Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve in Temecula with Tutus and cousins, going to see Annie at the movies, having lunch and taking a stroll through the super busy mall. That evening was spent at Barratt and Marci's house with family and friends. We enjoyed delicious food, the kids played a few reindeer games, we visited and Barratt shared a special message to help us focus on Christ. It was a great way to spend the night.

 The boys love their older cousins and Logan particularly loves spending time with Ashley. He followed her around most of the night. 

 Aunt Natalee and Graycee joined us as well. 

 Nancee and her family came. It's much easier for them now that they live close by to Barratt.

 Playing reindeer games. 

We don't have Marie Callendar's in Arizona so it's always a nice treat for us to celebrate the holidays with Marie Calendar pies. 

 Logan and Erica watching a Christmas show together. 

 The boys were sad to see Elfie go back to the North Pole. They really have enjoyed having him around the house for the last month and seeing what kind of trouble he got into. We normally don't let the boys touch him (that's the rule of the game) but since they were so sad and sentimental we made an exception so they could have their picture with him. Yep, he has been a busy Elf this year chasing us all around....to a new house, to Ojai, and to Temecula.  He's been a fun part of our family and we can't wait to see him again next year!

Happy Birthday, Ricky!

I'm sure Ricky was not thrilled to be sitting in the car driving to CA on the day of his birthday but that was the way that the schedule turned out.  We headed to Temecula for a birthday dinner with family at Red Lobster. It was great to spend time with family that we don't get to see too often. Ricky got to enjoy a crab dinner which is his favorite and often only happens on his birthday...(mostly because I don't like seafood). With everything going on right now we haven't had to much thought or focus on our birthdays or even Christmas really, its mostly been on work and the house but this was a nice little way to celebrate.

Another year older and wiser too, happy birthday, to you!

 Lincoln was being silly on the drive. It was such an easy and nice drive. The boys were practically angels and it was our easiest long car ride yet!

Despite my attempt at packing light, we still needed a bell cart to get all our stuff to the room.

 Star Wars theme...but only the true Star Wars fans will get it.  Lincoln looked at it and got it in about 10 seconds.

 I think Logan was more excited to blow out the candles and open presents than Ricky was.

 I got this cute little cup for Rick. It looks like a Canon camera lens. For a second I did trick him and he thought he got a new lens. I had no idea he had been wanting one of these so it turned out to be a perfect gift.

 As a part of Ricky's birthday celebration, he went to see Interstellar with Barratt after dinner. It was his third time seeing it and it's his favorite movie of the year. I took the boys back to the hotel for some fun hot tub time.

New House Update

It's getting close and we are anxiously waiting for mid-January to come so we can finally move in.  We visit the property about every other day and now they are doing the exciting details inside the house.  We now have cabinets, tile floors, countertops, wood floors, lighting, shower and tubs, painted  fence, mirrors and bathroom fixtures. I saw our dishwasher but it hadn't been installed yet. The roof is now totally finished also. There is still a lot more to do and then comes the nitty gritty detailed finishing work. Here's what it looks like now....

Utah Trip

Last week Ricky and I had a whirlwind trip to Utah for a Live-Right Company party. We were literally gone for 24 hours. We dropped the boys at school headed to the airport and was back by 10:00 am the next morning. Thankfully my sweet friend kept the boys after school and over night. They played with Dylan and Sadie and had a fun time. Ricky and I crammed some furniture shopping in and then headed to downtown SLC to get ready for the party.

The party was held at the Lion House which served a delicious three course meal. We got to meet with all of the employees at Live-Right, some of which are not family and that we haven't met before.  It was a really pleasant evening and even though it was way too short of a trip, it was fun for us to get away for a night.

 All decorated for Christmas in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. 

Dinner with the team at the Lion House.

 Ricky next to the statue of CR Savage...his great, great, great maternal grandfather who was a famous photographer during his time. 

 After the dinner we went to view the lights on temple square and we sat and listened to a choir sing in the old tabernacle. It was a beautiful way to end the night. 

Everyday Activities Recently

No matter how well you prepare, this time of year always seems like such a busy time. Here are a few things that we've been up to.

 This is a glimpse of how we've been living the last five weeks. Boxes and minimal furniture. They are loving all the extra space to play with their toys. 

 I got to go on date night with Lincoln.  I love spending one on one time with the boys. I think it's important and special. He, of course, chose to eat dinner at his favorite place - Red Robin. 

 He also got spoiled with a refillable rooter float.  No wonder he hardly ate any dinner. Oh well, there's always tomorrow for dinner. 

 I got a pedicure and Lincoln got 30 minutes in the massage chair. He sat there and relaxed for a while and read a book and visited with me. It was super sweet. 

 Logan got some bike riding time in. 

 I got a night out with the boys and we ended up where else??...Red Robin. Lucky for me it was about five days after date night with Lincoln there. I can't be too disappointed because they eat so well there. 

 Building lots of Lego sets. Logan holding the Christmas tree set. 

Logan's favorite part of his new set was this train. He's been carrying it around for days. 

Traditions

I love traditions, especially ones specific to the holidays. This year I started a new tradition with the boys. We went to the paint your own pottery store and painted christmas ornaments. Originally the thought was that I was going to give them aways as gifts but I decided I wanted to keep them.  The boys did so good and the ornaments turned out awesome. I am so proud of them. It was Lincoln's suggestion that we do this activity every year. I had to agree!

Logan chose to paint a Christmas tree.

Lincoln chose to paint a snowman. 

Logan was fascinated by the idea that our pottery was going to be fired. The owner was so sweet and showed him what the inside of the kiln looked like. 

 The boys both did their ornaments 100% by themselves. I think they turned out fabulously. 

I also got to attend our third annual Fab Five girls Christmas PJ dinner at Bam Bam's house. This has become a tradition that I look forward to every year. It came at the perfect time for me this year because I really needed the girl time. As always, we have a blast together and this time was no different...as you can see from the pictures. 

 Debbie, Bam Bam, Me, Karethand Kristy

 Kareth's daughter Shannon joined us for a bit at the end so she jumped in the picture opportunities. 

The night before was our annual tennis team Christmas party. This is a crazy, fun and special group of women. I look forward to getting back on the court with them next year!