12 Days of Christmas for Brandon

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...one action packed G.I. Joe movie, a kiss and a really long hug.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...one mug's root beer and a gallon of vanilla ice cream.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...3 bowls worth of Honeycombs and hopefully a little bit more.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...4 FUSION razors.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...5 love notes (one from each of his kids and me).

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...a new family photo for his office with the six members of our family.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...a 700 calorie dinner. (It was suppose to be a breakfast but we went to the temple that morning so I made a dinner with French Toast, bacon, peaches, toast, juice, and cornbread)

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...8 oz. of Red Vines.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...I'll let you know tomorrow what I came up with...have no idea tonight.

Church is Canceled!

Okay I know we live in the desert and all...and most people aren't use to driving in the snow... but come on!

Saturday night it started snowing again.  It snowed pretty much all day.  Then we get a call from the Bishop asking me to start the 'RS Calling Tree' to let everyone know that there will be no church tomorrow.  Okay.  I didn't really have to call that many people but it seemed like I called all those that have lived in Utah and Alaska because the responses I got were hilarious.

'We'd go to church in -6 degree weather.'

'Just get the snow plows out and plow the roads for goodness sake!'

'We're still having choir practice at 4 pm.' (Okay this one wasn't until Sunday afternoon)

I love it.  These people just really wanted to go to church!

SNOW in the desert

Sunday night it snowed here in Dayton. It snowed 10 inches! And at 6 am Monday morning I got a call from the school saying that school had been canceled for the day. The kids were so excited! They played for hours outside.  I swear my kids grow so fast.  Ford grew out of his snow boots and his winter coat.  Makinley and Ford need gloves and snow pants.  Makinley and Kennidy grew out of their snow boots, too.  Luckily, Makinley can wear Kennidy's old boots and Kennidy has been wearing mine.  Guess what I'm asking for Christmas?  Brandon even took the day off to play. He shoveled the driveway and later in the day he took the kids to play ball at the church.  

Later in the afternoon the kids made me these giant snowflakes.  I love them!  They made 8.  We hung them from the ceilings and in the windows.

The next day, school was canceled again due to road conditions. The message said, 'We will be canceling all schools in Lyon County to give road workers time to clean up the snow.' We're friends with the principle of the high school and at 3pm he said that no one had been over to the high school to plow the parking lot. The roads are sad. Not too bad but getting icy. The kids don't mind because it's NO SCHOOL!

Tuesday, Jenni took the kids to play at the church and it gave me some time to run some errands. I love friends! All the kids had so much fun together. And even when I got back from errands we stayed at Jenni's for a couple of hours.  What a fun day.

Charlie Brown Tree

This will be the 3rd real Christmas tree we've gotten while living here in Dayton.  And the 2nd year I have not been able to go.  And it's not because of priorities.  The 1st year, Makinley was sick and this year it was planned for the day of the Holiday Bazaar...planned to go get a tree the Wednesday before.  

But Brandon being the wonderful husband he is...knows me well and knows that I really like the fullest of all the Charlie Brown trees.  He did really well.  Thanks family for getting a great tree.  Wish I could've been there with you!

Ornament Exchange

I am also participating in an Ornament Exchange this week.  I new I'd be busy this week so I got my ornaments done in advance and so glad I did because Emily called me 30 min. after the exchange began to ask if I was still coming. She lives right across the street and I had totally spaced it.  So I grabbed my bag of ornaments and ran out the door.  

All the ornaments were so cute and fun.  We have to do this again next year, ladies!  

Emily's Santa Ornament

Connie's Fabric Ornament 

Staci's Ribbon Ornament

Jeannie's Believe Ornament

Kendra's Skating Snowman Ornament

Shana's Snowflake Ornament

Arianne's Quill-ed Ornament

Lisa's Manger Ornament

Leah's 'Hard Candy' Ribbon Ornament

Brittany's Cross-Stitch Ornament

Stephanie's Glittered Pine Cone Ornament

Katy's Christ Ornament

Sara's Snowman Bulb Ornament

Lynda's Cookie Cutter/Picture Ornament

I love all my ornaments!  Thank you so much, Kendra, for pulling this together and Emily for hosting!

Can't Keep Up

It's already the first week in December and already I am behind.  Behind on my blog, behind with Christmas presents, behind with traditions I wanted to start, behind on my Christmas cards...behind in general.

And this week is dedicated to the Holiday Bazaar.  Lots of vinyl projects to finish.  Will post pictures later.  Gotta jet.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was really special. Our little family flew all the way to Maryland to surprise my mom and dad for Thanksgiving. They had no clue. Arrangments were made months in advance and I give kudos to my sisters and brothers for keeping such a big secret.

The Surprise. My mom works for 2 dentists in Washington, D.C. So we, Amanda and her twin boys, Becky and her 2 boys, Kristen, Grandma Gore, Dad, Brandon and our kids, get to my mom's office and Kennidy walks in the door. She walks up to the counter and was suppose to say, 'Grandma, I need a dentist' but was too shy and the look on Grandma's face made her nervous. I opened the door and looked at my mom and she was...well shocked. SURPRIZE! She couldn't believe that this young girl that looked like her grand-daughter was in fact her grand-daughter. It was fun. Then Adam, Ford, and Makinley came in and Grandma Sanchez cried and cried.

The kids were excited to fly to Maryland and Ford reminded us over and over that this was not his first time on a plane...even though he doesn't remember the first time. Makinley was a bit nervous but soon after take off she'd forgotten all about being nervous and was enjoying snacks and drinks. I took the opportunity to crochet beanies. Lots of beanies and I am sick of the color pink! Okay not really.

Favorite Memories:

Kennidy
Playing with Scott and Anderson
Spending time with Sanchez family

Adam
Plane ride
Movies with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma Gore
Lehi's house for Thanksgiving

Makinley
Playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos with Matthew
Reading to the twins
Taking care of the twins

Ford
Playing Guess Who with Grandpa
Playing with the twins
Nerf Guns with Kiel
Riding on the plane
Playing video games on the plane

Staci and Brandon
Surprising my parents for Thanksgiving
Watching my kids play with their grandparents
Having all my meals prepared for me
Staying with Amanda and Drew
Getting crusty looks from Anderson
Watching Makinley and Kennidy read to Anderson and Scott
Ford and Makinley playing with their cousins
Eating lots of yummy food
Watching a lot of TV
Never wanting to watch football on the TV again
The metro
Washington, D.C.
Museum
Bad weather and thick fog
Too many people to get on one train so our party had to take 2 trains
Gallery Place Metro stop...CRAZY
Getting up at 8 or 9 in the morning
Going to bed late
Shopping with Brandon...jean shopping
Thinking 'My kids are at such an independent stage'