Happy Holidays 2013

I had to work Thanksgiving this year, but we were able to celebrate with my family before I had to go in. Russ and Taylor went duck hunting that morning while I slept in for work. We got to my parents early afternoon and helped finish dinner preparations, and set the table. With 2 siblings on missions, and Ash & Jake at his family's this year it was a much more quiet Thanksgiving than what I was used too but it was still great. My grandparents made the trip up from Sanpete and we enjoyed playing games with them after eating.

checking out the black Friday adds

I love my cute grandparents!!

 The Saturday after Thanksgiving Russ, Jake and some of his brothers went down Manti to go pheasant hunting. They had a great time and so did the dogs :) While the boys were hunting us girls had a sleepover and then went and spent the day at my grandparents in Fairview while we waited for them to finish. Then we chopped wood for hours to help my grandparents get a good firewood supply ready for winter.

I got lucky enough to have 3 weekends off in a row in December! It was heaven. With all the festivities surrounding Christmas it was nice not to have to worry about getting work off to attend them.

One of the blizzard Saturday's Ashlee called us around 4PM to tell us that they had been given some Jazz tickets for a game that night but were unable to attend and wanted to know if we wanted to go. With the weather outside being crazy (I'm a hermit in the winter), we worked out a plan to take front runner up to the stadium and then ride the train home again after the game. For the record: Russ and I are not city folk, had never been on the front runner and don't know our way around SLC. So thank goodness Ash helped us out and even though we missed the first train and was a little late to the game it was a blast. It was first for us to go to the jazz game together and taking the train was well worth not having to drive in the snow!

I normally like to decorate for Christmas, including putting up the Christmas tree, the day after Thanksgiving. But last year Russ and I decided to continue with his tradition of getting a real tree. So thanks to the weather the first few weekends in December we were a little slow getting our tree this year but nonetheless got it in plenty of time and we loved it! Mark (Russ's dad) came with us this year as we ventured down to Sanpete county in search of the perfect tree.

I love Russ's dad, I love spending time with him and seeing all the fun traits that Russ inherited from him.

Our cute family of 5!

Mark needed a second tree for his girlfriend's son's family, we had to get a picture of it because he hit ice while chopping it down and ended up sliding down the mountain with it.

Every Christmas my mom does what we call Family Bingo. The months before we start collecting "beans" for the service we perform and use those beans to play. Dinner is served then we make up our bingo cards and play to win prizes. We made it an ugly sweater party this year, and my mom went all out with fun decorations and treats!

my mom's "specialty drinks" she made. Sugar lined glasses and everything.

 

 

 

December is a busy month for birthdays in our family. My dad, Russ's dad, Jake, Taylor and Jaxon all celebrate birthday's in December and we enjoyed lots of birthday dinners to celebrate. I realize now I didn't get any picture of these birthday dinners but I did get a picture of me and Princess Kez the night we had cupcakes for Jaxon's birthday if that counts :)

 

We finally got around to hanging some wedding pictures on the walls in our house around the same time we put up Christmas decorations :) we also met some neighbors we'd never met who brought us some Christmas treats!

 

The best part of working Thanksgiving was getting Christmas off! (Last year was crazy work schedule the week of Christmas and I feel I spent it in a dazed state of exhaustion) I worked the Monday night, got off work Christmas Eve morning. After getting a few ZZZZ'S I got a few things ready for Russ's family Christmas party that night, and got food ready to take as well. Russ got off work early and we headed to his Grandma and grandpa Shaw's house. Dinner, treats, presents and spending time with family was how we spent Christmas Eve. Followed by driving around looking at Christmas lights with his mom and her boyfriend before heading home to open our Christmas Jammies and get some sleep!

We decided to wake up early and open our presents at home before going over to my family's house. Russ had my Christmas present hiding in the front room under the elk for about a week before Christmas. I made a promise I wouldn't look and as I opened it Christmas morning I was so excited!! He surprised me by making me a coffee table out of his elk antlers! It is so cool and I can't wait to put it out in our new house!

 

We opened the rest of our presents, ate breakfast, got cleaned up and dressed then headed to my parents. My grandparents were arriving about the same time we got there. More present opening occurred before eating a delicious lunch and then we hurried to get things set up to be able to Skype with Channy!! (have I mentioned how weird is it to be missing 2 siblings? cause it's super weird and I really miss them!!)

 

It was so good to get to see her and talk to her. We set up the computer up off the TV in my parents kitchen so we could all see her. She dyed her hair brunette a while ago and on Christmas we finally got a better explanation why: she was recently transferred to a new area where it's safer for her to be brunette :) But she's doing great and she loves being a missionary and loves her area and the people she's serving!

we took this to show that I lost my twin and she looks more like Ash now



We took a quick break to go visit Russ's dad and give him his Christmas presents. Mark loves my nieces and nephew and they love him back so Kez and Jax came with us to visit "Grandpa Hudson"! Mark always commented on lexi's little leg warmers and we always teased him how great they'd be for him to get a pair :) So for Christmas we hooked him up! He's such a good sport and even tried them on for a picture.



We had a few more hours before Tanner was supposed to call so we played games with Taylor's girlfriend while Jake and Russ went and looked for Elk (Russ's elk hunt started December 23 up on Timp). Sure enough the Peruvians held to the description of how Tanner describes them: late for everything, and he was about an hour and a half late calling. But it was so good to see him too and get to Skype with him, see his companion and the family whose house he was at. Taylor got to speak Spanish to the family members that didn't speak English and Tanner ate something pretty much the entire time we talked to him so it felt like he was back home.

It was such an awesome Christmas and I can't say it enough how blessed we are to have such amazing people in our lives, and for the amazing things life allows us to do!

 

Fast forwarding to New Years.... I had to work New Years Eve again this year, and as much as I was looking forward to it (not) my co-workers and I decided to make the best of it and bring treats, make hats, and drink martinelli's at midnight if work allowed. Luckily Russ got to spend the night partying and celebrating with Ash, Jake and friends so he didn't have to be alone while I worked. My patients were gems that night and luckily I got five minutes free before midnight where my co-worker Ashley and I watched the ball drop, toasted martinelli and facetime our husbands for a new years "kiss".

Side note: promise we really did take care of our patients that night, these were taken in just a few seconds : )

New Years Day Christmas Decorations came down and we got my table all set up complete with the antler lamps Russ also made.

 

I hope everyone had a great holiday, and a great start to the new year!!