Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days of the year! To begin the day we had a wonderful, festive, delicious breakfast prepared by my mom.
That evening was our annual Christmas Eve ham dinner, program, and dessert (my brother made an amazing cake!) with my extended family. It was so fun watching the grandkids perform Jingle Bells, show their dance concert videos, sing other songs, and of course perform the nativity. McKinley was so happy and so outgoing, which usually she isn't around big groups of people. I loved watching her personality and her playing so well with her cousins- Connor, Ayden, Abby, Sophie, and Andrew. I love being with my extended family- I love the stories, the laughing, and the memories made. Also, it is always a treat to receive our traditional cereal box from Gram and Gramps. It was such a fun evening spent with family and relishing in the spirit of Christmas.

Spanish Fork Lights

Wednesday night my family piled in our car and drove to Spanish Fork for the Festival of Lights. It was so fun to drive through the lights and see and hear McKinley and Kylie's excitement for the "holiday lights" as McKinley calls them. Alysha, Ryan, and I were crammed in the back seat and had tons of fun together. We then stopped at a little restaurant for shakes and fries. It was a fun Christmas activity and the girls loved the lights!

Lunch with the Dansies

Wednesday afternoon we were so excited to hang out with our friends Brian and Rachel Dansie. Joe and Brian studied pre-dental together at USU and we were in the same ward so we hung out with them a lot. Their little boy Davis and McKinley are only three weeks apart. They are now living in Ohio attending dental school so obviously we don't get to see them often!

So finally we were able to get together to visit and have lunch at a Utah favorite- Wingers! Joe and Brian LOVE the wings and have definitely missed eating them. Davis and McKinley had so much fun playing together and their little girl Reece is adorable. Davis even rode in our car on the way to the restaurant. (Kylie was still sleeping when we left for lunch so we left her with my mom.)
We had such a fun time eating lunch together and catching up. I think you can tell who your true friends are when it seems like no time apart has passed at all- even if it is a couple years. Thanks for spending the afternoon with us guys, we miss you!!

Winward Family Christmas Party

Monday afternoon we drove up to Kaysville to spend a few days with the Winwards. Their family Christmas party was that evening and included caroling on the hayride, a yummy dinner, and games. It was fun to see Joe's extended family.
Tuesday morning we hung out with Emily and baby Clara at their house. McKinley and Kylie love their new little cousin and love to help hold her. That afternoon we went to lunch with Joe's family and then ran a few errands. Kylie NEVER falls asleep in the car but she was exhausted. She looks so cute with her mouth hanging open.

That night was also the grandkid sleepover. Joe's parents had all the kids over for dinner, games, a talent show, new jammies, a movie, and a sleepover. We planned on staying but Joe really wanted to watch the BYU game at my parents house. McKinley of course wanted to stay with her cousins so we left her to have a sleepover at Grandma and Pop's house all by herself. We planned to drive up and pick her up in the morning.

Well at 9:45 we received a call from McKinley crying saying she wanted us. Joe, being the awesome dad that he is, drove an hour up to Kaysville and an hour back. Of course she was asleep by the time he got there and slept the entire way. He just wanted her to know that if she wanted to come home, he would go get her no matter what. She did have a great time with her cousins while it lasted though.

My parents are the greatest

Saturday with my parents was a fun, relaxing day- and it was my parent's anniversary! So what a better way to spend your anniversary then with your grand kids watching Princess and the Frog at the movie theater?!? Just kidding, they are so nice to do that with us, even though the movie was a little scary and evil.After afternoon naps and packing up their stuff, we headed to downtown to go out to Maggiano's for an early dinner before dropping them off at the airport. However, my dad got a text from the airport (yes, they do that!) reminding him of his flight time which was earlier than he thought. So we had to skip dinner and go straight to the airport. They had plenty of time waiting for their flight at the aiport, it just wasn't quite enough for the nice dinner we had hoped for. My parents are great because they flew down to Las Vegas to attend McKinley's first dance concert. But what makes them even greater is that they took the girls back to Utah on the plane with them on Saturday night. This left Joe and I to a Saturday evening by oursleves and a peaceful drive to Utah on Sunday! Is that awesome?

So we headed to Island Burgers, a place we have been wanting to try, for a yummy dinner. We then went to the Red Rock Casino to watch Avatar 3D. It was a great movie and such a fun date night for the two of us.
Sunday morning we slept in, packed up our stuff, and made the drive to Utah. It was so relaxing- reading, listening to music, talking, not turning around a million times- wow! My mom actually had to work Sunday so my dad, brother, and sister had the girls to themselves. They even braved sacrament meeting with both of them!! They of course had a great day with Poppa. Poppa, Alysha, and Ryan were exhausted though. My dad even managed to make his famous Mongolian beef dinner, ready for us when we walked in the door. I love my family, they are the best!

Kylie helping my dad in the kitchen

Family Pictures

Camille was nice of enough to take a few family pictures for us for our Christmas cards. They turned out cute huh? I love my little family of four!

McKinley's Christmas Dance Concert

I have been waiting for this day for a long time- McKinley's first dance concert!! She was absolutely adorable and did a surprisingly amazing job! We were so, so proud of her! She was a little sad before her turn on stage but her teacher helped calm her down. She smiled big, did most of the right moves, and even got her bow knocked off but kept going. We also love her little tummy and how it is sticking out because of her tights and skirt. We love our beautiful McKinley and had a wonderful night enjoying her and her developing her talents. (Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest because of how dark it was in there.)

She was always very proud that she got to be the first of the train. I ran back to the dressing room after McKinley's performance was over. Apparently it wasn't fast enough because she was already crying that I wasn't right there waiting for her. Poor girl!

She was thrilled that Poppa and Grandma flew all the way down just to see her performance! I think they enjoyed it too!

The family under her performance sign- Center Stage Dance

We then went out to dinner and McKinley enjoyed her favorite meal- macaroni and cheese.

Bellagio Gardens at Christmas

Friday morning the girls and I drove down to the airport to pick up my parents. They flew down to Las Vegas to attend McKinley's dance concert later Friday evening. We then headed to the Bellagio Gardens to see the Christmas decor. McKinley loved the train and watched it with Poppa for quite a while. After the gardens we ate lunch at one of our new favorites, Streets of New York pizza- it was delicious!

And of course what is a visit from Grandma and Poppa without gifts for the girls! Grandma brought the girls a new game and a Barbie Nutcracker book. They loved both and Grandma read the book quite a few times! Thanks Grandma!