THANKSGIVING
Kenny and I hosted Thanksgiving this year for my dad, stepmom, and sister, Rachel. We had a very relaxed couple of days and our feast turned out delicious! Everything was fairly traditional--smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, homemade rolls, candied yams, and a veggie tray. Everyone helped one way or another to make it all happen. Thanks Dad, Chi, and Rachel for coming!
KENNY'S WORK CHRISTMAS PARTY
Kenny's company does a big Christmas party every year serving a delicious meal and have amazing prize giveaways (iPads, flat screen TVs, Google TVs, iTouch's, etc.). This year wasn't as impressive as last year but we had some fun company at our table--a couple of men Kenny works with on his crew, and our friends Brett and Hilary. For those of you in Ashton, Hilary's mom and stepdad own the 511 Main pizzaria in Ashton. After the party the four of us went to see the first half of Breaking Dawn in theaters. We both had overnight babysitters for our kids (thank you Shelley!) and we got a room at the Marriot (where the party was hosted). It was fun having a night to ourselves.
HOGLE ZOO LIGHTS
The night after the Christmas party we went to Hogle Zoo to see how the lights were there and we were pretty impressed! A lot of the lights were animated showing the animals in motion. I wish our pictures would have turned out better, but here are some of the better ones:
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
As always, it was fun to decorate for Christmas. Logan was very helpful (*slight sarcasm*) with the tree, although it was fun having him able to help a little this year. We had our tree looking so nice, but between Logan constantly rearranging the ornaments and our string of lights going out strand by strand, by Christmas our tree was a mess. Needless to say, I didn't have the time or patience to re-do it.
SWAPPING VEHICLES
For several months we had been talking about selling the truck and buying a more sensible vehicle--like a CAR! With diesel prices staying about $1/gal above unleaded gas and the truck being a hog it seemed like a good idea as of late. So Kenny put it on KSL.com and within a couple weeks we had a taker. He was willing to pay (almost) what we were asking for it. :)
Here we are getting last pictures of us with our truck before sending it off with the buyer.
We had been looking at cars prior to selling the truck and had decided that we wanted to either go with a Toyota or a Subaru. We really liked the all-wheel drive of the Subaru so we ended up with a Subaru Outback! (Please excuse our messy garage)
HEBER VALLEY NORTH POLE EXPRESS
The same night of our vehicle swapping we headed out to Heber to meet our friends, Cade and Nicole, to take a ride on the Heber Valley North Pole Express. You take about an hour ride on this rickety, cold train, they give you a store bought cookie, some weak hot chocolate and the elves lead some sing-along carols. Then at the "North Pole", Santa climbs aboard and gives each kid a little bell (like the one on Polar Express). I would have been impressed had the tickets been about half the price. I doubt we will go back, especially if the ticket prices stay high. We still had fun being with our friends and Logan seemed to have a good time.
Kenny and I hosted Thanksgiving this year for my dad, stepmom, and sister, Rachel. We had a very relaxed couple of days and our feast turned out delicious! Everything was fairly traditional--smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, homemade rolls, candied yams, and a veggie tray. Everyone helped one way or another to make it all happen. Thanks Dad, Chi, and Rachel for coming!
KENNY'S WORK CHRISTMAS PARTY
Kenny's company does a big Christmas party every year serving a delicious meal and have amazing prize giveaways (iPads, flat screen TVs, Google TVs, iTouch's, etc.). This year wasn't as impressive as last year but we had some fun company at our table--a couple of men Kenny works with on his crew, and our friends Brett and Hilary. For those of you in Ashton, Hilary's mom and stepdad own the 511 Main pizzaria in Ashton. After the party the four of us went to see the first half of Breaking Dawn in theaters. We both had overnight babysitters for our kids (thank you Shelley!) and we got a room at the Marriot (where the party was hosted). It was fun having a night to ourselves.
HOGLE ZOO LIGHTS
The night after the Christmas party we went to Hogle Zoo to see how the lights were there and we were pretty impressed! A lot of the lights were animated showing the animals in motion. I wish our pictures would have turned out better, but here are some of the better ones:
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
As always, it was fun to decorate for Christmas. Logan was very helpful (*slight sarcasm*) with the tree, although it was fun having him able to help a little this year. We had our tree looking so nice, but between Logan constantly rearranging the ornaments and our string of lights going out strand by strand, by Christmas our tree was a mess. Needless to say, I didn't have the time or patience to re-do it.
SWAPPING VEHICLES
For several months we had been talking about selling the truck and buying a more sensible vehicle--like a CAR! With diesel prices staying about $1/gal above unleaded gas and the truck being a hog it seemed like a good idea as of late. So Kenny put it on KSL.com and within a couple weeks we had a taker. He was willing to pay (almost) what we were asking for it. :)
Here we are getting last pictures of us with our truck before sending it off with the buyer.
We had been looking at cars prior to selling the truck and had decided that we wanted to either go with a Toyota or a Subaru. We really liked the all-wheel drive of the Subaru so we ended up with a Subaru Outback! (Please excuse our messy garage)
HEBER VALLEY NORTH POLE EXPRESS
The same night of our vehicle swapping we headed out to Heber to meet our friends, Cade and Nicole, to take a ride on the Heber Valley North Pole Express. You take about an hour ride on this rickety, cold train, they give you a store bought cookie, some weak hot chocolate and the elves lead some sing-along carols. Then at the "North Pole", Santa climbs aboard and gives each kid a little bell (like the one on Polar Express). I would have been impressed had the tickets been about half the price. I doubt we will go back, especially if the ticket prices stay high. We still had fun being with our friends and Logan seemed to have a good time.
PILLOW PRESENT
On Christmas Eve Kenny had decided to give me a "Pillow Present". I was getting ready for bed (washing my face, brushing my teeth, taking out my contacts, etc.) and I came out of the bathroom and was getting ready to get into bed (keep in mind that I had already taken out my "eyes" for the day). I hadn't even noticed this giant wrapped present on my pillow until I was about to crawl into bed and Kenny says, "Seriously? You didn't even notice?" Well, SOME OF US aren't BLESSED with PERFECT EYESIGHT! But I am blessed to be married to such a thoughtful husband who knows I wouldn't ever by myself something like this (see below). :)
On Christmas Eve Kenny had decided to give me a "Pillow Present". I was getting ready for bed (washing my face, brushing my teeth, taking out my contacts, etc.) and I came out of the bathroom and was getting ready to get into bed (keep in mind that I had already taken out my "eyes" for the day). I hadn't even noticed this giant wrapped present on my pillow until I was about to crawl into bed and Kenny says, "Seriously? You didn't even notice?" Well, SOME OF US aren't BLESSED with PERFECT EYESIGHT! But I am blessed to be married to such a thoughtful husband who knows I wouldn't ever by myself something like this (see below). :)
(Oh yeah, I did find my glasses to be able to see a little better for the present)
CHRISTMAS DAY
Both Kenny and I had to work on Christmas day (the joys of working 24/7 jobs) so on Christmas Eve we met Kenny's parents in Ogden and Logan got to spend Christmas Eve and morning with them in Malad. They brought him down to Tooele on the evening of Christmas. We treated it as though it was Christmas Eve and had a nice dinner, then we let Logan open one present before bed (one of those Sherpa Pillow/Blanket combos in the form of a bear--so cute and soft!) He loved it, but of course he loves anything soft and cuddly.
OUR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
Dec. 26
We woke up on Dec. 26 as though it was Christmas (except not quite as early as most people). Logan had so much fun opening up presents. At first he just wanted to play with what he had opened up, but later he just kept wanting to open more and more presents. It was a lot of fun!
Dec. 26
We woke up on Dec. 26 as though it was Christmas (except not quite as early as most people). Logan had so much fun opening up presents. At first he just wanted to play with what he had opened up, but later he just kept wanting to open more and more presents. It was a lot of fun!
The big present from Santa to Logan was this electric 4-wheeler. He knew exactly what to do and he had so much fun with it. Unfortunately it only goes forward (no reverse), so when he runs into something he doesn't always pull it away go in a different direction...he just finds something else to entertain him.
Kenny and I got each other a few stocking stuffers which were fun to open up.
Our big present to each other this year (one we've been saving for for a few months) was a Digital SLR camera, Sony a55. Of course, the camera wasn't in the box since we had already started using it, we just wanted to open the box for the sake of the picture, and look at us--so happy! Can't quite capture the moment without a camera. ;)
Kenny's parents got us a Camp Chef stove for Christmas, but we already had one, soooo...
...we exchanged it for these scriptures instead (the top book is actually from my sister and brother-in-law, Julie and Craig). They are the Old and New Testaments for the LDS Family. They have helpful definitions and quotes from the prophets and apostles and descriptions of how things were done in that time period. So far they have been very helpful in our scripture study. The other book is the Book of Mormon stories with pictures. Love them all!
Kenny's family is hosting a Slovakian exchange student, Michael, so we've been able to get to know him. He is really nice and he's tall! I tease him that he is the giant here...we are not short people, just normal sized. :D So, he is the tall one in the pictures in case anyone was wondering where the giant came from. :)
Kenny's parents got us a Camp Chef stove for Christmas, but we already had one, soooo...
...we exchanged it for these scriptures instead (the top book is actually from my sister and brother-in-law, Julie and Craig). They are the Old and New Testaments for the LDS Family. They have helpful definitions and quotes from the prophets and apostles and descriptions of how things were done in that time period. So far they have been very helpful in our scripture study. The other book is the Book of Mormon stories with pictures. Love them all!
Kenny's family is hosting a Slovakian exchange student, Michael, so we've been able to get to know him. He is really nice and he's tall! I tease him that he is the giant here...we are not short people, just normal sized. :D So, he is the tall one in the pictures in case anyone was wondering where the giant came from. :)
We had a sensible feast:
Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Rolls
Veggie Tray
Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Rolls
Veggie Tray
I just thought this picture was too cute not to post.
Later that evening we went to Temple Square to see the lights. It was bitter cold, and there were a lot of people, but still fun to see all the lights and displays.
NEW YEARS
On New Years Eve we met up with my sister, Julie, and her family in Salt Lake City. We went to eat at the Lion House and then walked around temple square. There were far less people this time so I was able to get some better shots of the displays.
After temple square we all went back to our house and hung out for the night. We put together some snacks, played a new card game, watched the ball drop, then headed to bed.
On New Years Day we got to open more gifts from my mom and stepdad. I got some fun accessories and some new bins to put my main baking ingredients in (flour, sugar, etc) among other things. Kenny got some gloves, a flashlight, a tool bag, etc. And Logan got some fun toys that he loves to play with.
On New Years Day we got to open more gifts from my mom and stepdad. I got some fun accessories and some new bins to put my main baking ingredients in (flour, sugar, etc) among other things. Kenny got some gloves, a flashlight, a tool bag, etc. And Logan got some fun toys that he loves to play with.
A TRIP TO THE GEM STATE
My brother, Ryan, recently returned from serving in Afghanistan so he was able to take some R&R time. He flew into Phoenix, then drove my mom and stepdad's car up to our house and then we drove up to the great state of Idaho! It was a quick and busy trip trying to see everyone, but we made it work.
First, we went up to Ashton to see my Dad, stepmom, sister, aunts, uncle, and cousins. It was great spending time with them all and I wish we could do it more often!
First, we went up to Ashton to see my Dad, stepmom, sister, aunts, uncle, and cousins. It was great spending time with them all and I wish we could do it more often!
Next we got to spend time with my Grandma Logan in St. Anthony, so here we are just chillin' at her house.
Then we stopped in to see Kenny's sister, Tabitha, and her little family. She recently had a baby and this was our first time meeting him. And now I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures! He sure is a cutie.
We we also went to dinner with my Aunt LaDean and Uncle Wayne. We had a good time visiting with them and catching up on everything. They have always been so supportive of us through the years.
And last, we drove over to Lava to help my parents move into their new apartment! Yep, they are back in the area managing a motel across the street from the hot pools. Great location if anyone wants to "get away". It was fun spending time with them and we look forward to spending more time with them now that they are only a few hours away.
Ryan came back to Tooele with us and he was able to spend some relaxed time here. We went to see Sherlock Holmes in theaters and loved it! Thanks, Ryan, for spending time with us and we can't wait until summer when you come to visit again.
SLEDDING
We got a little bit of snow this past week, so Kenny took Logan sledding down our driveway while I was at work. Logan has such a blast and I can't wait until we find an actual sledding hill to take him on.
