New Year's Eve

We had our annual New Year's Eve party at my Uncle Ric and Aunt Paula's. We had yummy food, good company, and good times!

My mom and dad had gotten the kiddos these cute matching outfits for Christmas- we tried to get a picture of them in them- it was not a success!! We even tried changing positions and still no luck!

I love this picture of Brooklyn- my cousin Jan made her homemade root beer- the kiddos always love playing in it!

Ric opened up his hot tub for the occasion and it was by far the highlight for the gals! Gracie talked about it ALL day before she finally got to get in!

We may of may not have turned to MTV and counted down with New York City- and we may or may not have had to rewind and forward several times until we were actually ready- thank you to DVR!

We always do a toast and Gracie and Garrett were LOVING this!! They loved to "cheers" their glasses together- they were quite hilarious!

And to end the night- my cousins dog cozied up to the most non-loving animal person I know- my mom! It was pretty hilarious! The picture doesn't do it justice to just how unimpressed she was! 

Here's to a great 2012!!!

Temple Square

Why oh why can't I keep up on this blog? I am still trying to get through our December activities. Gracie had seen a picture of Temple Square and decided that she wanted to go. So, we headed out on Friday the 30th before they turned them off on the the 1st. I think that every other person in the state had that idea too because there were about 5 million people there plus the weather was heavenly!! It was in the high 50's- we had brought all our warm gear and the gals ended up walking around for some of the time without their coats on.We talked about going to eat at Lion House and our plan changed when we got there and the line was out the door so we headed to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and ate there. We went up and saw Temple Square from the top- the gals thought that was pretty cool. We had such a great time and we were glad that we were able to squeeze the trip in before they turned off the lights!

And this is how Ella enjoyed seeing the lights!

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!