLY got the box open, they found packing peanuts, and would have been thrilled if that was all that was in the box. (who knew?)

When they got past those awesome peanuts, they found a fisher price Nativity. And they loved it! It was so much fun seeing them put it all together, and watching them have a bit of reverence for it at the same time.

And then they put the Angel on top, and it plays the song "Away In a Manger", and they both couldn't take their eyes off it!
Isn't this a darling gift? It is wonderful to have one that they can play with, and I don't have to stress that it will break...if only there was a way to make sure they don't lose any of the pieces!
We moved the toy into Adyson's room, and dumped those packing peanuts on the ground, and the girls played in there for at least an hour. Only 1 small fight, which they resolved by themselves, totally sharing, and laughing together.

A Christmas Miracle??

Yes.

Now we just need to teach Adyson the difference between fairies and angels, because she is quite certain that this is a Christmas Fairy...
Thanks Grandma for the lovely gift. We really appreciate all you do for us!

And Thanks to all of you for your kind words in my last post. Not a moment goes by where we don't feel the love of so many people. I'm fairly certain that we don't deserve you....

Thank you.

Where do I begin? Bear with me, I have a point. I'll get there eventually.

Next Thursday marks 1 year since Trav's cancer has returned. For the last week it's all I've been able to think about. I've been trying to think of ways to celebrate one more year of life for Travis. And I think he should be awfully proud of himself. He drags himself into the Cancer center week after week, and his body is tired. I wish I could express how thankful I am to him for doing it with such an amazing spirit.

I love him.

Today travis has a treatment, and then afterward set up his scan for Monday. And I've been a bag of tears all day long. I'm terrified. Last year at this time, the news was not good. I really need it to be good!! I've been running on empty for the last few days, and have felt blue and nervous all at the same time. You'd think that we would be use to this, but I'm not.

I had a big church party tonight for my calling in the ward. It's taken a lot of work, and I've stayed up hours to late each night trying to get myself organized. I don't think I've ever felt so worn out, physically and emotionally. I got home around 9:00, put my jammies on, and sat around in my messy house not wanting to move. Feeling a bit empty inside.

And then a dear friend came over to drop off a very generous gift for us, and I wish there was some way to say thank you. Cancer makes every aspect of life hard. We wonder daily how long his treatments will last. We pray nightly that "daddy will get better". We hope. We cry a lot, still, even after a year. We get angry. We pay medical bills. Travis feels tired. I worry. And through all the bad stuff, we are always looking for the good stuff. And it seems that most of the time we can find it in bulk. Most of the time we are thankful for the little things we have. We realize how lucky we are that we have a beautiful home, and two overly happy little girls. But today was one of those days for me, when all I could see was the bad. This gift touched my heart more than I will ever be able to say. It made me remember how blessed we are, how loved we are, and how many people are there to support us. Once again, our home was full of Christmas spirit tonight, and my heart was softened. I still can't hold in the tears.

Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! You will never know how much you have helped, and could not have picked a better day to remind me how loved we are. I don't feel that this is Thank you enough, but I hope you all know how much it meant to us. There should be more people like you in this world.

Thank you.

Thanksgiving and a few Birthdays...

Our Thanksgiving was spent at the Kidman's house. Travis ate himself into a turkey coma, with a healthy side of mashed potatoes. Sienna, bribed Michelle somehow to keep feeding her a nonstop supply of candy. Adyson joined with Rheagen and Padin in teasing Devin for most of the day. And giggled with Rheagen a lot. (Those little blondie's!)I crafted with the girls (I know, I'm just as surprised as you are..."I" crafted??). The kids joined in too, while the menfolk watched some football.

We played games, ate and ate again, and enjoyed the day with each other. We also celebrated Triston's Birthday, he turned 11 years old, and we are all wondering how that happened?? He is a great kid, and it was fun to celebrate with him. And Grandma, his Jazz cake was perfect!

In the evening we went to my parents house to visit with them and Cody and Simon. Sienna and Simon were thrilled to see each other again (it's been a while), and were joined at the hip.

First it was making snow angels in the carpet. They did this for quite a while.

Then it was off to torturing Grandpa. They begged for a horsey ride. Then another. Then another.

Then Grandpa got tired, and collapsed on the ground. And they begged, and begged for more rides. Sienna even gave him a smooch, but Grandpa, in his most dramatic voice ever, said "Horsey's dead kids, horsey's dead."Of course, the kids won. Adyson even pulled herself away from "The Grinch" to go for a ride.It was great to celebrate with both of our families. We are overwhelmed often by how much we have to be thankful for. Today mostly, I am thankful for cherished time with each other, and those beautiful smiles my kids have!

Also today is my dad's birthday, and I just wanted to wish him a good one. My dad is about the most amazing father a girl could ask for. He is always there to support us. He has been so helpful whenever we are in need, whether it is mowing the lawn, or car advice, or just someone to lose at Monopoly...(Just kidding dad, sort of!). He is the hardest worker I know, and is just a lot of fun. I can't imagine a better father.

I love you dad!