The Nutcracker

It was so much fun to have Lydia with me to enjoy the tradition of the Nutcrakcer. She did really well for the first half but pretty much lost interest for the second half (I thought the DC during the intermission would do the trick-no luck) It's been a long time since I've been, so it was fun for me too. It was nice to have so many of us there together too. Thanks mom, for the idea!

Christmas was Merry

We had a really nice Christmas this year. I'll admit-we didn't do as much done as we (I) would have liked, but it was very relaxing and we managed to make some good memories (and lots of sugar cookies)!

We had mom's party Christmas Eve. It never dissapoints. The food was great, the gifts were plenty and Amy and I even threw together a quick devotional which turned out to be a success. Mom spoiled all of us to death as usual and got me some super cute boots and leggings and the coolest cookbook called Mad Hungry...can't wait to cook my way through that one!

Christmas morning was awesome! Watching Lydia's surprised look upon seeing her gifts from Santa was absolutely priceless (maybe I'll post the video later- when I'm feeling less lazy). As for us big kids, I managed to get Gary exactly what he wanted which may have been a first in our 6.5 year marriage! He got me the cutest Patagonia coat (look for it in future posts) and a netbook so I can work in bed next to him as opposed to out in my office into the wee hours (nice!) I hope Christmas was as good to you as it was to me!

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday to the best daddy in the world! We were so excited to start the day off with bacon and eggs and presents to open. We love the daddy and we're so thankful for him and all that he does for us. As Lydia would say, "my daddy is a fixer cuz he can fix ebything." She's right! Gary holds all the talent in the family when it comes to anything requiring the hand and eye to work as one. We love him for this and so much more! Happy 34th Gar!

My Little Princess...

Today Lydia insisted on wearing her favorite dress (tights, church shoes, and petty coat included) to school. All of her friends were dressed in snow boots and jeans, but she never second guessed her decision. I guess this ranks right up there with last week when she chose to wear her Little Mermaid costume (over her clothes)to the mall. She was the main attraction in the Nordstrom shoe department as she danced around while my mom and I tried on and deliberated over shoe purchases for over an hour. Oh how I love this girl! I hope she never loses her independent little spirit!

I never seem to have a good block of time to write anything thoughtful on here(sometimes I don't even have time to spell check it)Nonetheless, I like to make sure I take time to record my thoughts so I at least have a little bit of a journal to share with my girls...

Today I've been thinking how good my girls are. I can't get enough of them. Lydia is so much fun right now. We just got back from a fun trip to Winnemucca and it made me realize how much she's grown since last time we were there. She used to be A LOT of work to take on road trips. This time she jabbered the whole way home and kept us entertained the entire time.

We had such a fun time in Winnemucca. Lydia loved seeing all her cousins, aunts and grandparents. I failed to get pictures. But the Cannon girls and Gramma Janice put on a beautiful wedding for Brad and Clarissa and Steph did a super cute Sesame Street birthday party in true Cannon fashion with home-made EVERYTHING! Gary got some hunting in and had some success with that. I ate all weekend and probably gained five ponds. We got to see aunt Jen's adorable new house. Which is actually an old house full of charm and character. Paula was kind enough to host us and made us feel right at home.

Now it's back to the grind stone...Gary and I have both had a little bit of a hard time adjusting back after so many fun-filled days with family. Being in the midst of the holiday season has definitely helped ease the pain.