More Christmas

So when I said I would post something new so you didn’t see anything about Christmas anymore- well I kind of lied. I realize that I never did post about Christmas Day! I just added pics- sorry they are a bit grainy- but you get the point!

We woke up to mounds of snow and a blizzard outside. We were supposed to be at my parent’s by 7:30 (haven’t people heard of sleeping in?) so we got cleaned up and Russell got all our stuff loaded into the truck (we figured it would be best cuz it’s 4-wheel drive). It looked quite funny because we barely had room for us with all the presents and stuff we had in there! We made the trek to the parent’s house okay and were surprised we were the last ones there. Everyone was there this year, including the clan from Idaho. It was fun to have a house full. My mom and dad still do stockings for the kids so we all got our assigned stockings and pulled out all the goodies. We get mostly the same things each year but I always love it because it’s things like socks and shaving cream- things you need but don’t always want to buy. We even got vitamins in our stockings this year thanks to my Dad J After we did stockings we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls and juice. It was so yummy and much more healthy than a bunch of sugar cookies! (though I still had some of those too!)

We then moved on to the fun part- presents!! Each of the siblings draw names and this year Russell and I had Jacob and Missy. We had lots of fun opening gifts and also seeing the nieces and nephews open theirs. I got some fun things from Kirk (aka Missy ha ha) and Russell got some great things from Jacob.

*My cute plug-in Scentsy warmer (with a cute face to match!)*

*Russell's new target- which I hope makes it out of the box this year*

*Two fabulous new bags- yes I love them!*

*Russell's new two burner stove- much better than the single burner one we have at home! (and never use ha ha)*

*Jewelry and purses- what more could a girl want?*

*Russell loves unwrapping gifts- especially those left right in the bag!*

*Cute pink shirt- thanks Kirk!*

One big thing I did for Russell’s Christmas was a quilt. I started it around October and it took me about 2 months to complete it. I would go over during my lunch or after work a few times a week and work on it at my parent’s house. My mom was a huge help and even did all the cutting for me! Thanks Mom! The finished product was great and Russell really loves it. (I think I was more excited about it than he was!)

*How's that for surprised!*



*I made him unfold it to see all the hard work I did!*


We spent a good part of the day hanging out at my parent's house enjoying homemade Cafe Rio salads and spending time with family. Russell had to work that night so we headed home that afternoon. I had hoped to go back to my parent's that night and hang out more with my family but it was snowing so hard and since we didn't get a chance to shovel, I couldn't get my car out of the garage! So I just chilled at home and it was rather nice! As most of you know, the snow continued to fall throughout the weekend and I was stuck at home- until I convinced Russell to let me take him to work so I could have the truck. I'll have to post some pics of the snow we got at our house- it was crazy!

Stay Tuned....

To all you people who stalk my blog, I have to apologize for being such a slacker in my postings lately! I bet you are sick of seeing the Christmas entry and are hoping there is more to our lives than Christmas. (I hope not to disappoint) Well, you are in luck!! I plan to post a few things today and tomorrow- so- stay tuned!!

Merry Christmas To Us!

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. You spend so much time preparing and anticipating the day, and then it's just over! We had a great Christmas this year. Russell and I decided to open our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve- since Russell had to work that night and we were spending Christmas day with my family. So technically these pics should have been included with the Christmas Eve pictures-but I decided they should be under our Christmas Day post!

The dogs even got their presents a day early- and boy did they love them!! As you can see, they are waiting patiently for Russell to hand over the goods. We didn't dare put their stuff in their stockings (yes, they have stockings!) because we knew they would try and eat them. (yeah that never happens! ha ha) I swear, they can smell treats a mile away. They each got a candy cane shaped rawhide and a bag of bacon/chicken treats.

*The "boys" stockings are the green ones with red paws on the front*

Russell and I then opened our gifts from each other. Russell did an awesome job on his shopping this year and I loved everything I got. Some of the items came off my wish list- but some items he selected all by himself! Like this cute red sweater:

*he also gave it to me in pink- he knows me too well!*

Russell was great and wrapped all my gifts- and even put bows on them :) He could care less if stuff is wrapped but he knows that I love to unwrap things.

I had to get creative with my wrapping on some of Russell's gifts:

*Nothing better than a Victoria Secret bag with something from Sportsman's inside!*

*One of the many tools Russell got for Christmas*

*Russell's new favorite coat*

We both got lots of fun things- it was great! I am lucky to have a husband who spoils me- and I love to spoil Russell! I do have to mention that no only did Russell give me an 8 pack of lip smackers for my birthday (see earlier post), I got another 8 pack for Christmas!! Oh my, I will have beautiful glossy lips for months- years!- to come :)

On Christmas Day I forgot my camera when we went to my parents house. Other family members (Carlye) took pictures for us- so as soon as they email them to me I will post more. I gave Russell one more gift on Christmas day that was a big surprise to him and took me a long time to make! I'll post more pics later!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was such a fun day. I had to work a half day but my work ended up taking us all to a movie at noon so it wasn't too bad. Russell was able to take it easy during the day, but then he had to work that night so he wasn't able to join us for the festivities at my parent's house. It was fun- but not the same without him. I definitely missed him!

We got together with my mom's side of the family and started out with a yummy dinner. Here are the sisters (minus Ali, who was still getting ready) before dinner started:

*Jill, Carlye, Linsey & Missy*

After dinner we gathered in the family room where we acted out the manger scene. We haven't done this in a long time and it was fun (a little unorganized- but fun! haha) Ali and Darin brought down some great props and the younger kids got to act it out. (and a few of the "older" kids)

*Wise men bearing gifts*

After we did the manger scene we watched a fun movie that my aunt put together. It was a bunch of pictures from Bear Lake vacations from the past 10 years that she put to music- it was funny to see how cute we looked back then and reminisce of the fun times. We then did gifts and just visited. The two older nieces got to open a gift from grandma and grandpa that they were so excited about. My mom made them Disney princess blankets of their very own! They were a hit.

We then called it a night so that Santa could come visit! It was a lot of fun and fun to be with such great family!

*An attempt at a picture by the Christmas tree*

Help!

So I have tried to change the main picture on my blog but it keeps making it larger than life! How do I get it to just be normal size like the one on there right now?

Christmas Cookies

I figure that at the rate I'm going, I may have Christmas all blogged about by the end of January! I don't know why but things have been particularly busy (especially at work) and my blogging time has taken a big hit. I hope you don't mind reading about my Christmas in January- if so- check back in a few weeks and I may be caught up :)

Ever since I can remember, we have made frosted sugar cookies at Christmas time. In fact, we call them Christmas cookies. It wasn't until I was a little older that I realized that you could actually make them any time of the year- not just at Christmas! I LOVE frosted sugar cookies and could easily devour the entire batch myself! Since it seems we only make them around Christmas, it is one of my favorite things about Christmas. When we were kids we would go to my Grandma's and make a whole bunch in every Christmas shape imaginable. My aunts would come join us and we had such a good time. Grandma was such a good sport and let us make all sorts of interesting colored frosting and put on gobs of sprinkles. After my grandma passed, my wonderful aunts have been so great to carry on this tradition. It truly would not be Christmas without the cookies- and we would go hungry Christmas morning without them around!

This year we met a few days before Christmas and made several dozen delicious cookies. Everyone helped in the cutting out of the shapes, the frosting, and of course, the taste testing. Even the younger nieces and nephews helped out. They were especially great at the frosting (as you can see from the pics below) Here are a few pics of the fun event! Thanks to my wonderful aunts who do this with us every year- even though we are all grown up now! They know how much it means to us and even though its probably a big pain for them- we really enjoy it and look forward to it every year.

*Kennedy and Brooklyn did an awesome frosting job on these cookies for Santa- and really outdid themselves with the sprinkles! (Hope Santa doesn't choke)*

It's the Thought That Counts

It’s the thought that counts when it comes to giving gifts- right? Let’s hope, because this year, my neighbor gifts were somewhat of a flop. They tasted delicious, but on the presentation, well they looked like crap! (at least the tins and plates we used to put them on were cute)

I had this fabulous idea to use my new cookie press (bought from none other than Collections Etc. for $10) and present my neighbors with cookies that melted in your mouth and looked like this:

*As you can see- my cookie press isn't as fancy as the one above- what do expect for $10*

Much to my horror and dismay, I was not so lucky. I should have known there would be problems when the cookie recipe on the cookie press was measure in grams. Uh- ok. Luckily the ever helpful internet had several to choose from. When reading the instructions on how to use the cookie press, there were several misspellings- including the word cookie itself. They spelled it cocky! After these two red flags I should have known better than to proceed- but I did! I made the super fattening (4 cubes of butter!) dough and loaded up the cookie press ready to make beautiful cookies. This is what I got:

*The one on the left is supposed to be a Christmas tree, the one on the right a wreath- pretty sad!

I knew something wasn’t right when my cookies looked more like piles of turd than Christmas trees or wreaths. I resorted again to the internet and found some instructions on how to use the cookie press- important details the originally instructions left out!! I must say that the remaining batches turned out much better but still had some difficulties. I did still give them to my neighbors in hopes they would overlook the way they looked and just realize how delicious they were! I saved the first few batches of misfit cookies for the family to enjoy. My nephew Carter especially enjoyed them!

*The misfit cookies*

*My version of a poinsettia- they turned out better after I figured out how to do it right*


*Russell helping put bows and tags on things to give out*