The Day After

The day after Christmas we were scrambling to get as much together as we could before church for our move to my parents for the rest of our stay in Utah.  Lydia had had such a long day the day before that we let her sleep all she wanted with her first nap.  That resulted in me being late for Church.  Gregory couldn't be late because her was sustained in his new calling.  He is the new Young Mens Secretary!  It's funny because the Bishop told us that his calling was basically the same as mine only focusing on the Duty to God.  At least we are in it together.  We talked to our Bishop about our situation with our apt and that we would be moving the next week, even though we had both just received new callings.  We asked if it would be ok if we continued coming to the ward even though we are now out of the boundaries.  He told us that we could because they knew that we were only going to be there temporarily anyway.  If it would have been a more permanent thing, it wouldn't have been possible.  We are excited to be able to stay in our ward.  It has been the best ward we have ever been to.  They have been so welcoming and open to us.  It's how a ward should be.  No other ward has been like that since we have been married. 

Once we had packed up all our clothes after church we headed out to my parents house.  It has been a long and messy move but at least we are finally getting there.  We have already begun to feel the difference in our health and are grateful that we have a place to go. 

It was good to spend that night with Rich and Summer and the next day we just hung out and played video games.  It was so relaxing.  Monday morning though we did go to a breakfast with Gregory's high school friends.  It was really nice to meet them and they were all very friendly.  I think that he had a good time and was happy to see them again.  It had been 7 years since they all got together and since he doesn't plan on attending his high school graduation, he was glad that he got to see the people he cared about seeing.  The rest of the day was fun and games.  Although, everyone in my family got some bad cold and gave it to me.  Sad day!  I really didn't get it that bad.  My brother Dave and my Dad seem to have gotten it the worst.  I haven't checked up on Rich and Summer though, they got it too.  But for me it was not a miserable day, but I didn't feel so great either.  I don't think that it will be bad tomorrow though. 

And as I stated previously, Lydia really did chase Lucy around wherever she went. 

Except down the stairs!  That's the one place we wouldn't let her go by herself.

Lydia has really been loving staying at my parents house.  She has been really happy.  I think that it's because there is more room for her to roam around, there are more people, and she get's to experience and explore new things.  It was hard for her in a little apt and she found a lot of things to get in trouble with.  I am sure when the novelty of living here wears off she might be the same, but for now she is loving her new found freedom and I am loving having a very content and happy child around!

Christmas

There are a TON of pictures in this post!  It is the first Christmas with our beautiful daughter and we wanted to remember this very special day with her.

After Christmas Eve with Marta we went to my parents to spend the night.  We were able to get there early enough to still enjoy some of the festivities.  The kids decorated cookies, read stories, and had a great time talking about Santa and the real meaning of Christmas. After the kids went to bed we all assembled their Christmas morning and then recorded our long time family traditional carols.  We haven't been caroling for a few years now because it's just too hard with so many people and getting schedules together right.  So we officially stopped caroling.  But, we did get it recorded that night albeit in a badly acoustic setting.  One day I hope we will get it recorded in a studio so all the harmony of the songs will come out.  My family sang beautiful carols every year.

The next morning we got to see the excitement of the kids as they hurried up the stairs to see what Santa had left them.  The morning was full of laughter, giggles, excitement and just joy!  It was perfect.  I do have to say that we got really spoiled this year.  Everyone was so generous and we got a lot of things that we needed and some that were just fun.  This has definitely been a Christmas to remember.

Grandma reading a Christmas story to the grand kids.

Then it was Grandpa's turn to read a story just before bedtime.

Lydia's Christmas morning all ready to go.  We were so excited!  

Loving her cell phone!

 She was fascinated by Braden's Polar Express Train and the bell in the middle of the track.

 

 Christmas kisses from daddy.  Gregory has this theory that if he kisses her enough for her to get annoyed every time he kisses her that when she turns 16 she won't want to be kissed anymore by anyone.  I laughed and said good luck with that one!

Perfect Christmas morning.

Texas Roadhouse!  My family knows us.

 And what would Christmas morning be without some child wanting the wrapping paper.  That was our child this year.

Playing with Sammie on Lydia's new laptop.

Boys will be boys!!!

My mom surprised all the boys by getting them Nerf guns for Christmas.  Let's just say that we didn't see them for a few hours after the guns were assembled!  They were just like little boys still pretending and playing "storm the basement" and "protect the president".  They all had more fun then they had in a while.

It was wonderful having Rich and Summer with us and knowing that this was the last time that we would all be together for a long time it was a little bitter sweet.  They head back to California on Monday and Gregory and I are moving to Texas in May. I hope that we will be able to meet at least once a year but you never know.  We went back to Marta's later that day and spent the last few hours of Christmas with them.  Then we went back to our apt to spend the last night we would live there.  Like I said before, it was a perfect day.

Early Christmas Presents

The day before Christmas Eve our friend Matt came over and we had a little present exchange.  We were all very happy with the wonderful things we received.  We got Matt a blanket with all the main DC comics on it, and then a movie.  I got a Sense and Sensibility graphic novel which was awesome and then a new crock pot in a stylish.  I was really excited about the crock pot because the one I have has ruined so many meals with the temperature gauge being off.   Gregory got a new movie and a game for the Wii "The Force Unleashed".  Apparently it is a Star Wars game and he was really excited about it.

Christmas Eve

Gregory had to work on Christmas Eve but only until 1 in the afternoon.  That was perfect timing so we could pack for our night at my parents house and then go to Marta and Ed's for the afternoon and dinner.  We had a great time there like we always do and Lydia of course loved it as well.  Ed and I made dinner while everyone hung out and then Marta got home about 5:30 or so.  We ate a fantastic meal, laughed, opened presents, and had TONS of fun!  I love Christmas and how it makes spending time with family even that more enjoyable.

Loving the Grinch outfit!

Climbing the stairs!  There was someone behind her at all times, I just had them move for a quick moment so I could take a picture. 

So cute!  They really enjoy each other.

Wants to be one of the big girls with their phones much to her daddy's dismay!

She got such cute pajamas.

Me and my little girl.

"Really?  I can have that?"

She loves her grandma Marta!  Miss you Nana!

Our family

Jennifer invited a friend to join us for dinner since he had no place to go.  He was a great addition to our merry little party.

Ed in the famous shot of cutting the Christmas meat!  The Prime Rib was excellent!  Once again Ed, job very well done.

The girls all thought this was so funny!  Lydia was playing with Jennifer's cell phone and then Jennifer called it and Lydia was completely fascinated with the music and lights and would start to dance. They called it over and over just to watch her reaction.

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy

The kids have a ball with that little dog.  The good thing is that she is really good with them too.  She will let them chase her and play with her for a while without getting upset.

Packing Fun

I have not been happy about packing up and moving out early.  In fact I have been quite stubborn about the whole thing and keep trying to do other things rather than pack and get ready for the move.  I guess it's a defense mechanism because I am really unhappy about having to move so early and not having things planned out.  While we are basically pro's at this (this is the 13th time we have moved since we got married over 3 years ago), it's still a lot harder when you are planned, prepared or ready.  So we have been taking it slow; a box or two here and there.  Surprisingly, Lydia has been really cool about the whole thing and hasn't even gotten into the boxes that are packed.  She does however like the ones that are not packed.

"Wait for it...."














"Surprise"

"I wanna see mommy!"

Meeting Uncle Rich for the First Time

My brother Rich and his wife Summer moved to California a couple weeks before Lydia was born so they weren't able to meet her then.  Around August just as we moved back from Texas, Summer was able to make a quick trip to Utah so she met her newest little niece.  This however is Rich's first real leave from the National Guard and so he was finally able to meet little Lydia for the first time.  Lydia was quite entranced with Lucy their dog and enjoyed chasing her around.  It was so good to see my brother!  It's been about a year since we have seen him and it's done us all good.

It's not the greatest picture but our camera is a little slow and it was the best one I got with an active child.