Merry Christmas

    Sunday night we went to Janice’s Christmas party (Sandy’s side of the family).  It was a night full of delicious food, fun games, great gifts and lots of laughs! 

 Our cute little Christmas elf Eleni

 Playing the "left" "right" game

 Janice has been on a major health kick and has lost about 150 lbs!  She looks amazing and so Sandy bought her this to celebrate haha!

 Parks loving his gift from JJ

 All the babes just LOVE LOVE LOVE their grammy!

 Unfortunately some people at the party were sick and it was the start of a chain reaction of sickness going throughout the fam.

    Monday was Christmas Eve.  It snowed pretty much the entire day.  I ran to the gym in the morning.  That afternoon we met my family for a game of bowling.  The wait took forever but once we finally got a lane we had a blast.  Whit found this adorable jacket both she and I wore when we were little.  So fun to see Sadie in it now!

 Our balls kept getting stuck so one game ended up taking 2 ½ hours, but the kids were in heaven.

 Grandma moments before she fell flat on her face....

 Blake getting some pointer from Sadie

 Which is real and which is fake?!? Cute Kesha is only 4 weeks away from having baby girl Scott and we are all soooo excited!

 Literally this kids is smiling like this ALL day everyday!

 He loves uncle Blake!

 After the kids naps we all met at my mom’s house.  Usually we go see the lights at temple square but by the time we all got there it was getting pretty late so we decided to just start dinner.  Grandpa was able to leave Aspen Ridge and spend the night with us.  The kids loved going for rides in Grandpa's wheel chair!

 Grandpa looked so happy to be out of there and with family.  We enjoyed my mom’s delicious cooking and then the kids dressed up in Nativity costumes and my mom read the nativity story to them.

 My cute grandparents, a perfect pair!

  After dinner it was present time.  As usual we all got spoiled rotten!

  My parents have needed a new grill for a very look time and so all of us kids went in together on one. We hid it at Millers until Christmas Eve.

My parents were very excited and surprised!

 I gave Blake one of his gifts that night so everyone could see it.

 It was a framed picture of his dad on his mission in Germany, him on his mision in Germany and both of them together in Germany all in similar yellow fields, he loved it!

 Blake and I were supposed to sleep at Sadie’s that night so we could see what Santa brought but I had the bug that went around Millers and just wanted to get home to my own bed.  We soaked in the hot tub for a bit before bed, but it was a rough night without much sleep.

    Tuesday was Christmas.  We slept in and then opened our presents for each other.  Blake was too good to me and got me all I wanted and even more!  I got a Ninja Blender, Raclette Maker, running shoes and some cloths, I’m a lucky girl!  We went over to Nick and Kesha’s after to have brunch with everyone.  The boys were beyond excited to show us what Santa brought.  It was the cutest thing ever!  

 Their favorite gift was bunk beds!

 Grandpa and ma were able to come with my parents for brunch as well so that was really fun.  It was great to see Grandpa light up as he watched the kids excitement, for a while I think he was able to forget about his health problems.  After brunch we went home and got ready for the day and then went to Whit’s to see what Santa brought her kids.  Nothing better than kids at Christmastime!  Spencer got a Lightening McQueen rocking horse and was in heaven riding it.

 Sadie’s favorite 2 things were her new dollhouse and her karaoke machine.  She got the Hairspray soundtrack and gave me quite the performance!

 We left her house and headed to Sandy’s for Christmas dinner.  We did presents before we ate.  The kids went first and got some really great things.  Nana always knows exactly what to get!

 We all did a gift exchange with each other after and Blake and I got awesome presents from Jamyn and Mikko......definitely had a major horse theme going on all night haha. 

Seriously can't get enough of Eleni and those chubby cheeks!

Love these girlies!

Blake and I in our festive Christmas shirts we got each other!

We enjoyed some of Sandy’s amazing cooking after and enjoyed all our new fun stuff!  By the end of the night I was exhausted and not feeling too hot so we called it a night pretty early.

    Wednesday Blake was back to work.  I still wasn’t feeling the best but had so much to do anyways.  I went to the mall to do some Christmas exchanges and it was a nightmare between the crowds and the snow.  On my way home I ran to the gym for a bit.  That night we went to Sandy’s to eat Christmas leftovers and then we met up with some more of the fam to go see Les Miserables.  

To say the movie was amazing would be a serious understatement.  It was one of the best I’ve ever seen and I need to see it again! 

    Thursday morning I was still sick.  I went to the gym but took it easy.  I ran some errands and got a baby shower gift and then went to Aspen Ridge to spend time with my Grandpa.  He was thrilled to have a visitor and it was great spending time with him and reminiscing on all our good times.  When I left there I met Alisha for a lunch date.  Her little girl Savannah is getting so big and kept us laughing the whole time, what a cutie! When I got home I decided to start taking Christmas down.  I was sooo sad to do it but decided I may as well get it done while I’m not working.  After Blake got off work we went to the temple with his parents, Preston and Jamyn.  I love going to the temple so much, especially with family.  It was a perfect night.  We grabbed dinner after at Simply Thai.  Jamyn and I are Thai freaks and go any chance we get!  When I got home I was feeling super sick and didn’t sleep well that night.

    Friday morning Blake told me I was never going to get better if I didn’t rest.  I had an easy day resting at the house.  I finished putting Christmas away and did some cleaning.   That night we met Preston and Jamyn at Scheels.  The boys were in heaven and didn’t ever want to leave!  Finally my belly was growling too loud so I dragged Blake out so we could get some dinner.  We all went to dinner at Pei Wei and then came back to our house to watch a movie.  I had another rough night and didn’t sleep well because I couldn’t stop coughing up that thick green mucus….tmi I know!

    Saturday morning I went to a shower for my cousin’s wife Jessica with my mom.  After the shower I went to visit my Grandpa with my mom.  He’s definitely doing better but emotionally he’s having a hard time dealing with everything that is going on and how much his life has changed.  My mom and I had a delicious lunch at Pizzeria Limone.  We went to my house after and picked up Blake.  We went to Tmobile and got my mom on our family plan….finally off Cricket!  She got her first smart phone and I know she’s gonna love it!  We went to City Creek for a bit and then I started feeling super sick.  We dropped my mom off at Iggy’s for dinner with my dad.  I laid down on the couch and felt like crap.  We had a low-key rest of the night.  One of Blake closest friends, Ryan, was in town for the holidays so he stopped by to visit.  It was so good to see him!  I had another rough night and kept waking myself up coughing.

    This morning I still don’t feel very good, ugh I’m sick of being sick!  I still can’t believe Christmas has come and gone already.  It was perfect and we loved spending time with all the people we love!

Leaving Atlanta and So Many Cute Kiddos!

        After I finished posting my blog last week one of the other wives that was in Atlanta as well called to see if I wanted to join her for a pedicure.  I don't remember that last time I've gotten one of those and so I just could not say no!  It was glorious and we had some fun girl talk!  We went back to the hotel after and met our hubbys to head to dinner with some of the people from work.  My new flip flops totally matched my shirt but Blake made me change gosh dang it! 

We ate at PF Changs and it was so yummy!  We stayed for a long time chatting and laughing our butts off!

    Tuesday morning I went to the gym when blake left for work.  I met the other wives, Jana and Brandis, in the lobby after to eat some breakfast at the hotel.  We decided we needed to have a girls day.  We headed into a cute little town, Gainsville, and had a fun little day.  We started at the cutest tea shop that had a spa, jewelry shop and cafe.  Jana and I got a couples massage haha, nothing bonds girls like getting massages in the same room haha!  After the massages we went to the cafe and had a delicious lunch!  Such a cute little place, I wish there was one closer to home!  After our nice relaxing day we walked into some of the cutest little boutiques and did some shopping.  The day went by way too fast! So fun getting to know these cute ladies!

 We got home and got ready for the company party that night.  We had dinner at a place called Poor Richards with the Atlanta Team.  It was fun to get to know more people on the team.  They did a raffle for an iPad mini and we won!!!! I never win anything!!!  It was short lived though because Blake didn't feel right taking the prize from the Atlanta team, who the party was for, so he did a drawing at work the next day.  It was sure fun while it lasted!

    Wednesday morning Blake went into work for a few hours.  I went to the gym and then packed up my bags.  Jana and I went to the office for a bit to say goodbye to everyone and grab our husbands.  We had one last lunch with a few people from the office and then headed to the airport.  Blake was so glad he had the chance to finally meet all the people he's been working with and put a face to the name.  I also had such a fun relaxing weekend.  We are so grateful his kinds bosses gave us the chance to have such a great week together!  Blake parents picked us up from the airport that night and we went over to their house for a bit.  Pres and Jamyn met us there so we could plan our next adventure.  Jamyn and I decided since we were both scuba certified we needed to plan a scuba trip for this summer.  We've been talking about it for ages but finally decided we needed to book it and make it happen.  We found some great deals and it looks this April we're going to the Grand Cayman WOOT WOOT, Merry Christmas to us!

    Thursday morning it was back to the daily grind.  I was back to work, which actually felt kind of nice.  I worked at Dr. Dastrup's office and it was a great day.  After work I went to a cycling class and then grabbed some take out for Blake and I.  We got to babysit his cousin's cute baby, Lola.  We are both obsessed with babies and take any chance we get to have a snuggle session!  She was a angel all night, even though she did puke down my shirt when I was burping her haha.  She was born the same day as Eleni but is 2 lbs smaller.  They are the 2 cutest babes ever and we just can't get enough of holding them!

 She loved watching tv with Blake.....he always hogs the babies!

 They fell asleep cuddling....this picture melts my heart!

    Friday morning I cleaned the house for a bit and then decided to get my groceries before the major Christmas crowds hit.  I went to Costco 15 min before the opened.  I couldn't find a parking spot and there was already a massive line from the door wrapping around the building, seriously people?!? I really underestimated Christmas craziness!  I tried to get in and out as fast as I could.  When I got home I went for a run and then spent the rest of the day doing laundry and cleaning the house.  That night we watched Nicole and Mikkos kids.  We are so lucky to have so many cute kids in our family that we get to play with all the time!  We ate dinner at Black Bear Diner.  They had a balloon man and the kids were in heaven!

 Izzy loved her flower!

 Parks just wanted to squeeze his dog, thank goodness it never popped!

 Dinner was great but we learned a few lessons about eating out with kids.....1. don't order each kid their own meal, they don't much 2. ask if drinks come with the meal, otherwise you get stuck paying $2.50 per drink.....whoopsies!  When we got back to the house we got in the hot tub.  The kids were in heaven jumping in the snow and then getting back in the warm water.  Even Parker kept asking Blake OUT OUT....IN IN, he loved to stand on the snow!

We all fell asleep watching cartoons, 4 kids definitely wears you out in a hurry!  Good thing they are so cute and fun to be with!

    Saturday morning I woke up with a massive headache.  When I stepped out of bed I thought I was gonna puke, so I went right back to bed.  Blake went pheasant hunting with Preston.  Blake hates getting up early but if it is anything involving Preston he'll get up way before the sun comes up!  Those two have way too much fun together.  Blake loves getting to use his guns and word on the street is that he never misses a shot!

Once I finally got up I decided to go for a run.  It was a gorgeous day and it felt so good!  After I got home Blake and I had some Christmas errands to run.  We stopped by Scott and Lindsay's house to hold Eleni.  It's amazing how much they change in just one week!  We headed to Pres and Sandy's for a bit and then ran our errands.  We had a yummy dinner at my fav, Dasks.  When we got home we got in the hot tub to warm up and then snuggled up to watch a movie.  

    This morning we're just hanging around the house and getting ready for church.  Another fun week, wow we are blessed!