Christmas Eve

Christmas eve was a busy day. We drove up to my brother's house for the morning because he had to work that evening and Christmas. We hung out with Ryan and Emily for a couple of hours while Bria and her cousins played together. I just love my brother and his wife! We had a good time just talking and hanging out.

Then, we headed to Tony's Pizza Place for Derek's Birthday lunch with my mom, Dad, and Dani. I am so grateful for my parents and their effort to celebrate Derek's birthday on probably the busiest days of the year!

The next stop was my Grandma Steed's house. We opened presents, ate yummy cookies my grandma is famous for and had a good visit. We then headed over to Erin and Shad's place to visit with them. Then we went to Christmas village to see the lights, and Bria just loved them! She stopped at every little window and awed at every decoration.

After we froze, we went to Grandma Jenson's house for clam chowder that only a few people eat. It is really good clam chowder, but nobody likes clams! So she always makes another soup. My grandma started this tradition a while ago because everyone goes everywhere else for dinner and we all stop by her house later Christmas Eve, so she cooks up a light meal and it is always delicious!

We got to my parents around 8:00 and we were already SO tired! Bria and Erik opened their Christmas Eve jammies from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson, put out cookies for Santa and sent them to bed. Then the fun began! I love being Santa Claus! It is so fun to be a part of the magic!



Christmas was so much fun this year! Bria understood that Santa was bringing her presents and she ate all of it up and made everything so much fun! All month she has been telling me, "Santa Claus is coming to town and is bringing me presents! So be goodness sakes!" It was so cute listenting to her version of that song and a few others.

Christmas eve was a busy day. We drove up to my brother's house for the morning because he had to work that evening and Christmas. We hung out with Ryan and Emily for a couple of hours while Bria and her cousins played together. I just love my brother and his wife! We had a good time just talking and hanging out.

Then, we headed to Tony's Pizza Place for Derek's Birthday lunch with my mom, Dad, and Dani. I am so grateful for my parents and their effort to celebrate Derek's birthday on probably the busiest days of the year!

The next stop was my Grandma Steed's house. We opened presents, ate yummy cookies my grandma is famous for and had a good visit. We then headed over to Erin and Shad's place to visit with them. Then we went to Christmas village to see the lights, and Bria just loved them! She stopped at every little window and awed at every decoration.

After we froze, we went to Grandma Jenson's house for clam chowder that only a few people eat. It is really good clam chowder, but nobody likes clams! So she always makes another soup. My grandma started this tradition a while ago because everyone goes everywhere else for dinner and we all stop by her house later Christmas Eve, so she cooks up a light meal and it is always delicious!

We got to my parents around 8:00 and we were already SO tired! Bria and Erik opened their Christmas Eve jammies from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson, put out cookies for Santa and sent them to bed. Then the fun began! I love being Santa Claus! It is so fun to be a part of the magic!

Christmas morning, well, I will let the videos and pictures do the talking...































Dani showing off the cool present we gave her, and my cute parents...










Derek got me a camera and tickets to Olga Kern, the best female pianist in the world! I am so excited! And I got Derek mountain biking shoes and clips. I know he will enjoy those!

We played with toys all morning with the kids and I think I had more fun with their toys than they did! I love toys and I am so glad I get to re-live my childhood through my kids!

Later that day, more family came over for Christmas dinner. I was way sad that the storm stopped my sister, Holly, and her cute family to come, but it wasn't worth the risk. We had a Christmas program that we always put together last minute, literally. We just hurry and practice for about five minutes and put on an awesome show, ha ha! Dani, Emi, Derek and I tried to sing a hymn together and it fell apart because we were laughing so hard! Usually we have a good sound, but without my brother, Ryan, it just didn't work. We had a good laugh though! Bria and her cousins sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Bria actually accompanied them on the piano! One musical number actually went beautifully and that of course was my Grandpa Jenson who has the most beautiful voice. I love listening to him sing. His voice is so calming and brings back so many memories. Then, Dani accompanied all of us in Christmas Carols on her guitar.







As always, Christmas was so much fun and I just love being with my family. I am so grateful we have started the tradition to have a program because it helps us take a moment on the busy day to remember the true meaning of Christmas and the most important part. I love my Savior with all my heart and am so grateful for all He has done for me.

Christmas Excitement

Bria is so excited about Christmas this year. Bria loves talking about Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and even prays for them at night! She is also really excited about Santa Claus. Every day she tells me, "Mommy, Santa Claus is coming to town and he bring me presents!" She was so excited to sit on Santa's lap at the Ward Christmas party. I didn't think she would actually sit on his lap, because she is kind of getting nervous about certain things lately, but she marched right up to him and put her arms out for him! She had been talking about Santa all day and how she wanted to sit on his lap, and she did! Erik did a good job too!

The kids LOVE to sit by the tree and watch the train go around in circles.



Bria also loves singing Christmas songs. Her favorites are, "Frosty", "Santa Claus is coming to Town", and "Rudolph." She almost knows the words to all these songs! I guess we do sing them all day long!

Christmas is so much fun, but I am so grateful for the real reason we celebrate. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for all He has done for me.

Loving the Snow!

Bria LOVES the snow! I bought her snow boots a couple weeks ago and the first morning after I gave them to her, I walked in to find her like this. She was so excited to go play in the snow, the first thing she did when she rolled out of bed was to put on her snow boots!



Whenever we are outside just walking around, she won't walk on the sidewalk. She HAS to walk in the snow! Thank goodness for boots!

The first day it snowed, Bria and I went outside during Erik's nap to build Frosty the Snowman. (She loves Frosty!) The snow was so powdery that it didn't really turn out, but Bria can see him in that little pile! If anyone even touches the little mound, she yells, "No! Don't touch Frosty!"



Bria especially loved eating the snow and catching snowflakes in her mouth...

Happy 5th Anniversary to us!

Derek and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary this weekend. It was an INCREDIBLE getaway! On Thursday night, we dropped the kids off at Grandma's house and headed to Salt Lake. Everything was a surprise and I didn't know where we were staying, or eating until we drove up to Anniversary Inn. I have always wanted to stay there and I was so excited when we pulled into the old mansion. We checked in and went to put our bags in our room and there was cheesecake and sparkling cider waiting for us! The room we stayed in was called "The Sultan's Palace" and it sure looked like a palace! It was absolutely beautiful!

We went to The Roof to eat dinner, but the wait was too long so we got our name on The Garden, which I was just as excited about. The wait was about 45 minutes long, so we walked around Temple Square and enjoyed the lights. It is such a neat experience to see all those trees covered in lights, wow. After walking around for a while and enjoying our company together without carrying 50 pounds of kids, we went back up for dinner. We were seated right by the window that overlooked the temple. It was so romantic to be sitting across from one another, celebrating our 5th anniversary with that sight! The food was delicious.

After dinner, we headed back to eat our cheesecake and sparkling cider. I felt so spoiled! We also got See's chocolates to eat while we watched a movie together. That morning, they brought an incredible breakfast to us. The breakfast included the most delicious croissant with ham and cheese, a cinnamon roll, a yogurt parfait, and two drinks. It was so nice to just relax and get pampered like that!

We then got our things packed up and headed out for the day. We went to the gateway mall and just walked around, window shopping. We then went to Red Lobster and both got a platter of lobster and shrimp. I never had lobster before, so I was really nervous. I loved it though! It was fun trying something new. After a late lunch, we went to "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Center Theatre in Salt Lake and wow! The play was awesome! The stage opened up as props came out of the ground, it spun in circles, the actors were great and I really enjoyed myself! I think we might start doing that every year.

After the play we went to Marie Calendar's for a slice of razzleberry pie and ice cream-Mmmmm! The funny part was that we spent $15 on two slices when we could have bought a whole pie for $11! Oh well, it was our anniversary and everything was so worth it. Ever since we got home, I feel like our perfect weekend was just a dream because it really was so perfect. My sweet husband did such a good job in planning an incredible getaway and I am so grateful for him.

Derek and I have shared so many wonderful memories together and I am so grateful that I get to share an eternity of memories with him! He is my best friend and the man I am madly in love with. I fall more in love with him every day. Derek- Thank you for all you have done for me and for always being there when I need you. I love you so much and Happy Anniversary!

Some random things...

I just wanted to post some things we have been up to in the last couple weeks under one post because they are all such little things, but so important to me! Bria has been dressing herself for a while, but she always needed a little help. Now, we can just tell her to run upstairs and put her jammies on and this is what happens! Inside out and backwards! Looks like she still needs a little help!

Music class...

My friend, Jana, and I have started a toddler music class that we are just doing for fun and I will tell you it is SO fun watching these kids! Bria now knows what Presto and Adagio mean and also how to keep a beat! The other day, we were walking into a store and she yelled, "Presto!" and ran as fast as she could, then stopped and slowly said, "Adagio..." as she walked very slowly. It is amazing how kids can pick up on so much. This is her and her cute, little classmates shaking their homemade murakas.



Bria has enjoyed music so much that she asks me for piano lessons almost every day! She makes me get my chair, pen, and music books! Of course I won't be teaching her for a few years until she is really ready, but it is so fun to see that she loves the piano so much. I think she already has great technique!

Big Sis and little Bro

Bria and Erik are starting to play together and I am so happy about it! Today, I put Erik on the floor in his room with a bunch of toys and went into my room to vacuum. When I came back to check on him, this is what I found!



Bria had found the bumper pad and made a fort out of it where Erik was playing! When I picked Erik up, Bria screamed, "NO! Put Erik back mommy!" I was so excited that she wanted to be with him. I set him back down and Bria read books to him. So cute!

How do you tell a toddler they can't fly?

The other day, Bria went to see the Christmas Fairy at Macey's. They made wings, a wand and a necklace with a bell on it. Of course Bria didn't want to put any of it on until she got home. The funny part was that my friend's little boys had their wings on and everything! Bria is so stubborn. When we got home, she begged to put her wings on, so I did. Bria then said, "Mommy, I want to fly." I started running through the house with my arms straight out making the flying noises and everything, but Bria still fell to the ground in tears. "No mommy! I want to fly up there!" And she pointed to the ceiling and motioned her index finger in circles. She has watched Peter Pan too many times! She really wanted to fly and she was hit with reality and it was SO SAD!



She finally decided it was okay and we had a fun time together soaring through the house. She loved wearing those wings!



And my chubba tubba...



Erik is so much fun lately. He is starting to scoot across the floor and he definitely knows what he wants! Tonight after I got done washing his head, I put his feet in the sink full of water and he just kicked and laughed and got water all over the bathroom, but it was so worth it seeing his face! Well, I picked him up to get him ready for bed and he just screamed! I thought maybe he had a gas bubble, so I tried to calm him down, but he just wouldn't calm down until I set him back in the sink! I let him play again, and lifted him back out to see if he would be mad and sure enough, he let out a huge scream again! I then put him back and he stopped crying and continued to drown my bathroom. I guess he likes the water!

Here is one of my favorite videos of Erik. He laughs so hard that he toots! Listen carefully!

Tiny Dancer

Bria went to her very first dance class yesterday. It was the cutest thing watching her parade all over the dance floor in her ballet shoes and leotard! At first she did not like wearing tights and she was so mad at me after I put them on that she hid under the bed! I had to pull out some dance videos and show her how fun it was to dance in tights, ha ha! She gave in when I put her tap shoes on and she could make loud sounds all over the kitchen floor! Her little friend, McKenzie is in the dance class with her, so it made it easier for her to go in the first time. Bria mostly just stood in the same spot with her serious, thinking face, just staring at all the girls leaping and twirling around. I was getting a little nervous, but then she surprised me as she lifted her leg into the air and did a few spins. By the end of the class, she was laughing and just loving it! I hope she likes to dance as much as I did!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week we went to St. George to have Thanksgiving with Derek's family. I love going to St. George when it is cold here, but it was actually colder and rainier than Orem the day we got there! But the next couple days were beautiful. Jane, Derek's mom, always cooks up a magnificent feast! We ate like royalty and paying for it now! I can't ever quite figure out how to get back to eating normal once I eat like that for a couple of days! Friday night we went to the St. George temple lighting, a tradition Derek's family does every year. It is a great way to bring in the Christmas spirit the right way.





The Wii was the main event over the weekend! It was so funny to walk past the living room and see Ray, Derek's dad, throwing his arms all over the place! Everyone was having a blast playing the Wii, but I had more fun watching them! Very entertaining. Derek was so into his game, he hardly noticed Erik eating his hair!



On Friday, all the girls went to see Twilight. I had already seen it with my friend Jana at the midnight showing, but I couldn't resist when my sisters-in-law wanted me to go. I have to admit, I really like it. I had so much fun when I went with my friend to the midnight showing, it was like we were in high school again, except for the fact that we had to wake up at 4 in the morning and be moms! I liked it so much, I didn't mind going again with Derek's sisters.

We had a great weekend with the Anderson bunch and I will be forever grateful for Jane's cooking!