'Tis the Season

. . .to get behind on just about everything that isn't holiday related.

We had a great Christmas. I spent a lot of time feeling like was two or three steps behind of where I wanted to be but it was all good.

At the beginning of December, I went to Festival of Trees with Rachel and Caleb. Emma opted out because she had a huge project she needed to work on for school. We loved looking at the gingerbread houses and the trees. I realized it was time to go home when I noticed Caleb squat walking (think of how a chimpanzee walks) because he said his legs were tired. I wish we would have taken a picture of that. Hilarious!




Doesn't Caleb look like he's having a great time? His teacher Miss Dewey always decorates a tree for the Festival. It's something that the second graders always look forward to doing. See how excited he is about looking for "his" tree amid the acres and acres of Christmas trees?

It was an electronic Christmas for our family. Rachel and Emma both got an ipod nano each. They've been using them almost constantly since Christmas.

Caleb got a Nintendo DS which I think will become permanently fused to his hands.

I got an ipod touch that I'm afraid to say I've been touching almost excessively. There are no pictures of me on Christmas morning due, the perks of being in control of the camera.

Brad got a DVD player which came in handy because we've watched many episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which Brad got for the entire family.

Before you think, "Boy, those Millers are plugged in." We got other things that don't require an external energy source. Emma got a simplified hymn book for the piano. She is teaching herself to play the piano. She doesn't like people telling her what to do so we don't have her in lessons. She's on the piano at least an hour a day and she's getting really good. There are books and puzzles that the family is enjoying as well.

Brad got a snow shovel from the family which came in really handy because it snowed about a foot and a half on Christmas morning.

We went to Brad's parents in Provo and had a huge Christmas feast with most of the relatives. Those who couldn't make it this year were sorely missed.

This year Sara, Rachel and Hunter got to sit at the adult's table. I'm not sure they enjoyed the conversation about the real estate market but I'm sure they enjoyed the company.

After spending the afternoon at the Millers, we headed over to my parents house and had another huge Christmas Feast of prime rib. It was hard to eat another huge meal, but somehow we managed.

Emma and I both got coats, we didn't know they would be so similar. After looking at the pictures, I didn't realize that Emma and I are so similar. She looks like a younger and prettier version of me.

Here we are trying to look cool, I think Emma is doing a much better job of it than I am.

We had the Triplett's stay with us for a few days, which is always a treat. The girls went shopping the day after Christmas to look for dresses for Caroline's wedding. We were there for six hours and I came up with nothing. So depressing. Everyone else found some great dresses though. How hard can it be to find the perfect little black dress? Apparently for me, very.

Valerie and I went skiing with our girls. It was beautiful and very cold. I didn't tear any crucial ligaments, which is always a bonus.

We rang in the new year watching a couple of episodes of MST 3K and had sushi, pot stickers and miso for dinner. I was forcefully reminded of the fact that Emma and Caleb get really grumpy when they go to bed too late.

The best part of the season was to spend time with the people that we love. Words can't adequately describe how much I love my family, both immediate and extended. Everyone is relatively healthy and happy, what more could I ask for?

Life is good.