Christmas 2009

I have to make a confession. One day about a week before Christmas the kids were fighting non-stop. So I got after them and told them that if they didn't stop fighting Santa was going to put coal in their stockings. When it was finally Christmas Eve I asked Kaden if he was excited for Santa to come and asked him what he thought Santa was going to bring him. Kaden said, " A piece of coal." My heart crumpled to the floor. He had been convinced for the past week that he wasn't getting anything for Christmas! I felt so bad. After I promised him he was a good boy and that he would be getting presents he was a lot more excited about Santa coming that night. Poor kid! Evil mother!

For Christmas Eve we went to my parents and had dinner and acted out the nativity. I always did this when I was little so it was neat to see Kaden and Ellie get so excited about it.

Ellie had to be Mary, of course, and Kaden has been really into Joseph since he learned a song about him in Primary. Dad got to be the donkey. Mom was the photographer.

The kids learned the nativity story by heart this year mostly because they loved to play with our nativity sets at home. I would always find them telling each other the story while they played with the little figurines. Pretty cute. It always made me feel better because like any other kids, they were all about the presents.

Here are the kids modeling their new Christmas pj's. Kaden couldn't wait to get home to open a present. He hasn't figured out yet that it's always pajamas.

Here's the kids coming down the stairs Christmas morning. They didn't wake up until 7:30 which was nice. Ellie woke up crying because her earring was stuck to her Nemo doll. We had to give her a couple minutes to cheer up before starting the presents.

The kids loved opening all the presents and even got excited about the apples and oranges in their stockings. I wonder how long that will last.

Jess and I finished a room in our house for each other's present and weren't allowed to get each other anything. I didn't follow the rules though and got Jess a remote control helicopter. We got Kaden one and I couldn't resist getting Jess one too. Seriously, I think he asked for one the day we met. As long as I can remember that's what he's asked for. He probably plays with his more than Kaden does!

We went to Malad on Christmas day but I wasn't feeling well so no pics were taken! It was lots of fun though. Jesse's mom makes the best stuffing ever! Yum! Thanks to the wonderful mothers in my life, I didn't have to do any cooking! Merry Christmas to me!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Well yesterday officially started Jesse's birthweek. He turned 29 today even though he tells everyone he is 25. He's in denial. We had a fun day. Jess got a full body massage and only had to work a half day. He got to hangout at home and play with his new electronics. I think he quite enjoyed himself!

Here's Jess modeling one of his gifts. Looking good cutie!

And of course we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner!

Jess works super hard at work and never complains about anything. He's always very willing to help out at home when I ask. We are spoiled! Happy Birthday sweetie! You are an amazing husband and an even better dad! We love you!

Busy December

Kaden's preschool class went to a retired home to sing Christmas songs. He didn't really know the words but he still did great ringing his bells. He really froze up when he dropped his sleigh bells under the wheelchair of a senior citizen. He just stood there and stared. Someone else had to get them for him. I kind of giggled.

What a cute Rudolph!

On Saturday we met my sister in Ogden and rode the train into Salt Lake to see the lights on temple square. The kids have been so excited to ride a train.

Ellie and Kate actually talked to each other which was fun to see. Little kids have the funniest conversations!

The kids love this statue. It was good to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

Kaden's Bday

Kaden's birthday was actually last week but hey, it's the holidays... so here's the post!

If any of you know Kaden you know that his birthday is the most exciting thing ever! He doesn't care about Christmas, just his birthday. We've had a count-down paper chain going since September. Ya, you could say he was excited!

His preschool teacher made him this crown at school. Here he is playing his favorite video game Ace Combat. He is all about airplanes.

And guns. Good thing he's wearing his safety goggles, eh Jess? :)

Cool toy from Grandma Wakley!

He's been asking to have a birthday party at Fun Zone since June. It's an arcade/play place in town. It was so nice not to have a party at my house. No mess! It was great! Ellie was cute, she kept making sure she was one of the kids that was invited. We made sure to give her an invitation!

Here's Kaden's ice cream cake. He only likes vanilla EVERYTHING. So all the cake had was vanilla ice cream and frosting. None of the kids ate theirs! Yuck!

It was actually nice to kick back and just chat instead of being the party hostess! Definitely recommend the Fun Zone! We can't believe Kaden is five. He is the funniest little boy. It's amazing how much he is like Jess. Things that I never thought would or could be inherited like turning his pillow over in the middle of the night to sleep on the cold side. He's such a good helper and has such a tender heart. We love you Kaden! Happy Birthday!

Chicago and Nauvoo

Jess and I went to Chicago all last week for a business trip, which means I got to go shopping all day! :) Neither of us had been there before so it was a lot of fun. We drove to Nauvoo on Friday and spent a couple days there which was really neat to see.

Here we are eating famous Giordanos Chicago-stuffed pizza. It was really yummy. Too bad you can't see the pizza!

The view from our hotel room. We stayed right in downtown on Michigan Avenue. I watched workers clean windows on scaffolding. That is a job I will NEVER have.

Chicago is so pretty at Christmastime! (Not that I've seen it any other time.) Every street downtown had christmas lights on all the trees and every store was decked out in decorations. Very festive. Jess forgot to bring his coat. And yes, Chicago is a windy city! Needless to say we had to go buy him one before he froze!

We went to the John Hancock Observatory instead of the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) because it was right by our hotel. Once you've seen the city from above it's all the same right?

This old cathedral was next to our hotel. I was glad I went in because I found out it was the church that they filmed the movie "My Best Friends Wedding" in (which is one of my favorite movies). It was cool to see. It was 95 years old.

One night we went to Blue Man Group. They wouldn't let you take any pictures inside during the show. It was pretty cool.

We spent Friday and Saturday in Nauvoo. Nauvoo is like a ghost town in the winter. We were the only ones on all of our tours, which was nice.

Here's Jess outside the Mansion House with our tour guide. They still have some of Joseph and Emma's stuff inside the house. Again we were the only ones on the tour so I could ask all the questions I wanted! Which was a lot!

The only disappointing thing about our trip was Carthage Jail. We saved it for last since it was a half hour drive away and we got there at 3:15 because they closed at 5. Well they decided to close at 3 o'clock that day for a Christmas walk they were doing in Nauvoo, so we were too late. We were super bummed. I was really looking forward to seeing Carthage Jail. All we could do was take pictures of the outside and peer in the windows. It broke my heart. Who knows when we'll get to go back.

We did a session in the Nauvoo temple that night. It's a beautiful temple especially on the inside. It was way nice to spend a week with Jess especially with the baby on the way. We knew it wasn't going to happen again for years to come probably.

The only down fall..... seven days is a LONG time to be away from the kids. I got to talk to them on the phone everyday but it was still hard. Jesse's parents were nice enough to take them for the full week. Thanks Kim and Mary!! The kids really did have a good time in Malad with Grandma and Grandpa but they were ready for us to come home too. When we got there on Sunday Kaden was really emotional and kept crying about everything. Ellie wouldn't let me hold her for a while. She just clung to Jess. When he put her down I asked her if I could have a hug and she just looked at me so I said, "Ellie are you mad at me?" and she said yes. She finally warmed up to me later on that day but in the morning I got scolded. She told me to never leave her for that long again ever. It was a great trip but it's always good to be home.