The Most Wonderful Day of the Year

Both boys were so excited when they discovered Santa had come.

He left Jack the scooter that he so desperately wanted.

Every time we look at the toys at Walmart or Target, Luke gets so excited over this break dancing Mickey Mouse.  So Santa brought him for Luke.

Luke absolutely loves his Mickey.

Jack was thrilled over every little thing in his stocking, including crayons, socks, coloring books, vitamins, a movie, finger paints, and candy.

Luke was just really excited about the candy in his stocking.

He didn't care about anything else.  He has a major sweet tooth.

Jack did great passing out presents and loved all of his gifts.

Every gift was the best gift ever.

Luke loved his gifts too and has kept busy playing with everything.

Dallin cooked us up a scrumptious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and sausage.

Then the boys got busy playing with their toys again and played until it was time for dinner.

The Trahan's were kind enough to invite us for Christmas dinner (I guess we behaved ourselves well at Thanksgiving) and we had a great time!  We had yummy dinner of brisket and ham, potatoes, rolls, and other yummy casseroles.  And there were far too many desserts to choose from!  We always enjoy our time with the Trahan's - they are a fun family and always make us laugh.

Jack was pretty exhausted after his celebrating and just needed to rest on the couch for awhile.

After dinner, Dallin was so nice and watched the boys while I saw Les Miserables with Samantha and Alayna.  It was awesome!

We had a very merry Christmas and hope you did too!

'Twas the Day Before Christmas

Christmas Eve dawned warm and sunny

Dallin and Luke left early to pick up some last minute things and came back with kolaches for breakfast.

It was warm and sunny and we enjoyed wearing our shorts.

The Duplantis family invited us over for dinner.

Justin and Barbara brought their dog Hector and Jack and Luke loved him!

photo courtesy of Justin Duplantis

Awesome picture!

We had some DELICIOUS crab and shrimp gumbo.

Then the boys opened up their Christmas pajamas.

photos courtesy of Justin Duplantis

Both boys were so excited about their new pajamas and ran around excitedly before and after we put them on.  

Then we loaded up in the car and drove around to look at Christmas lights.

There were some awesome displays.  I especially like the houses that have Santa being led by a team of alligators. 

Luke wasn't thrilled about being in the car.  Jack loved the lights, but got really tired towards the end, so we cut our tour a little short.

Jack made up a plate of cookies and milk for Santa.

Then he was out like a light with visions of sugar plums dancing in his head.

Dallin and I watched It's a Wonderful Life and then Santa came for a visit and rewarded us well for our good behavior!

Christmas Is Coming

Since we got back, we've been busy getting ready for Christmas.

Jack and I made Christmas cookies.

We went to holiday sweater party and looked super hot, Dallin especially. He also had amazing Santa shorts on, which you can't tell from the picture.

Dallin made delicious gumbo for dinner. He's turning into quite the Cajun cook.

We've been taking a link off our Christmas countdown each day and watching Christmas movies. Luke tries to unwrap the presents daily. Jack sings Jingle Bells all the time and carries around his jingle bell from Sister Trahan.

We are ready for Christmas!

Family Time is Fun Time

We were so lucky to spend time with family that we don't usually get to see. I am kicking myself because I didn't take enough pictures. But Jack loved having so many people to play with and dote on him. Luke, on the other hand, did not want to leave Mommy's arms and was rather unfriendly. Sorry everyone!

Jack loved playing with Gramp. He spent most of his hotel time in their hotel room, climbing on Gramp. Aunt Sass was great about playing with him and even baby sat him while we were at the temple. Plus she is fun for building snowmen and having snowball fights.

He hasn't spent much time with Uncle Jared, but they bonded one day and he requested to sit by him at the wedding luncheon. He also became very attached to my Uncle Steve, who he referred to as Steven - something I've never heard him called before. They took walks at the hotel and he enjoyed sitting with Steven at the luncheon. And he always has a good time with Aunt Shari. He loved getting money from Great-Grandma Arlene for the vending machines. He calls her his other grandma down the elevator because she stayed on the floor below us.

Our last day there we stayed with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Lacie. Jack loved playing with Uncle Andrew and thought baby Paris was very cute. And he loves the present she gave him for Christmas - a Lightning McQueen art set.

We wished we lived closer to family so we could play with them more often!

Twinkly Lights

We were also able to go to Temple Square and see the beautiful Christmas lights with my parents and sister. It was cold, but totally worth it. We even got to take a picture at our traditional spot, something I didn't think would happen again once we moved. Jack was miserable the whole time, as you can tell from his face in the pictures. But Luke enjoyed his first visit!

Let It Snow

My boys were thrilled when they woke up Saturday morning to snow on the ground. Unfortunately Jack had been sick the night before, so it took awhile for us to get out and most of the Provo snow was melted. But we went to Alpine to see Great-Grandma Strong and there was still lots of snow there. Jack had a blast building Frosty with Daddy, Aunt Sass, and Gramp. Then things turned wild into a snowball fight. Jack was in heaven. Thank you, Snow, for making Jack's trip complete!

The Wedding of the Year

Our main purpose in traveling to Utah was to see my brother Will marry Bethany. They were sealed in the Provo Temple on Friday, December 14. There was a delicious wedding luncheon at Macaroni Grill with some sweet toasts. Then the wonderful sealing. That night they had a fabulous reception. There was yummy food, dancing, beautiful decor, and lots of awesome people. Jack's favorite part was the dancing. It was a great day and we are so glad we made the trek for it!