My "best" of 2009

Brandon took 1st place in the Big Horn Nationals. 8 and under 40 pounds...

Family days spent at the pool...

Tap Out...I love that your a rough and tough boy one minute and a cuddle bug the next

Alyssa dancing the roll of Fritz in the 2009 Nutcracker. She was amazing and we were very proud!

1st place in a California Jiu Jitsu tournament

Watching Alyssa dance.

More family days...

Brandon was in the spelling bee

Alyssa graduated from the DARE program

We always love to watch her dance...

Brandon took 1st place in the Beehive Brawl...6 and under 40 pounds

Another great year with my hubby....we marked 11 years of marriage in January

Brandon placed 3rd in the state for Greco, Freestyle and Folkstyle

My best friend, Jess, had a beautiful baby girl in March

Gabriella took her 1st steps...FINALLY at 16 months old


2009 was good to us. Sure, like everyone else we had our share of ups and downs with the crappy economy, but we made it through. I could go on and on with a list of things that made 2009 a special/memorable year for both good and bad reasons. I'll spare you all of that. :) I learned a lot this year. I discovered that I have a pretty awesome family. Always knew I did, but this year made me see how blessed I am. I'm looking forward to 2010...it will be intresting to see what this year has in store for us. :)

Rose Petal Cottage

Let me first say that Gabriella LOVES her house. It's so cute and though when it's all set up it takes up a TON of room, it does pack away nicely.
Now, allow me to vent. The instructions to put it together SUCKED! building the frame....piece of cake. Putting the LARGE canvas cover on. Well, I just about went crazy. It didn't help that a certain way excited someone kept going in the house...
in the end the cottage is all put together. I have enjoyed many home cooked meals prepared especially for me by Gabriella in her washer machine. She's a happy girl so that means I am a happy mommy.

Christmas at Great Grandmas

Christmas Morning...

We had a great Christmas. Thanks for all Jeff's long hours at work we were able to provide everything on the kids lists and never once touched a credit card. YAY!
Santa brought LOTS of Legos, Little People, a Netbook computer for Alyssa and TONS of other things too. I purchased a new cell phone for Jeffrey as his gift. I was so proud of myself...thinking I had actually kept a secret. Come to find out after the fact I had the stupid shipping confirmation emailed to Jeff. DUH!
I can't believe another Christmas has come and gone. Time really does fly!

Gift of Lights

Besides the bright flash of the camera this girl is in heaven...Starbucks and Christmas lights...life is good!



Our yearly tradition is the Gift of Lights at Sunset Park. The kids and I along with Grandma make the drive thru trip every year. This year was extra fun as Gabriella LOVES Christmas lights!

Brandon's Class Party...

The Friday before Christmas I was able to sneak away from work early and Gabriella and I got to help out in Brandon's class.
I LOVE his teacher. I have to admit as a member of the PTA we are usually given the choice of teachers. She was not my 1st choice...mainly because I really didn't know much about her. Again I say this is a time where God stepped in. She is so good with him. She is very involved and loves what she does. I am so thankful for her!
They made "moose munch" aka popcorn, pretzels, white chocolate and I think nuts all mixed up. They also sang Jingle Bells and Gabriella joined in too. I'm glad I had the chance to be there. I know Brandon was excited to have his sister in class to show off. :)

Christmas at my moms...

On Christmas Eve we celebrated Christmas with my mom and sister, Julie. As usual the kids were showered with TONS of gifts. Jeff and I got our new Oven...wooo hooo. I tell you, I love having a nice new oven. We've been busy baking. Brandon got a bunch of Lego sets, Alyssa got her American Girl doll...I believe it was Chrissa. That one with the one Santa brought brings her total of American Girl dolls to 5. Gabriella got the entire Rose Petal Cottage set! (more to come on that)
Of course they also got clothes and other toys too. Jeff was sick that night and was supposed to work. Lucky for us...he was sent home and was able to enjoy a little bit of the night. Even if it was just to build a Lego set.

A jumbled mess I call my thoughts...

It would be pointless to say that this time of year is hectic. Of course, everyone knows this already.
This year I had the pleasure of putting together the angel tree program at Brandon's school. It's something we as a PTA have done for years...this was my first time organizing it. All the families that we helped have children that attend Brandon's school. It was a crazy and somewhat stressful project trying to get everything organized. Calling the families, setting up the tree, making the gift tags to put on the tree, finding the time to get to the school EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. However, this morning I made my final delivery to a wonderful and deserving family and I got it. I was reminded about what Christmas was really about. I found myself sitting in my van, counting my blessings for the things I have and suddenly the feelings of "my kids won't have enough to open" all seemed to disappear and I realized none of that really mattered anyways.
I think about how stressed Mary felt on the first "Christmas"...
I mean, really. She was what, 14? 9 months pregnant riding on a donkey. Can you imagine the stress of that alone? She delivered her baby on the ground in a stable...
somewhere between then and now Christmas has lost it's meaning. I'm just as guilty as the next.
That all being said...

The kids are excited as ever for Santa's grand arrival. Alyssa and I made about 8 dozen cookies the other night...sadly the flour must have been bad and the cookies suck. Tis the season!
Jeff is sick...
I'm sure all the hours he has been working and his total lack of sleep has not helped the situation...poor daddy.
I'm off all next week!! I am THRILLED to death for some time off. I have big plans to clean the house. I know, I really should contain myself! :)
Gifts are wrapped, cards are sent, cookies are made (even if they do suck)...so I say...bring it on!!

Random pictures...

Just because she is so darn cute...

Alyssa and Great Grandma at the Nutcracker

Alyssa and Elizabeth after the Nutcracker

A Little Late...

But late is better then never and since I like to keep this blog as a memory type thing for my family I wanted to include our annual trip to the Boulder City Christmas parade. Jeff and Brandon were away that weekend wrestling in Salt Lake City so it was just the girls and I...and of course Grandma and Aunt Julie too.
Gabriella was very much into the parade, but then again she loves anything Christmas! It was so cold that night too, which made it even better. I love when it actually feels like Christmas and not 60 degrees outside.
We look forward to the parade every year and despite it's "lameness" it's a great way to kick off the Christmas season!

Ugly sweater Christmas Party

Last night, Alyssa's confirmation class had an ugly sweater Christmas party. I thought Alyssa was going to die wearing this sweater...it's just sooo not cool.
We saw some "lovely" sweaters and Alyssa's teacher said hers was the ugliest one he had ever seen. I have to admit it is pretty bad. :)

Nothing makes an upset tummy feel better like a good snuggle with Brando.

I love that they love each other so much.

Just because...

The look on their faces says it all...I take entirely too many pictures! LOL

On the good list??

True Brandon fashion...don't mind the bandana...

Besides the true meaning of Christmas...the best part of the holiday is Santa.
This is the first official year that Alyssa has come out of the closet and admitted that the cat is outta the bag. I knew it was coming...shes 11, but it still makes me sad. Thankfully, I still have Brandon and Gabriella to keep Santa alive and it's been fun shopping and plotting with Alyssa. She's a great sport and has as much fun as Jeff and I with it.
This year Brandon is REALLY into it. He was excited and nervous to see Santa yesterday and I could see by the way he looked at him that he really does believe. How fun! I got him a shirt this year that says "Santa...I can explain"
so perfect for him!

Santa...

Yesterday I took the kids to see Santa. You'll be glad to know this was the real Santa as Brandon has become quite the expert in pointing out the "imposters"...as he calls it. :)
Gabriella didn't cry, though she was a little uncertain. She was fine as long as she was being held by Alyssa or standing at a distance. She had lots of kisses to blow at him. So sweet.
Afterwards, we did our traditional stop in Build a bear. This year Alyssa made Holly the moose and Brandon made Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Gabriella slept...

Waiting...the line was crazy. It was a long hour and 15 minutes we waited to see the magical guy,so worth it though.



Brandon refused to wear his antlers...they were "too immature"