Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve at the cabin has become a tradition in my family.  Even though our family keeps growing every year and there are three more babies on the way in the coming year (don't worry, none from us!) we still keep the party going in our tiny cabin.

This year was no different.  We headed up early to the cabin for some fun sledding.  The hill this year was pretty icy and hard, making for some hard landings.  Everyone took a few runs down the hill exccpt for Alex.  We couldn't talk him into giving it a try.  That kid just likes to be warm.  After a few minutes outside he said, "can I just go back to the cabin?"  We did catch a few pics before he went in.  Kennedy and Dylan loved the snow and had fun with their cousins on the sledding hill.

After sledding, we had a yummy lunch, then had the nativity.  We have been trying to talk to our kids more this year about remembering Jesus at Christmas time and why we actually celebrate the holiday.  The nativity at the cabin is always a good way to do this.  Kennedy was an angel to start then decided to be a sheep in the nativity.

  Alex and Dylan were wisemen and you can see Dylan was quite happy with this!

The nativity was sweet, even with Dylan wandering around the whole time! My favorite part of the nativity is listening to my dad read the story.  He really has such a great way of doing it.  As he gets older, it gets harder and harder for him to read it, but it is so special to hear him do it each year. 

After the nativity, we opened presents and just relaxed for a few minutes before cleaning up.  As we headed home that evening, Jared and I were talking about how we actually enjoy Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day.  There is just something about the anticipation and excitement building up to the actual Christmas morning that is so much fun.  This year seemed to be the same.  The kids were so excited all day and really had fun.

I'm not sure how much longer our family will be able to squeeze into our family cabin for Christmas Eve, but it sure is a great tradition and I hope it lasts forever.  Thanks to my cute parents who work so hard to put on such a fun party each year.  We love you!

Christmas Rocks!

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Traditions: Holiday Lights

We've wanted to take the kids downtown to check out the lights at Temple Square all month long.  So, we decided this morning that today was the best chance to make that happen.  Too bad the weather decided not to cooperate.  Around 5:30 it started raining again.  I mean, come on, when does it rain on the 23rd of December?  Still, the showers put an end to our trip to Temple Square to walk around the illuminated grounds.  Fortunately for us, it didn't put an end to us looking at lights.

My sister had some discount tickets to Thanksgiving Point's light show.  Rather than walking, this was a driving tour of holiday lights.  We packed up the van and headed south to Lehi.  The only problem was everyone else apparently made the same decision.  I've never seen so many cars!   They were backed up to the frontage road running in front of Thanksgiving Point.  It didn't matter though.  With some good Christmas music on the stereo, everyone was happy to creep along into the park.

The lights were amazing.  There were so many different holiday elements to look at.  From polar bears in the arctic, to elves at Santa's workshop this place had it all.  Take a look:

As incredible as the light displays were, I think most would agree the best part of the tour came at the end.  As you were leaving the festivities Thanksgiving Point told of the birth of the Savior with some beautiful illustrations.  It was a fantastic reminder for the kids (and us) about the true meaning of Christmas.

Holiday Lights at Thanksgiving Point - 5 stars from our family!

Diary of a Utah Fan

The Streak is over.

Going into the Vegas Bowl against Boise State I knew it was going to be tough. Boise St. had everything going for it this year. Outside of a couple botched field goals they could have been playing for the BCS Championship. Instead they were playing the Utes. Lucky us...

When the game started there was a weird vibe. The Utes D was fired up and quickly caused a fumble giving us the ball in the red zone to start the game. It was just the break the Utes needed. A chance to take an early lead. Then the offense sputtered. The FG was missed and the opportunity to start on top was gone.

The next series the Utes had another chance to score. But this time Brooks dropped the ball. He was wide open and he dropped the ball. It could have been 10-0, but no such luck. Our missed chances were mounting.

From Yahoo!

After an INT the Utes were again poised to head into the end zone. But after a huge penalty (another theme for the game) we could only settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. When you should be up by at least 13 or more and you're only on top by 3 that's a problem. Just like that the game changed.

Boise got on track and never looked back as the Utes turned the ball over repeatedly. When we finally made a good play, it was brought back with a holding penalty. In the end we couldn't hang with the Broncos and the final was 26-3. An ugly way to end a pretty good year.

And so it ends.  The 2010 season had some tremendous highs, and some ridiculous lows.  I never thought this team could reach number 5 in the polls.  Now I'm sure they'll finish just out of the top 25.  I guess where they're ranked doesn't really matter at this point.

This season was all about preparation.  Getting ready for the Pac 12.   There are some big questions going forward into the new league.  Questions about Jordan Wynn.  Is he a leader?  Can he perform in the big game?  Question abou the offense.  Will our conservative play calling work about the big boys (don't think so)? What about running back?  Will we have the athletes to compete with the likes of Arizona, USC, Oregon, Stanford?

It's been a great year and it will be fun to see how things change as we move into the big time of college football.  GO UTES!

Kennedy is Six!

Kennedy couldn't wait to turn six, since she is younger (and taller) than most of her friends. We weren't sure how to celebrate this year and she kept changing her mind on what she wanted to do. We finally decided to go to Classic Skating with her cousins, since she's been into roller skating lately. She had lots of fun skating around with Chloe and even Jared laced up some fancy skates and hit the rink.

We played some games, I chased Dylan around and Alex and Quinn jumped on the bounce toys for awhile.

Everyone seemed to have fun, then we headed back home for some takeout Chinese food and some cake and ice cream. Kennedy was spoiled with her presents and she was very excited for her salon kit and jewelry box.

Kennedy actually had two more parties for her birthday. We had a little get together with my family on Sunday and celebrated Jessica's birthday and Kennedy's. Then, the next Sunday, when Nana and papa were in town, we had another party with Jared's family. This one included nana's famous cakes and this year Kennedy picked a Rudolph cake. He turned out pretty cute, didn't he?

Kennedy, I want you to know how much I love you. You are a great daughter, sister and friend. I love your energy and fun personality. You definitely have a mind of your own, but you are such a sweetheart. I love your zest for life and hope you will always be spunky! I love you, Dede and hope the next six years are as interesting and fun as the last six!