Wonderful Holiday Season

We were super lame and took no pictures over the holidays. We did film Christmas morning, and one day I'll get the footage up, but in the interest of my New Year's resolution to spend less time on the computer that will have to come later.

Christmas Eve:
Last year Brody was our baby Jesus and we thought it would be cute if he was in the "manger" again this year. He barely fit in the cradle and Dallin and Ella couldn't stop giggling, neither could Michael and I for that matter! It was super cute, but wasn't exactly the reverent rendition this year:)
















Christmas Morning:
Michael and I were up until 2:30am wrapping this year. I had put everything up in the attic and, for lack of opportunity, had to wrap everything the night before. We were a little tired, but the kids slept until almost 7:30am and we woke Brody up to see what Santa had brought. The kids were so cute and were so excited opening every present. Brody enjoyed all of the wrapping paper and was ready for a nap before we were finished.

Christmas Day:
We followed in Michael's family tradition and opened gifts most of the day. We saved grandparents, and aunt/uncle gifts until after lunch. I went for a run with my new gifts. Santa brought me a nike+ipod wireless sensor and some itunes giftcards. The sensor is so great. It calculates my pace and talks to me during my run. It's been great. We then started our Christmas dinner and realized that our oven wasn't lighting. We have a gas oven and apparently the lighter went out (we had it replaced today). Anyway, we broiled most of our dinner which was very interesting. It didn't work very well, or very fast, but dinner ended up okay.

December 27th:
Michael had to work the 26th and 27th. When he got home from work we finished packing and took off for North Carolina. We spent the next day helping get ready for the wedding and it was so much fun hanging out with the fam.

December 29th:
We had the privilege of celebrating our 9th anniversary the same day that Michael's brother Kevan was married. It was a wonderful day. The sealing was beautiful. I am continually amazed at what I feel so lucky to know. To kneel across an altar and make covenants that bind two people for eternity is a miracle to witness. I felt so grateful to be a part of their special day. Brooke, of course, looked so radiant. They both just radiated happiness. Michael's mom put together an authentic Italian meal for lunch and it was delicious!!! After a little break we then headed to the reception. It was so fun for us because it was at the Chapel Hill institute building. When Michael and I were first married we lived on campus at Chapel Hill and I spent many hours at the institute building. We drove the kids past our first apartments and through campus. It has changed a ton, but it was fun to go down memory lane. The reception was beautiful and again we got to talk to lots of people from our past. It was great. The kids at that point were more than done and they crashed on the way back to Michael's parents.

December 30th:
Shawna, Michael's sister, had a baby on December 11th. I was amazed at her the entire weekend. She just kept going after every crazy obstacle that was put in front of her. Her baby, my newest niece, Katerina Elizabeth, was so precious. They blessed her on Sunday and it was amazing. Her dad gave her the blessing and the spirit was so strong and the words were so touching. She is going to be one amazing girl.

December 31st- Jan 1st:
This has to be the longest blog post ever:( We headed to my friends house to ring in the new year. We had a BLAST! We haven't gotten to really hang out in a long time and it was long overdue! My friend Jenn just moved into a gorgeous new house and we had the privilege of staying in the guest suite. I ate way too much and stayed up way too late but loved every minute. I was really sad to leave the next day. Later that day we were on the road again!! We drove up to see my mom in Kentucky. We had the worst drive yet. It was white-out snowing in the mountains of Virginia/West Virginia and also in Kentucky. We finally arrived around 3:00am and I crashed hard.

Jan 2nd-5th:
We traveled to my grandparents on the 3rd. It was so GREAT to see them. That was really the reason we traveled so far. I love being in their home and eating my mimi's cooking. We also went to see Caroline's grave. My grandparents put the cutest wreath on it for Christmas. Always a happy/sad time for me. We then headed up to my sister's house the following day. The kids had a blast playing the Wii and all of their other really cool toys. We really miss living close to them. My nephew is currently at the University of Cincinnati, but was working close to home because of the break. Lucky for me because I got to go by and say hello! My beautiful niece just got accepted to UK and is finishing up her last year at home. I can't believe how fast they've grown up. My other sister drove in that night and we got to hang out with she and her husband on Saturday before we drove home. The drive home was less eventful and we pulled in around 11:30pm.

I really want to apologize for the length of that! I felt like it was never going to end. We had a great holiday and are still trying to recover. Michael flew out Monday morning and it was back to the grind this morning as I woke up at 6:15 to get Dallin up and ready for school. It was crazy, but totally worth every minute as we got to visit with the people we love.