Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. The gals woke up little before 8 and since we didn't have church until 1 we were able to enjoy the morning before heading to church. The gals were so fun to watch. They loved every minute of it. I love how when they would open a present they would yell, "Thanks Santa!" Ella loved the sound of the paper and loved being able to rip a little piece off and then eat it. It was great to go to church- to celebrate the true meaning of the season- the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. After church we headed to Newton- to Nat's- we had a wonderful breakfast and then opened presents before it was time for everyone to head to the in-laws. Grandma and Pops spoiled us!! My sister-in-law Chels had made all the kids aprons and cute little hats. The gals loved their presents from Garrett and Abby as well. In the afternoon, we headed over to the Maynard's- we had a yummy dinner and then once again we were spoiled! On our way home, we able to stop at Paula's house and visit with them for little bit. It was such a great, family filled day! I feel so blessed that we are surrounded by our family and so many people who love us and love to spoil our gals- thanks everyone!!

I love how they are holding hands

Gracie was so exhausted she fell asleep playing her LeapPad with her stylus in her hand

Christmas Eve

 We had a fantastic Christmas Eve day and Christmas Eve. We drove out to Stone to Sean's grandparents and spent the day there. We always have such a great time out there. Sean' uncle Kurt and aunt VaLyn and their boys were there- so Brooklyn was in Heaven- she has always loved to play with these boys and they are still cute and will play with her even though they are now all teenagers. The gals love to play in the snow, but since there was no snow this year, they went up to the canal and slid around on the ice. They had fun doing that and loved it when Tre fell in. They were also excited because they saw 2 Bald Eagles flying around while they were there. Sean's grandparents spoiled us, like they always do- his grandpa made Brooklyn a jewelry box. It is beautiful- and I failed to get a picture of it. Soon it was time to head out and go to the annual Maughan/Wright Christmas party! It was a TON of fun! The Nativity was a success with Brooklyn playing Mary, Gracie doing her part as an Angel, and Ella filled in as Baby Jesus! There is also a program where the kids (or adults) can perform if they would like. Imagine my surprise when my sweet little shy Gracie got up and sang "Rudolph" she got stuck on a part and ended up singing it 3 different time before she moved on. It was so funny! And when I thought it couldn't get more funny, up comes Garrett. I will forever laugh anytime I hear this song now!! He did his rendition of "Christmas, Christmas" from the Chipmunks. He had all the dialog and everything- the best part was when Dave yells "ALVIN" Garrett yelled it so hard that his little face went red and his whole body was shaking. It was epic. Brooklyn and cute little Ashlyn got up and sang "Silent Night" and did a cute job. And then to my astonishment Sean got up and sang- he does a mean Jimmy Durante- and sang "Rudolph".  It was such a fun party- "the best ever" as my grandma Ila would say. Soon it was time to head home and get ready for Santa to come. My sister had given us a phone number we could call that was from Santa that would give updates of his whereabouts- it was SOO fun! When the gals went to bed they were so excited to hear that Santa had left South America and was headed the the United States! They did get to open one present before they went to bed, the annual Christmas Jammies- thank you Carter's for making a matching set in all their sizes! The plate was prepared and we were ready for Santa...

You can see in the background Tre's pants down- after he had fallen in

The performers- (gotta love Gracie's snow boots- she wouldn't wear anything else_

I love these gals!!

Limo Ride

On the 22nd of December, I was able to live out a childhood dream and ride in an Escalade stretch limo!! In my mom's retirement, she has become quite taken with the show "Good Things Utah."  One day while watching, a man came on talking about his limo service that would take people around to see the Christmas lights in SLC.  My mom jumped right on this and decided that her and my dad were going to do this for our family. I didn't have any objections- seeing how I have always wanted to ride in one. We planned the day and told the kiddos that there was a big surprise for them, but didn't tell that what it was. We met at my brother Brian and Sher's house in SLC.  The kids were (as was I) SOOO excited when they came out and saw the limo! We decided that we would drive to Thanksgiving Point to see the display that is there. It was so much fun! There was kinda weird lighting in it so some of the pictures I took have weird shadows. The gals keep asking when we get to ride in a limo again! Thanks mom and dad for the fun time!!!

The kids were so funny as we were driving through Thanksgiving Point, they could actually see better looking out the front window so they driver rolled the block down and they had their heads poking through. Garret would keep saying, "LOOK man it is a winter wonderland." "LOOK man it is a reindeer!" The guys was really good to them, but I think he was excited to get the window rolled back up!

All About Gracie- Age 4

 

These are word for word answers our of Gracie's mouth-

• Favorite Song: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
• Favorite Singer: Taylor Swift
• Favorite Color: Pink and Purple
• Favorite Show: Curious George
• Favorite Movie: Curious George
• Favorite Book: George's books and Alvin's books
• Favorite Toy: Leappad
• Favorite Animal: Pigs
• Favorite Person: Taylor Swift 
• Favorite Game: The games on my Leappad
• Favorite Place to go: Burger King
• Favorite Activities: Play with stables (Nativities)
• Things that Make You Sad: Brett and Chelsea going
• Best Friends: Sissy
• Favorite Food: Treats, Roll-ups
• Favorite Treat: Christmas tree treats, snacks
• Favorite Trip: Bear Lake
• Things You don't Like to do: Cards 

Brooklyn's Sing-A-Long

*I am getting caught up- check out the 2 other posts beneath this one

At Brooklyn's school, they have sing-a-longs, where every grade performs songs the final week before going to Christmas break. The 2nd grade finished things up this year by having their sing-a-long on the 21st. It was great and Brooklyn even had a speaking part and did fantastic!

Gracie's Birthday

 December is a crazy month for our family- beside Sean and I's Anniversary, on the 20th was my little Gracie Kaye's 4th Birthday!! Gracie is such a little sweetie and I can't believe that she is 4 years old. She started Preschool this year and it doing awesome- she wrote her name all my herself for the first time writing her letter to Santa. For her birthday, she wanted to have a surprise party, open lots of presents, and watch Sissy (Brooklyn) perform with her gymnastics team at the USU basketball game. My mom asked her what she wanted for her birthday and her answer, "lots of presents." My aunt said, "okay, I will get you some plates and glasses." Gracie gave her a look and says in a disgusted tone, "Those are things for grown-ups." Same conversation someone said what about some artichokes? She says, "they choke people!" She is so funny and so literal. If I call her a doll she will tell me she is a girl- she cracks me up!! She has the biggest sweet tooth and loves to get licorice at my parents was house. So was beyond excited to get her own bag and some granola bars. As she was eating her cake she told my mom- "I thought you might have gotten me a can of Diet Coke." She got to have her surprise party at Frederico's- she was bit overwhelmed when she walked in and everyone yelled "SURPRISE!!"  But she loved it and then we headed to the USU game to watch Brooklyn. It was such a great day!!

This picture is so funny because my mom didn't have an unopened bag of licorice so she wrapped up her baggie of licorice and Gracie just didn't know what to think of that.

10 Years!!

On the 14th- this handsome man and I celebrated our 10 Year wedding anniversary!! I always had dreams of going to some exotic location on our 10 year, but having a 7 month old kinda put a little kink into that plan. I did however feel very lucky and blessed to be able to take a night and spend it in Salt Lake. Thanks to my AWESOME parents for so graciously taking the gals overnight so we could go! My brother Brian and his wife Sher sent as to a yummy Italian place named Vinto's. My niece Abby was in Primary Children's with croup so we went to the store Big Lots that was next door to get her a present. We ended up wasting a lot of time in there- that store is pretty random- we laughed because we spent so much time in there, but it was nice to know that we didn't have to hurry and we didn't have anywhere to be. The next day we shopped until we dropped!! We drove to the Fashion Place Mall to check at the much talked about H&M- I think I will like the store the next time I go and there aren't 5 million people there.

I can't believe that 10 years have come and gone since we were married- I feel so blessed to be married to this guy and 10 years later I love him more than I did the day we were married. Here's to the next 10 years!!