Christmas!

Allie got a baby... that is the only thing she ever asked for. She was thrilled, a bit overwhelmed, but so happy & excited. Branden built her a cradle for the baby & also a table for her tea parties. She's my little momma.
Eli was so funny! Everything he opened, even underwear & socks, he would yell & say, "Cool! I love it!" I told Branden he could show a little of that enthusiasm when he opened his underwear & socks! He recently has become obsesses with football & the Steelers (no thanks to his dad!) Eli got the Steelers get up & a Leapfrog, and a Geotrax train. He was thrilled with everything & has been so excited & happy.

Madelyn got her American Girl doll. She has been wanting her birthday last April. I picked her out when I was in NYC. I am not a mushy person, but I got teary when she opened the doll. She was so happy I thought she was going to cry! That was my favorite part of Christmas, watching my kids open their gifts, being so sweet & thankful for all they got. They are great kids, I love em! Maddie also got the cupcake maker, which isn't as big as mess as I thought it would be. Although it only makes 1 at a time, she thinks it's great. She also got a CD player for her room. She is really growing up on me! She'll be wanting an Ipod & cell phone next! I like the toys!

Allie didn't get up from her new table for a few hours, she had to open all her presents while sitting there, take care of her babies & have a tea party. The kids have really enjoyed each other, & even shared their toys .. it really was a Christmas miracle!

Christmas morning, Branden's family has a tradition of doing breakfast. We gathered at Brad & Lisa's & had a nice breakfast & exchanged gifts. We played some games, listened to Tayler play his guitar & sing some Christmas songs. I love all the family together time. Christmas seems to go so fast, but it is so fun to be together, everyone is happy & loving & laughing...

Of course there has to be a few melt downs! Allie had a few moments, but hey don't you wish you could just throw a good fit once in awhile?

Maddie & Alyssa playing with the new presents.

So there was a complete blizzard on Christmas day! We had gone back to my mom's house to exchange gifts & hang out & it snowed, and snowed & snowed. The wind was blowing too, so there were drifts & the entire house was covered. It was so pretty outside. I told Wiley (Whit's boyfriend) to go jump in the snow... and he did! I wasn't serious, but he is just a kid. There were drifts over 3 feet deep. Needless so say it was a treacherous ride back to Richmond.

Branden spent the whole next day scraping our entire neighborhood... there was alot of snow! It was so pretty, the kids had a ball. It wasn't the right snow for making a snowman, but they didn't care...

Eli, Maddie & Allie climbing the "mountains" dad made with the tractor.

Allie, Maddie, Eli & Austin our neighbor boy, they had a blast outside.

Our little Belle, she is such a funny dog. She loves the snow, she just buries herself in it. She was excited as the kids were...

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a safe & enjoyable holiday.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve out in Newton with my parents & siblings (minus JM, he was in California with some friends). We have a big dinner then we play Bingo, we all bring a few prizes & it's almost as fun as Christmas morning! There are usually some silly gifts, but there are also really good ones that everyone wants too. We have alot of fun, Branden has become the official bingo caller. The kids are always dying to open a gift, although they are usually not real thrilled about their pajama's & slippers that they get every year. We had a really nice night. Grandma Coombs was able to stay with my mom, which is nice, she has spent many Christmas' with us, it just wouldn't be the same without her!

Christmas Eve can become a very long day, especially if you're a kid. I well remember the days when the day took forever & there were too many things to be done to get ready for the big party that night! Maddie & Allie in their matching Christmas PJ's.


Whitney finally gave in & let the little kids open their gifts from her... what a nice auntie! Maddie loved her Gabriella (High School Musical) Barbie.

Allie is such a funny girl. I don't think she really understood the whole Christmas thing until she started getting presents to open. She was alot of fun, so excited about every little thing she got.

My sweet little Eli, his PJ's fit him to the T. He has recently developed a little streak of pure naughtiness ... everyone passes it off as "oh, he's such a boy!" I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with him. It's a good thing he's cute!

Val & Ella were at mom's for Christmas, so the kids had a lot of fun. They truly love each other & they get along (most of the time) so good. At only 5 months apart Ella & Allie are good little friends. Whitney gave them little dolls, they were thrilled.

Ella had an obsession with the camera, so whenver someone wanted to take her picture, she thought it was her turn to take pictures too...

They could hardly wait when they were finally allowed to open up Whitney's presents to them, the PJ's just didn't cut it!

Heather was able to come home on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we were all together except JM. I love being able to spend Christmas with my family, to reminisce & laugh & play games. We are so blessed & have alot to be thankful for this year.

The Annual Neighborhood Hayride Christmas Carolers

We live in a great neighborhood where most of us are the around the same age, have kids the same age, get along pretty well... & went to high school together! Spencer Gibbons always organizes a fun night of Christmas caroling & freezing your butt off while riding on a hay wagon. We usually have quite a crowd & unfortunately we can't carry a tune to save our lives (or remember the words to many Christmas songs!) but we have a great time anyways!
Every year everyone runs home because we're all frozen by the time it's over, so this year we started a fire in Branden's firepit (I got it for him for Christmas 2 years ago... this is the first time it's ever been out of the box! ... that's a whole other story on why I don't try to think of "cool" things to buy him anymore!) Our garage also has a heater so we hung out & ate hot cocoa & donuts. We have great neighbors, who we have alot of fun with ... and who are quite entertaining too!

Eli's Preschool Christmas Concert

Eli had to dress in Sunday best for his preschool Christmas concert.
He thinks he's quite the stud... this is him flexing with his fake cheesy grin.

Practicing his favorite song, "Rudolf, the Red Nosed Reindeer"

His carpool buddies, McKenna & Harmony ( he is quite the ladies man)

With his best buddy & cousin, Wyatt

Another buddy, Payton

A few reasons we didn't send Christmas cards

Reason #1: No one can stand straight, smile & act like

a normal human being for 5 seconds!

Reason #2: No one knows how to keep their hands to themselves.

Reason #3: The photographer doesn't know anything about lighting

or how to make sure all the sh#* is picked up off the floor.

Reason #4: Mom is a procrastinator & thought she could just

blame the kids for waiting too late to think about pictures & cards.

Reason #5: I was too cheap to take my kids to the mall for a quick picture

because it turns into the most exhausting & frustrating ordeal ever!

And half the time I don't like the damn pictures anyway!

Tavaci Concert

Madelyn & her cousin, Alyssa are both in Tavaci ... this is after their Christmas concert. They both did a great job singing at their concert. They looked darling.
Madelyn is all ready for her Tavaci concert at Sky View.

What a little cutie!

It'S tHaT CrAzY tImE oF yEaR!

We took the kids down to SLC for the USU vs BYU game at the Energy Solutions Arena. We went down early to do some shopping (that was a joke), to see Santa (they were all too scared, except Maddie) and to eat before the game (luckily, that went ok!) Heather was able to get off work in time to meet us for dinner & go to the game with us.
The fans were crazy! It was so loud, so fun to be there, the kids loved it! They would yell & chant & dance right along with them. It was a really intense game the whole time. We won't mention the fact that the Aggie's lost.

Maddie, Allie & Eli ... all great cheerleaders. We were going to see the lights on Temple Square afterwards, but the cheering & screaming wiped them out, so we just drove home.


Not a great pic, but hey what do you do?



My girls, they are so much fun! We all had a good day together. It was nice to be able to go & not have any meltdowns, or tantrums, of course they were threatened with Santa if they did!

It was a gorgeous day to walk around the Gateway. The kids love all the decorations & the music, so do I.

I know, I know... we are complete dorks! But what the hell... we were going to the movie opening weekend & thought we might as well join the crowd! My sister, Whitney & I (& Branden & Wiley) went to the movie, stood in line for 1 1/2 hours for a decent seat, & got to see Edward on the big screen. Yes, I felt a bit dorky, but it was fun. The movie was good, but the books are better... and we had fun!

Eli & Madelyn helped me make sugar cookies. They did the decorating... they love sprinkles!

They were both very proud of their "beautiful" designs. I'm just glad that we only make sugar cookies a couple times of year!

It's that wonderful time of year! The time of year I love best... one reason being because of all they yummy treats around! My mom's family is known for candy making. Through the years I was growing up, it was tradition for my mom & her sisters to get together the Saturday after Thanksgiving to make candy together ... I'm talking good candy! Like caramels, butter mints, fudge, fondant, penoche... all that rich, buttery, fattening stuff you eat once a year. It hasn't worked out the last few years to get together, so Heather, my mom & I have made our own tradition of making candy every holiday season. Our favorites are pecan logs, almond balls, caramels & this year we tried butter mints. Heather had a couple days off, so we got started.

We always have a lot of fun making candy; listening to Christmas music, making our Christmas lists, reminiscing our past Christmas' when we were the kids anxiously awaiting.

I love my sisters & my mom. They are so good to me. They are my best girlfriends! We laugh a lot, drink a lot of Diet Coke & have the best time ever... of course by the time we are done, none of us wants to eat any candy! At least not for a day or two!

We tried to make "Salty Nut Roll Fudge" it is so, so good. They have recently started selling it in our local toy store, Magical Moon. Unfortunately I was in there when they were just starting & offered free samples. I am not a real fudge person, but wow, this is awesome. So after searching on the Internet, I found a recipe for the vanilla fudge, & Heather & I made our first attempt to make the real, old fashioned, beat it with a wooden spoon forever fudge... it was good, not Magical Moon, but hey it was our first try!