Christmas and New Years

Christmas Eve Jammies!

Can't have cookies without the milk

Payton kept adding more to the plate. Must have thought Santa really needed them...ALL!

Christmas Morning-Yup! It's the best picture I got!

It's not that Christmas and New Years wasn't worth blogging about. It's just that I haven't felt much like blogging about it...yet. I didn't take a ton of pictures on Christmas Day but we covered Christmas Eve pretty well. After our dinner of steak and eggs {which the kids hated and mom and dad loved!} we cleaned things up and got ready to have a special "night before Christmas" moment together. We talked about the real meaning of Christmas, which Payton seems to get {yeah!} and then we watched a DVD about the Nativity. After that we decided to make some cookies for Santa. While we were making them we had a knock at the door and a secret present was delivered. Inside were PJ's for the kids and a movie to watch, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". We finished the cookies, the movie and getting things ready for Santa {and his reindeer} and then it was off to bed. I had a few presents I still needed to wrap and Payton could hear me in the other room. He kept saying, "You have to go to bed, mom! Santa won't come if you're awake."

Christmas was pretty simple this year. Nothing too hard for Santa to bring. In fact, Santa kinda fell asleep and Mrs. Clause had to pinch hit this year. Luckily there wasn't anything that needed assembly. The kids did pretty well, only coming in to wake us up around 7am. 30 minutes later, Christmas was over, breakfast was started and the day had begun. The rest is history.

New Year's Eve was spent at G-pa & G-ma Turek's house. Todd stayed home with Julia and I took two of Tiff's boys with us. Tiffani had her baby so she was going to spend the night at home {for very good reason}. We didn't really do much but play the wii. I am totally regretting the fact that not picture was taken while the boys hula hooped, threw snowballs, flew like birds...and everything else Aunt Kandice made them do. Then at midnight we did the pots and pans thing, came back inside {because it was FREEZING!} and the younger kids went back to the Wii while the bigger kids played the "What if" game. Then we called it a night and the start of a new year.

Ready to bang pots and pans

 Tiff had her baby {#5-yup! She's nuts!} on December 30th. Her name is Alaina and she's the cutest little thing! I love snuggling with her, when I get the chance. Even Julia enjoyed holding her. Too bad little Laini didn't agree.

Christmas Tree Hunting

she reminded me of Randy from "The Christmas Story"

Porter's snow tree

making snowmen

Eating a tailgate lunch

Todd dragging the tree to the truck. Can you see JuJu?

family picture with the tree

Porter was the first to get cold...and wet.

Payton's giant snowball he made himself

This was how the kids helped...stay in the back and out of the way.

This year's Christmas Tree Hunt was an adventure. We took a detour to pick up some jerky in Glendale from Todd's buck this year. {yeah, I still haven't posted about his hunt this year, yet....it's in the process} Although it was quite the detour to get the the Kaibab it was worth it. It's DANG GOOD JERKY!! When we finally made it to our Christmas Tree hunting grounds there was too much snow! Our new truck is a little lower to the ground so we had to put the chains on the tires and we still weren't able to go as far in as we wanted. The kids loved riding in the back of the truck while we moved forward and backward and turned around a few times. We decided to stop and let the kids play in the snow while Todd walked around trying to find a tree. After a quick lunch we drove further down a different road and let the kids get out and play again while Todd hiked into the forest of pinions trying to find a Christmas tree. I was getting really nervous that we were going to be taking one of those pinions home with us {which is what our very first Christmas tree was...we will avoid those at all costs in the future}. The kids loved making snow balls and rolling down hills while their dad was on the hunt. I was so excited to see Todd coming through the trees dragging a tree behind him. I was even more excited to see that it was a Blue Spruce instead of a pinion! We loaded up the kids, the gear and the tree and headed for home. This is our first tree like this so we're not used to the soft needles and the branches that can't hold as many decorations but that didn't stop the kids from trying. There were as many as six balls on one branch until mom and dad got involved. It's going to be a long season with the decorations. It seems like we break at least one ball a day {and a record 8 balls while we were decorating}. We will be investing in some non-breakable balls for our future decorating purposes. Now all we have to do is be good so Santa will come!{That's easier said than done}

Traditions...kind of a novel

Christmas Morning

{I love Julia's hair!}
Tradition: the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation

It seems like the holidays revolve around family traditions. I love thinking about the ways we celebrated Christmas and New Years as a family before I had my own kids. Since we've started our own family we had pretty much done the same things we had before...every other year. Because we're sharing with two families {mine and Todd's} we decided to make it even and go to one side of the family's Thanksgiving and the other side of the family's Christmas Eve. It seemed to be working out pretty well...and then my mom and dad went on a mission. So for two years we just did everything with Todd's family. Now that my mom and dad are back we just assumed we would start back into the normal routine of every other. Thanksgiving was spent w/Todd's family so Christmas Eve was supposed to be spent with my family. We had a Christmas B-day party the week before at my parents and after that my mom and dad had decided they weren't up for doing a Christmas Eve with all those wild children running around the house. They thought it would be better if we started doing our own family traditions. Kandice and I made a fuss about it when we found out because It's TRADITION! You don't break TRADITION!! I came home and told Todd that we could either go with his family for Christmas Eve or start our own family tradition. He was excited to stay home and do our own thing. That changed my attitude and I thought we could do something fun to start this new tradition of ours. Then later, my mom and dad had talked about it and decided to do something after all and invited us if we wanted to come. I would have gone...if Todd was on board. He still wanted to do our own family thing. So this year started a new tradition for us. Being on OUR OWN! {I know...scary}

Todd went hunting all day and I tried to get the house cleaned up for something that evening. I really wanted to go to Zions {because we live so close} and walk around in the dark and talk about the Christmas story but it was so windy over here that it didn't sound as fun as I thought in my head. So after dinner {which consisted of BBQ ribs, quail that Todd had hunted that day..and is a personal favorite of Porter's, green salad, homemade bread, and some steamed carrots all served on our favorite Christmas dishes....mmmm} I tried to get the real meaning of Christmas in the kids heads. We read about Christ's birth in the Book of Mormon and what the signs of his coming would be. Then we talked about why we give presents and whose birthday it was. Payton and I argued for a bit over it being Santa's or Jesus' birthday. I gave in and let him think it was both. All this time Todd is laying on the couch taking a little nap because the day of hunting had just taken it out of him...I guess. Then we could hear fireworks going off and we watched them while we put on our new pj's {another tradition}. Then we got in the car and drove around looking at all the lights. I gotta admit I was not happy when we started because it just wasn't how I envisioned the night to go {mostly the part about how Todd wasn't helping share in the teaching of the "True Meaning Of Christmas"} but after listening to him talk to the kids about all the cool lights I couldn't help but start laughing. He was doing his best to make his voice the most excited he could at EVERY house that had lights. Even the houses with just a porch light on he'd get the kids to look at it. We came home, got some cookies and milk ready and a bowl of sugar for Santa's reindeer and then it was off to bed. The kids were in bed at 9:30 and asleep at 9:40. Santa never had it so easy. We had to lock the door to the room where the gifts were so the kids wouldn't go in and peek in the middle of the night. They were bound and determined to see Santa and give him a big hug. Payton wanted to sleep under the tree so he could see Santa. Not only Christmas Eve but Christmas Day has traditions as well. Todd's mom usually makes a yummy brunch and then we open presents at her house then we have a dinner around 3 that afternoon with most of her family. This year we opted out of the brunch and enjoyed seeing our kids play with their Christmas presents until it was time to head over for the dinner. It was actually nice to not be in a rush to get places. Even G-pa and G-ma Turek came over {with some left over goats milk -aka eggnog- from the night before} to see what Santa had left.
So another Christmas is over and a new year is approaching.

Another year to start more traditions...the things that make memories for the future.

Quick catch-up

I need to post about Payton's big day(s) before Christmas hits and it's all a big blur. So Payton turned six on Tuesday (the 15th) and he hasn't let us forget it since. He really got to celebrate most of the week. We started Sunday night at Todd's mom's where he got to open G-ma Julie's present (two days before his birthday) and have cake and celebrate w/G-pa Blair and Tara's boyfriend Jordan--who's b-day's are the day after Payton's.

Then Monday night we celebrated with my side of the family at G-ma & G-pa Turek's. We had pizza and cake and then the old man {Santa} himself came and visited the kids and sang happy birthday to the three boys having them this month.

Porter was hilarious!

{just a couple quotes from that night need to be written down}

He had to feel Santa's beard {yes! it was real!!}

When Santa read a book about Jesus' birth and the angels coming Porter said, "My grandma Ila died". Good relation son.

He came out of nowhere and gave Santa a big hug--which prompted Santa to tell him he could have anything he wanted...naughty Santa.

And last he kept looking for Santa's reindeer which uncle Jeff kept telling him were in the pasture--yup, Porter went looking for them across the street. They weren't there.

Santa let them all sit on his lap and then he gave all the kids toys which they all loved. Payton got these tops that had lights on them and his cousin Emmie accidentally broke one. {I've gotta put this down Kandice...sorry--Santa lifted Emmie on his knee and said, "Well, you haven't missed a meal!"} Payton got upset at Emmie for breaking his top and then said, "This is the worst Christmas ever!" He got over it...later.

Then Tuesday was Payton's real b-day. He got to take a treat to share at school {Christmas cookies} and came home with the biggest smile wearing his birthday crown. Then that night we went bowling. This year he was given the choice of having a birthday party or getting a present. He chose to have a party and invite his cousins. I don't know how long that will last, but I loved it! His birthday's too close to Christmas and it's an overload of presents. I liked spending money on him this way instead of another toy that might fall apart or get broken later.

Well, I think that wraps up another birthday for the greatest six year old in our house!

A Hunting We Did Go...

Saturday we went out to find our Christmas Tree. Now I know most everyone else had theirs up in November --some even before Thanksgiving (???) but our family usually goes the first Saturday in December. We went out to our usual spot on the Kaibab looking for our tree. The kids were pumped to play in the snow. When we got there we found very little snow to play in and the wind was blowing enough for me to let Todd go look around and then come back and tell us what he found. The boys played in the snow until they got too cold and the first time Julia fell in it, she was done. She did get her first taste of snow and I think she liked it. Just not when both her hands were filled with the freezing stuff. After driving to a couple spots Todd came back with three possible trees to check out. We decided to have a bite of lunch before we checked them out so we could just load the tree and head on home. The tree we chose wasn't the most beautiful or the more perfect tree. We call it our "non typical" tree because it actually is one tree that stems out into three --so I guess that means we could have had three stars this year-but we don't. I love going out together as a family just because it's time together. On the ride home I talked to the boys about the Nativity and why we really celebrate Christmas. It was enough to put them both to sleep. Everyone helped decorate the tree (except for Jul's--she was napping) and after three broken balls Porter was pulled off ball duty and put on wooden angel duty. Todd was such a good sport. I had forgotten he didn't love this stuff until later when he reminded me how much he "{loved} putting up Christmas lights". I didn't even realize he was putting lights up outside until he was almost done. Well, another Christmas season started {YAHOO!!}

I had to put a picture of this shelf in because I love it! My neighbor across the street made it and I got a swinging deal on it (if anyone's interested he has a couple more he's selling for a great deal!)

Update

Our 11foot tree. We've never been able to have one this big before. It got it's own room because there really wasn't another good place for it.

So I missed Christmas, New Years, and Julia's blessing blogs...well the blessing day got posted in pictures. I didn't take many Christmas Day pictures this year. I did take a couple of Julia with her cousin Riley at g-ma Julie's. They're only 4months apart and I hope they'll be good friends.

Julia and Riley Calico

--there really is a size difference here--

Julia ready to go to Grandma's Christmas Day

We did video the boys Christmas morning but that's about all I've got. Here are a couple "day after" pictures with the kids playing with their new toys. Dr. Payton checking out Julia with the new Doctor kit from g-ma Julie

New years was spent at G-ma & G-pa Turek's playing games and eating AWESOME food! Loved the wingers wings/sticky fingers..mmmm. Porter and Julia sharing a moment...

and then not wanting to share the moment with KhloeePorter fell asleep on the couch around 10:45 so we decided to call it a night.Todd had to be up early the next morning anyway. Payton loved playing with his cousins/aunt/uncles in the Bunco game. I called my parents on our way home seeing it was just after 11:00 our time I knew it was after midnight there. To my surprise they were awake and watching a movie. Go figure! A mission does change you!

New Year Day was spent trying to get things ready for Julia's big day that Sunday. Todd did take Payton hunting with him so it was just Porter, Julia and me! We even had lunch at McDonald's. It was nice to have a day with children without the fighting and screaming.

Julia's blessing day was wonderful! Todd did a great job on the blessing and it was fun to have all my family there (except Rick and his family & of course my parents) and Todd's grandparents from Santa Clara, his parents and his brothers and sister. We had lunch in our garage--not the most extravagant but definitely doable--I loved having them all at my house. I laughed because after we were cleaning up when everyone left Todd kept making comments about there being sparkles all over the place. He thought it was from the Christmas tree of something but I reminded him there had been a bunch of teenage girls here that day. I told him it was just a sign of things to come with having a girl. He told me his girl would never wear sparkles! I'll remind him every time she does.

It had been a great past few weeks but I'm glad we're back to everyday life again. Now I've got to get my rump in gear for the 5k my sisters and I are going to be running this year. (Go Fit 5!) Guess it's good it's a new year and that means new goals.