January, According to my iPhone

January is always such a long hard month.  Luckily we had our St. George trip to break things up a bit. AND... we finished our basement!!!  I still can hardly believe that we did it all.  When it's all put together I'll have to do a post about it.

*Happy New Year to all our friends and family!  Thank you for the Christmas cards, they are one of my favorite things about Christmas

*Sydney opening her time capsule from last year... sock puppet, drawings, sunglasses, a stuffed turtle, and a my little pony

*The kids trying out their new umbrellas in the blizzard...

*Sleeping on my lap... my favorite

*Shelves.  In my storage room.  In my basement.  There are no words... #giddy

 *1st day in Primary!!! My kids are getting too big.

*Playing on the Leap Pad

*Oh my stars!  I can't believe it... We are actually done!  #justacoupleofpainttouchups #nowweneedsomefurniture #excitementatourhouse!

*Sitting on Grandma and Grandpa's geese... affectionately named Lucy and Goosey.

*Just watching a little Iron Chef on our new couch in the basement... pun intended

*Smart girl... pulled out a big blanket and laid down all the way underneath... just like her mama #tryingtogetwarm #readyforspring

Our First Family Vacation

After a month of not seeing the sun (nice Utah inversions)... and these kind of temperatures...

(Yes, that says 1 degree)  I decided that I really couldn't take it anymore.  I needed a break from the weary, dreary, freezing weather.  So I was texting Matt on a Friday afternoon, and told him we should just go to St. George.  He liked the idea, so I began packing, and as soon as Matt got home, we got in the car and drove down there!  I was so happy to see this temperature (at 11 o'clock at night even!)...

It actually was the first vacation we have ever taken as a family.  We've been on "vacations" before, but always to visit family, so this was pretty special and exciting.  It was just the four of us, doing whatever we wanted, and having fun!  The kids were so excited when we got to the hotel room.  They loved the TV.  Cooper was very concerned and kept asking if we brought his toothpaste, and Sydney was so excited to be somewhere "hot."  They loved the continental breakfasts at the hotel and eating out for other meals.

Saturday was a rainy day, so we headed to the indoor pool and went swimming, because you have to swim when you are in St. George... and yay!  It was warm enough to rain!  Above freezing was great in our book!

The kids had so much fun swimming and were exhausted after... I love it when Cooper sleeps like this...

That night we went to the Pizza Factory... the best in St. George!  And we went bowling at Dixie Bowl.  Good old Dixie Bowl... so many memories for me there.

On Sunday, we packed up and went to visit the temple and go on a little walk in the red rocks before we hit the road... it was so fun!

Families are Forever!

Trying to run away from his shadow...

I seriously could not stop smiling the entire trip.  The sun came out on Sunday, and the blue skies were so invigorating!  I'm so glad that we made the last minute decision to take this little trip.  We had so much fun!  It is definitely something we will have to do again!

December, According to my i-Phone

December is such an exciting month and we sure stayed busy!

Cocoa and Toast for dinner... yumm!

Lexi made the kids "Santa" courtesy cones!

So happy that Matt bought us a nice, fake tree with lights on it already!  #puttingthelightsonisalwaysmyjob #frompastexperiencethissavedme4daysofwork #wealwaysrunoutoflightsmidway

Trying on shoes.. #wowwhatapick!

A monumental day in our marriage... We finally have a QUEEN mattress!  #wehavehadafullonefor7years! #itseemshuge!

Cooper's saying his part in our preschool program

Sydney saying her part in our preschool program

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Up on the Housetop

Joseph and Mary at the Holmes Family Christmas Party

Met Mrs. Claus!

Baking... #christmasgifts

Letters to Santa today... better late than never... every time I ask them what they want, they come up with something new.

Sydney's letter... Complete with a picture of her with Santa, Rudolph, and a snowman, as well as our house number so he knows where to go... #cantgetenoughofherdrawings

Gingerbread houses with the fam... The sisters' house!

We won!  But it was close with Matt,  Michael, and Cooper's house...

Cuddling her new baby... she named her Lizzy

Pulled over to show Cooper the "reindeer" #itsallaboutthelittlethings

New Bedding!  Matt spoiled me... I love it!

First time at the dentist! #nocavities

Cooper and I had cleanings too... He did awesome for his first time!  #nocavities

PAINTING!!! Ahhhhh!  So stinkin excited!

Dinner, dessert, and a movie... #newyearscelebrations

Christmas!

Christmas was so great this year!  The kids are the perfect ages.  They love everything about it, and are just so excited.  It really is magical to watch Christmas through their eyes.  On Christmas Eve I dropped and broke my camera... so all of my pictures since then are crappy phone pictures, but at least I have a pretty good camera on my phone!

Sugar cookies and chocolate milk for Santa... then off to bed!

I love seeing it all set up, just waiting for the kids to wake up...

Good Morning!

So excited about her new dollhouse, just like Emily's and Sadie's that she wouldn't stop playing with in AZ

New clothes!

We enjoyed Christmas day... and didn't even change out of our jammies.  The toys stayed in the kitchen for about a week, and the kids were never upstairs.  We enjoyed spending time together as a family, and especially loved being together during the Christmas season.  It is such a special time of year, and we always love learning about the birth of Christ.