Class of '99!

One of the highlights of our trip was getting together with some of my old friends from high school. Claire and Phil were in town from California and dropped by with their 3 adorable children. Scott and Mandy came too with their handsome little guy Seth (who Teya already has dibs on) and Joseph was there, although Melinda wasn't able to make it because she was feeling under the weather. It's funny how even after 9 years, when we get together it just feels like old times again. Joseph and Scott are still ridiculously funny with their witty banter and animated body language. Claire is ever the wonder woman chatter box with her big vocabulary and special "Clairisms" And I still just like to sit and laugh as everyone entertains me with their big personalities. We played an intense game of Catch Phrase, which sadly, the boys won. It was still lots of fun, although Melinda was sorely missed since she is my favorite Catch Phrase player of all time. Thanks to everyone for stopping by! I miss you all already!

Class of '99 alum (and Daniel)

Teya and her boyfriend Seth

Joseph and Scott being Joseph and Scott

White Christmas

Another benefit of coming home for the holidays was that Teya got to have a white Christmas, something that wouldn't have happened had we stayed in Tennessee. After opening presents Teya and Taber went out in the backyard to enjoy the snow while the girls went to work getting everything ready for Christmas dinner. Teya was so facinated by it, Taber said she could've stayed out there for hours, but eventually, the cold brought them back inside.

Christmas Morning

It's nice that Teya is still young enough that she doesn't wake us up at 5 in the morning to open presents. In fact, thanks to the fact that she was sleeping in a very dark closet, she slept in till 9:30 on Christmas morning! It was so nice sleeping in and being able to start the morning right with hot waffles for breakfast. Teya was still excited about opening presents and took her time to play with each thing that she opened. She was really in no hurry at all, and at one point, left her unopened presents to go back to her little table and eat some more waffles. She got lots of fun toys, books, and clothes, thanks to all her Grandparents, cousins, aunties and uncles. Thank you everybody!

I got a lot of cool things too, but I put up the picture of me opening up High School Musical 2 because as you can see from my face, that got me pretty excited! I also put in the picture of Taber with the frame that my sister's husband Kevin made for his MBA diploma. He did such a beautiful job, it was Taber's favorite present. Also in the running for favorite present, my little sister Liz got us gift certificates for 1 hour hot stone body massages at a spa in Provo with a coupon for babysitting so we could go together. We totally took adantage of that and it was AWESOME! Thanks again to the Uda family for having us out for a wonderful Christmas! We love you guys!

Christmas Eve

Spending Christmas in Utah was so much fun, especially because Teya got to be with all of her Uda cousins. On Christmas Eve we went over to my sister Rachel's house to have a Bethlehem dinner. Rachel made a delicious spread of finger foods that would've been traditional to eat at the time of Christ's birth. We all sat on the floor (except for the kids) and ate with our hands. It was really fun and created a very warm atmosphere. After dinner the kids sat and intently listened while I told them the story of the Christmas orange (Thanks Kathrine!) Then we did the nativity, which is always entertaining with toddlers and preschoolers! Teya was the angel but all she wanted to do was pet and kiss the baby Jesus and visit the food table for scraps. After the nativity each of the children got to open 1 present. Teya got a little stuffed elephant that she loved and carried around for the rest of the night. It was a night of trying out some new traditions and continuing with old ones. Everyone had such a fun time, thanks in most part to the presence of all the Grandchildren. Kids just make Christmas so much better!

Teya and her cousins at the kiddie table

The kids listening to the Christmas orange storyNativity
(yes,that's Teya on the floor bottom right, she was feeling camera shy)

Opening presents!

Celebrating 6 years of marital bliss!

It's hard to believe that 6 years ago Taber and I were just two giddy little college kids crazy in love and ready to start our journey through eternity together. In some ways it seems like it was only yesterday we sat in the celestial room, holding hands, waiting to be sealed. In 6 years we've been through many adventures. We've moved 6 times, earned 3 degrees, lived in 4 states, had a beautiful daughter, bought a new house, and traveled from coast to coast. I feel so blessed to married to such a wonderful, supportive, intelligent, fun loving, and amazing man.

For our anniversary we left Teya with Grandma and Grandpa and headed up to Salt Lake to stay overnight at the Hilton downtown. For our date went to dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial building, then we walked through temple square and looked at all the beautiful lights. It was so nice being on temple square with all the Christmas festivities going on. Later we hit the mall for some Christmas shopping and then went back to the hotel for dessert via room service (the only way to eat chocolate cake! yumm!!!) It was a very lovely anniversary and look forward to many many more!

Another tough day of traveling

Just 3 and 1/2 weeks after braving the airways with a toddler for Thanksgiving, we turned around and did it all over again to be in Utah with my family for Christmas. The almost 4 hour flight was one for the record books. A few things in the beginning hinted that it was going to be a very emotional trip. When we arrived at the airport we had to put our dog Monty in his little air travel bag. For some reason this really upset her and she started throwing a major fit fest in the ticketing line. She was crying big fat tears and kept saying, "Monty!! out! Monty! out!" After we calmed her down from that with some treats and distractions, we headed over to security and the tears started again. She didn't want us to take her shoes off to go through the scanning machine, and then she didn't want to be put down so I could take my shoes off. It was a rough trip through security but we finally made it to our gate. Anyway, we tried to get her to fall asleep for the whole 4 hour flight, but she just couldn't fall asleep. The last 30 minutes of the flight she was so exhausted that she just screamed out of discomfort and fatigue. Ironically the minute we landed she passed out on my shoulder and slept like a rock while we picked up our luggage and loaded the car. Poor tired little baby. You can tell from the picture it took a lot out of both of us! I definitely feel like I never want to fly with her again, but I must say, now that we're here in Utah and having such a great time with family, it does make it all seem worth it.

OpryMills

This weekend we headed up to Nashville to looks at the lights at OpryMills. It was SUPER crowded, being the 2nd to last weekend before Christmas, but it was still lots of fun and worth it to see the beautiful displays. Teya loved the lights and walked around in awe like she was in some kind of fantasy land. Her favorite part though was the water show in the Delta atrium. During the show she was bouncing around, pointing and laughing and totally enchanted by the water. As it got later and later her eyes got red and bloodshot, but she still refused to leave the water show. We finally snuck her away (with a fair amount of protesting) and headed home after a very lovely and Christmasy evening.

Tis the Season...

To be jolly, but also seems to be greedy, at least for little kids. Teya is still too young to really care one way or another about what she gets for Christmas, but how do we keep her from becoming a greedy gimmie kid in the years to come? If anyone has some advice in this area, I would greatly appreciate it. I want to know what you guys do to focus on the real meaning of Christmas with your kids and teach them that giving is more important than getting. (If you don't have kids yet, maybe share what your parents did to help you as a kid)

I was just thinking about this because my friend's niece just turned 11, and for her birthday party instead of asking for presents for herself, she asked her friends to bring presents for two families in the ward who needed some extra help. For the party the kids secretly delivered the gifts and then went back home for cake and ice cream. I was so amazed by that, I just kept thinking, how do I raise a kid like that? I came to the conclusion that obviously a big part needs to come from my example. I really get excited about my birthday and Christmas and usually have my "gimmie" list ready for Taber months in advance. So yeah, that's something I need to readjust. : ) But any other ideas you guys have that you use to teach your children about charity and giving, especially during Christmas would be much appreciated!

Sunny December

While ice and snow storms hit across the country, we're staying nice and warm here in Tennessee. Today we are enjoying a very sunny December day with a temperature of 75 degrees. Teya and I went to the park this morning, something I'm not used to doing in the middle of winter. When we came home she still wanted to be outside so we took off our socks and shoes and laid out in the grass in our front yard. Though I love a white Christmas like everybody else, I can't complain about this beautiful weather and the opportunity it gives us to get out of the house!

Dude!

This last week Teya has been sick with an ear infection so we've been watching a lot of Finding Nemo. She loves the movie and carries around her stuffed Nemo fish everywhere. Anyway, this morning I was reading a book about animals to her and asking her what sound each animal makes. Through the whole book she was barking, quaking, and neighing right on cue, but when I got to the turtle and said, "What does a turtle say?" Without skipping a beat she said, "Duuude!"

Bust a Move

I think I've mentioned before that Teya is a dancing machine. No matter where we are, if she hears a song with a catchy beat she will stop everything and break it down. We recently took her to see the Bee Movie and she especially loved dancing to the credits at the end of the show. In fact, that might have been her favorite part of the movie. Anyway, since then whenever we watch a movie at home, no matter how lame the ending credit music is, she will stand up and bust a move. Here she is in action after watching Ice Age 2, the Melt Down (which does have very cool ending credit music by the way)

Best Apple in the Universe

Last summer our friends Dave and Jodi introduced us to the most amazing and delicious life changing dessert I have ever eaten in my life. It is the apple pie caramel apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. It's an apple dipped in caramel, white chocolate, and brown sugar and cinnamon. From the first bite I knew I would never be the same. When we moved away from Utah I went through withdrawal not having access to these decadent wonders. I didn't know how I would get by, but then everything turned around a few weeks ago when they opened a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at our new mall!!! Now I'm trying to make it a family home evening tradition to eat one every Monday night. I mean, hey, an apple a day keeps the doctor away right? : )