Last Hearty Hurrah on this 2012 Ride

Finishing up my documentation of 2012 and it feels shocking that another year has gone by.  I always want another month of "The Holidays".  Always.  2012 delivered probably my favorite Christmas Season of my adult life to date.  I think that if I were a Christmas Season Reviewer.....I'd call it "Hearty, Meaningful, & Fulfilling....A Magical Time".  :)  It's always good but this one was REALLY good.  

 Sleep Lab Bowling Party at Weber State....all watching Gradys gutter ball as if it might somehow jump back out into the lane.  Jason powered through this little activity right after getting a big cortisone (is that how this word is spelled?) shot in his foot....bruising and all.  He tried to hide a hobble from me on this night as he said, "I'm game for whatever you wanna do, Babe".  He's very good to me to say the least.

Bowling ten frames with a four year old feels.....LONG. :)  It was fun though.

 It felt great to make some Christmas gifts this year.   I loved getting the boys involved and I know it meant a lot to them too. 

Austin grated Fels Naptha all afternoon, mixed and mixed ingredients until there was a white cloud floating around our kitchen, & very carefully filled jars.  All the boys helped but Austin busted his booty!  I know he felt pretty good about the finished product.  It's been working great at our house....but Jason did have to discover the secrets of not using too much and not overfilling the washer to get a clean rinse. :)

I was so proud of his tireless work and great attitude.  Heart Warming Festival right here.

We had a great night visiting the Willard Bay Lights and let the boys stay up late to go out for dinner with us.

 Christmas Eve the snow began to fall and I loved it so much.

Mornin'!

The past few years we have hosted some fun Christmas parties at our house but this year I just didn't get my rear in gear.  It felt like the whole month was so full of all manner of celebrations.  Maybe next year I'll follow through and do a little more early planning.

 Christmas Eve was sorta perfect....watching a snowstorm, finishing up odds and ends, non-stop music, and old fashioned hard Christmas Candy.  I wish we could do it again, right now.

I didn't have any cameras with me but I snagged this pic from Jeff of all the kids on Christmas Eve Fondue Night. Austin is so into hanging out with Jackson....it's pretty cute how he shadows him. 

 Christmas Morning

 Jason trying out his new Oklahoma State relaxing pants.

 The boys got DSi's for Christmas but Austin still dove into the books first.....love this so much!

 I love how Grady smelled the orange in his stocking with total excitement. 

Jerrett mentioned at school several times that he would be getting a big orange in his stocking....it's awesome to actually witness their memories sticking around from year to year.  

 Modeling their new towels from Granny and Grandpa. 

 Christmas lunch with Granny and Grandpa 

 When Austin helps shovel, there isn't a ton of shoveling happening!  I love that he's so happy to play in the snow though.

These two can't resist torturing each other a little with snow fights.

 Out to the boonies for target practice with friends....with golf season long gone he doesn't get much dude time in the winter and I'm glad for him to get out and do something he enjoys.  Husbands deserve some balance in life too! :)

 .....And I love it when he brings home pictures like this for me!

New Years Eve....very impromptu and low key....good times!  We found a few littles for our littles to celebrate with in last minute round-up style. :)

 End of another Holiday Season and the end of another year.  This time of year I am often hit with the reality of how short their "childhood" really is.  "Childhood" really only contains 18 Christmases....18 New Years Eves etc.  Only 18 times to pack in what will be their memories of the Holidays as a child.  Austin probably has, what....7 more Christmases before he turns 18 and his childhood is over?  SEVEN!!!???  Ouch....its sooo fast and it kinda hurts to think of it in those terms.  Did I do enough to make 2012 count?  What other things can I do to really seize and make the most of 2013?  Lots of thought and reflection going on round here!

Sometimes I really love how things just fall together.

That's it.  2012 is done.  What a lovely ride we are all on.  

Best Time of the Year!

Not sure how it's possible but Christmas is growing even more special with each passing year.  The past few weeks have been filled with memories that I will always cherish.  Christmas time is so beautiful and I just love how it feels....how much it easier it is to slow down and hang out for movie nights, sing songs, and make crafts or treats.  

 Jason likes his Christmas lights to be fun and living in this house is a huge sense of pride for all of us....our kids love their Christmas house so much!  Jason already has new ideas for making it even better next year.  His enthusiasm is sooooo cute.

 Little boy silhouette watching a Christmas movie.

 Getting ready to watch the choir concert at the school.  Grady loves "his" Hallie.

 This was the schools first nighttime concert with the whole school and they realized quickly that they need a larger venue for next year.  The kids did so good and the program was great but quite honestly, it was hard to keep calm as bodies kept piling in and the temperature continued to rise.  I finally had a bit of a freakout....grabbed Grady and sorta shoved my way to the door because it felt like the air no longer had any oxygen in it....just a room full of exhaled carbon dioxide.  Ahhhhh! :)

 Grady and Hallie got good seats on their daddy's shoulders....I was totally jealous. :)

 We aren't usually big "Ward Party People" but the Elders Q presidency was in charge so we felt like we should go and support the activity....it actually was really fun!  

 Getting ready for dinner

 After dinner we went "around the world" and visited different rooms to learn about Christmas in different places.

 In this room we learned about Christmas in England from one of our wards only older couples the Clarks.  It was so cute to see the kids fearlessly climb up on their laps to hear "The Night Before Christmas" (since it originated in England)

 Here we learned about Christmas in Mexico from Sister Miller and the kids did their own Nativity.

 We learned about Christmas in Germany from the Endicotts and made our own little family hand wreath-thing.

 Jerrett and Luke reading Grandma's Christmas books.

 Family coloring night....it was pretty funny thanks to Jason :)

 Can you guess which one Grady did?  He didn't have a black marker but he just couldn't stop coloring and soon red, blue, yellow, and green became black. :)

 Some fun pictures that Jason took of us in our backyard with the timer and a tripod.

 Little bedroom trees are the best nightlights of all.

 Yep, I made Grady a pbj with fruit snacks squished in....what a good mother (LOL).

 We love our Elf Jingle.....seriously, I LOVE the elf. We have so much fun with him.

 Having a great December dinner at Grandma's cute Christmas house.  

 Our craft projects for Relief Society this month....they were really fun to make and we all love them.

 Enjoying watching my kids enjoy Christmas time.  I think I will always remember that I took this photo the night before the Connecticut shooting.  So thankful that my kids are safe....but I have definitely cried plenty for those families that won't get to be together for Christmas this year.  I know those kids are surrounded by unimaginable love and beauty but their families left behind.....I hurt for them so much.

Winter trees are awesome trees.