Happy New Years!

Last year was by far the worst New Years Eve ever! I was so excited for this year because we actually had a plan. We started by going to the church with all the cousins to play games. Then it was off to bowling at Bonwood. I love bowling, as if I don't talk about that enough. I beat Spencer for the first time in a long time. It was a good night, but of course I had to mess up the last frame and fell just short of 200. I feel like it is great new tradition that we started. It is a great way to get everyone together and have a good time.

Then we went back to the house and had some treats. I took a little nap to get enough energy to make it through the night. The best part of the night was the caramel fondue. After a couple of games we shot off some fireworks to welcome in the new year. Welcome 2013, we are ready for a fresh new start!

The Girls

This is the last time the "four of us" will be together for a long time! We all have a lot going on right now and all the girls won't be back to Utah for awhile. Whit is getting so excited to go on her mission and we can't be happier for her. The mission is an amazing experience and I know that she is going to help so many people find the gospel of Jesus Christ. After Kell has her baby she won't be working, which means less money to spend coming to Utah. I am excited for all the changes, but not for not seeing each other as much. We had a lot of fun hanging out this trip. Kellie and Andy came down on Thursday and I took the day off work. We went to lunch at Cafe Rio and went shopping for her baby shower gift. Then we came back to our house and talked for awhile, played some games, and ate pizza. Then everyone came on Friday and we ate dinner at The Pizza Factory and went bowling. I love bowling and the other girls weren't as excited so I got to bowl four games all together, while they only played two. It was great to catch up on what has been going on in all of our lives. I swear no matter how much be text and talk we still can't know everything living in other states. Here are a few pictures from the night.

Then on Saturday we had Kell's baby shower. The best part was when my mom, her sister-in-law, and whit gave her all the same outfit in different sizes. She opened the first one and it was 3-6 months, the second was 6-9 months, then she opened Whit's and we all started laughing it was 9-12 months. Great minds must think alike. This is Kell's reaction as she opened the same outfit for the third time. Classic. They got a lot of cute stuff for cute baby Logan. 

I love these girls and feel so lucky to have such great friends. They truly are my sisters and have been there for me through the good and bad times in my life. I can honestly say I don't know where I would be today without them. Probably wearing shorts to my freckle, socks with sandals, and bunny shirts. Together we can do anything!

Our Christmas Traditions

I finally found some time to write about Christmas. It is one of my favorite times of the year. Everything gets so busy and it is so crazy to go anywhere. That is the one thing that makes me not like it so much. I love the fact that I get to see so many people and celebrate. I mean who doesn't like to party? We started out our holidays by going to the Festival of Trees. It is so fun to see all the stories of the different kids and see that they are getting help with their medical bills. We had a big group of people this year so it was also fun to talk to everyone and see what they had planned for the holidays.

I love this one. Who would think to turn a tree upside down and cover it 

to look like an ice cream cone? 

Go Aggies!

Probably my favorite part is looking at the gingerbread houses. They are always so creative. This is what my potty would look like. I am sure Spencer could built one like this.

The Whole Group

Another one of our favorite things to do is making chocolates with my family. The boys always come and watch sports downstairs while we work making them chocolates. We made some awesome flavors this year, I still think vanilla is my favorite. The best part about making chocolates is getting chocolate on everyone else's hands. It is part of the experience right?

Okay temple square is always freezing, but not this year.We started out the night by going to Blue Lemon with Mike and Kira. They had never been and I love it so they had to at least try it. Then we headed to temple square. I just don't think it feels like Christmas without going to see the lights. I love the feeling of temple square and seeing all the different lights.

My favorite thing is looking for the bag that says Merry Christmas in German.

Next, decorating the Christmas tree. We had a hard time deciding if we should buy a Christmas tree our first year that we were married or not. I am so glad that we did. It just isn't Christmas without a tree. We went to every store to find just the right one. It is perfect and I love everything about it. 

Our advent wreath. This is a big tradition in Germany and we brought it back to Utah. There are four Sundays for Christmas and every week we light a new candle. This year we focused on helping others around us. We did everything from reading scriptures about Christ serving others to making gifts for family and friends. It helped us focus on the real meaning of Christmas this year when it is so easy to only think about gifts and Santa.

Every Christmas Eve we go to my parent's house. We start out with a turkey dinner where we sit and talk for a long time. Then it is time for gifts. My favorite gift this year would have to be our new popcorn maker. It is so cute and I can't wait to use it. This is the one time that we all get a picture together.

Before....

and after.....Then we go to Spencer's parents for Christmas day. My favorite gift this year from them would have to be my Kitchen Aid. I am getting my kitchen ready for anything. I love making new receipts on Pinterest and now I can make whatever I want. I think I might even try making home made bread. I love the smell and know that it is so much better for you. We also got to talk to Spencer's brother that is on a mission. He is just like Spencer and doesn't really say much. I can't wait for him (Trevor) to get home so we can actually hear all his crazy stories.

Spencer loves playing with the new helicopter that he got from Santa. All the brothers got the same one and love flying them all at the same time.

We had a great holiday season. It was great to have some time off work so we could see a lot of family and friends!