Christmas Part II

What a fun week we have had! Christmas night we were invited to the Stephenson's home with two other couples and their families. We had a great time with lots of laughs and great conversation. The kids are all around the same ages so of course they had a blast as well.



Brooke was a good sport and handled the party very well, toward the end she needed a catnap.



Steve was horrified by this outfit of Brooke's that Santa brought. Steve is convinced that Brooke would have preferred coal to this "atrocity," what do you think?



This is my favorite new outfit of hers, from my parents, not Santa. My mom must have better taste in clothing than an old man in a century old red suit.



Well, we tried to do a bit of sight seeing with Steve's mom here. We were able to see the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum filled with paperweights. It was quite impressive! We went to see "The Princess and the Frog" with the kids, we took driving tours, we saw an amazing Christmas Lights display on a home set to music on the radio! We did some shopping and played lots of games. I got some Toy Story stickers from Target and brought them home and the boys made masterpieces of themsleves.



We went to the YMCA and the boys played in the gymnastics center, on some inflatable slides and played basketball.

Christmas Part One

This has been a wonderful Christmas for us, I hope it was for everyone else as well. The boys were so excited on Christmas morning and of course were completely spoiled by Santa as well as family. Here are some pictures of the highlights:


Brooke is getting ready for Santa...


The boys went outside Christmas Eve to put out the reindeer food for Santa's furry friends...


Lots and lots of presents!





Patty was able to fly in late Christmas Eve to spend the Holiday with us:



My parents were not. Luckily, we have the blessing of technology and they joined us via the computer



The boys got me a Ballerina Barbie!



Ryan is in heaven!



This is Ben's present for us that he made in school:

Home, Bittersweet Home...

I must say that it was hard to come back to Wisconsin after being home in Salt Lake for a week. I miss our friends and family and neighbors there so much that i t was sad to say goodbye again after such a short visit. Next time we'll have to take the whole family and stay longer...

Brooke and I made it back to Appleton safely on Sunday night. She was a great travel companion on the flights back. She slept and was happy, or at least content when she was awake. We had an open seat next to us on both flights and she loves to lay down an stretch out, so that's what she did. Here's a picture of her sleeping in the Denver airport during our 1 hour layover.


You can see that she's sucking on her thumb.... she's always sucking on her thumb, or chewing on it. She'll wriggle her index finger in there as well. At least she's great at self-soothing, IF she wants to be soothed that is. Here's a picture of her awake and chewing on her thumb.


On Saturday morning my dad took me to the shooting range. Since we've moved away my dad has gotten very interested in guns, for better or worse. He even has a concealed weapons permit and after shooting practice he carried it with us into the mall to do some Christmas shopping. At least we were protected from those crazy last minute shoppers! He wanted to teach me how to shoot a gun in case the need ever arises, heaven forbid! I must say that I wasn't a terrible shot for my first time!




Now that we're back it's back to Playgroup and our typical weekly routine that leaves me constantly trying to keep up. This week we had a huge turn out attend a Christmas Party at Kathryn Miller's home. The boys played with all their friends and decorated cookies.

Snow Day in Appleton

Yesterday school was canceled in Appleton, WI due to the winter storm. It snowed about 18 inches at our house and Steve declared that it is now time to buy a snow blower!

Salt Lake City

Brooke was able to meet her cousin Gwen for the first time, I think they really hit it off. BFF

She was spoiled by her Grandma and of course by the view:

Can it get better than this?

Here it is again if you didn't catch how awesome it is... we get to wake up to this view every morning!

Brooke's first Flight

Brooke almost didn't make it onto her first flight. Somehow I wasn't informed of a change in my departure time from Appleton. I arrived at the airport as the plane was boarding and the person at the desk told me that since I didn't make the 30 minute cut-off I would not be able to fly. WHAT!? I think he took a good look at my stricken face and figured he would share some Christmas spirit... We made it by the skin of our teeth, of course Brooke doesn't have teeth, but you get it. Anyway, I was a mess and Brooke wasn't sure what was going on. Within 30 minutes of our 2.5 hour flight she decided she needed a wardrobe change. I had to wrestle her out of her poop-filled clothes and give her a bath with baby wipes, then put new clothes on her, while enclosed in a 1 foot by 1 foot airplane lavatory 30,000 feet in the air. Are you impressed? I wonder what she has in store for me on our way back? After a 3 hour wait in the Denver airport we finally made it to Salt Lake City. Brooke had her ups and downs but overall I was happy with her performance, excluding the wardrobe malfunction.

Wouldn't you know that I chose to come home during the coldest week of the year? It's colder in Salt Lake than in Wisconsin! Not only that, but Brooke has decided that this is a great time to manifest her first cold. She's pretty miserable with a runny/stuffy nose and a horrible cough. I think I'm going to tell Steve that I need a do-over vacation, this doesn't count.

Regardless of the weather and Brooke's illness, we have been enjoying the family scene again. I have missed getting together with my family and with Steve's. I don't know when the next time we'll come to visit will be so I'm trying to overlook the bad parts. I attended the University Pharmacy Christmas party at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with my parents the night I arrived. Of course Brooke didn't like that outfit either and we had to walk her home naked while wrapped in a quilt (naughty baby). Sunday night Steve's mom watched Brooke and I went with my parents to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. What a neat experience! I always need reminding of what the season is all about.

Monday I kept Brooke in for most of the day to get some rest, then I went with my mom to Costco, can I tell you how much I miss Costco!? Appleton doesn't have a Costco and I am determined to move back just for the Costco shopping experience that I miss. Then we met my dad and enjoyed watching "New Moon" at Gateway. Why someone thought putting an outdoor mall in Utah was a great idea is beyond me, but the theater was warm.

Yesterday I was able to see Steve's family. After 10 years of being with Steve they are my family as much as they are Steve's. It was nice to catch up with everyone. My time here is going so fast I feel like I don't have enough time to do everything that I want...