New Year's Crazy Hat Party

It has become our tradition to have a crazy hat party for New Year's Eve. Blake and I had planned to have a big party at his house and to incorporate this tradition. I must say Estee and Blake were my biggest supporters. We had a whole ton of people, lots of food, and lots of crazy hats. Cassidy felt the need to try on every one's hat. She looked cute in every single one.


Aidan and Lacey changed it up a couple of times too.
There were plenty of other cute people in their hats too. Here are a few.




We played games with the kids and then had a random countdown to zero when we were good and ready. Blake and Estee had bought some confetti bombs that surprised everyone. Here we were trying to be all conservative and not mess up Blake's house. After the countdown we did sparklers. The adults stayed up till the real countdown and toasted to some nasty tasting sparkling fruit juice. It was fun to spend the new years with everyone.

And "hats off" to Blake and Estee the winners of the best hats! Thanks for being great hosts!
We will have to up our game next year and out do our hats from this year. Happy 2010!

A SCARY Christmas Carol

My mom wanted to take my family to see A Christmas Carol at the Hale Theater in SLC. To prepare them for the play, the night before my mom told them the story. They were fascinated by the ghosts and the mean Mr. Scrooge and were listening so intently to her story. Lacey was hilarious when she tried to say Ebenezer.

We went to the matinee with my mom and dad. Miss Cassidy had a special date with Uncle Blake, which I’m not sure who enjoyed more Blake or Cassidy. I was very interested to see how the kids reacted to a play. They had only been to one play before put on by kids. This play was a bigger production and more intimate and fascinating to watch. They were enthralled at the get go until Mr. Marley showed up in all his chains and scary voice. Lacey about had a conniption fit. She did not like him at all. She kept saying “turn it off! turn it off!” She had a death grip on my hand too and would not let go of it the rest of the play. She also couldn’t stop asking if he was coming back. Each time a new ghost was to appear she would hide her face. Then the culminating event was when they zapped fire at Scrooge’s tombstone. She jumped up and ran out of the theater. Ryan went out with her but we had her come back in for the end so she could see how Scrooge had changed. She even laughed at parts after that. The rest of the night Lacey asked me if the “chain guy” was real. I explained that he was just a person dressed up. I tried to show her the actor at the end without all the chains and makeup on but she wouldn’t have it. I guess I hadn’t realized how scary the story is. It is a little overwhelming and not very Christmasy strangely enough. It was a good experience for them though.

Lights at Temple Square

Tonight we bundled up for a night at Temple Square. This was a must do while in Utah. The Salt Lake Temple is so amazing anyway (Ryan and I were married there) but with all the trees around lit up it is almost magical. We took our fun Christmas light glasses that turn the lights into little snowmen and hearts. My family got a kick out of them. My dad even started to let passers by look through them. There was also a beautiful nativity presentation. They even had a star projecting onto the tabernacle. It was so cool. I loved being there. It was a cold night and we lost Aidan for a bit (a story in an of itself) but overall it was a great night.

Sledding

We were delighted to see so much snow when we got to Utah. The kids were anxious to go sledding. There are so many places to go so we ventured out this morning. We learned a few lessons. First we picked a hill too small, then we picked a hill too big. Aidan showed no fear and was the first to go down this steep hill all by himself. It wasn't a good idea. The run he chose was icy and he spun around twice and then fell off and rolled down the rest of the hill. He started crying and then stomped off. I reluctantly jumped on a sled with Lacey to rescue Aidan. We were a little more successfull since I used my HIGH HEELED boots (yeah it is all I had) as breaks to slow us down. Lacey and I screamed the whole way. LOUD! I was able to talk Aidan into trying the hill again with me. We marched up the hill, in my high heels mind you, to try again. So Aidan and I then went and he laughed and screamed the whole way. He liked sledding again. The kids each had turns with me or with grandpa and Aidan even went again himself after some good training from his momma. Cassidy went down the little hills but wasn't allowed on the big one. It was so fun. Cold, wet, exhausting but fun!

All I want for Christmas....

Aidan lost his two front teeth tonight. They were so ready to come out but he was hesitant for some reason to pull them. Ryan decided to use some floss to get them out. They both came out really easily. Aidan was shocked when the first one dropped to the floor. He was very excited though to have them both out. Eating was becoming difficult for him.

Breakfast with Santa

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to Aidan's school. We spent the morning making crafts and visiting with Santa. The kids all walked over to Santa and Mrs. Claus together and Cassidy took one look at Santa and quickly chose to sit with Mrs. Claus. After their picture they gave Cassidy one last chance to sit with Santa but she gave him a look like, "Are you crazy?" and quickly ran back to me and Ryan.

The Best Gingerbread Making Party-Kentucky edition

In Ryan's family, making gingerbread houses is a standing tradition. His aunt hosts the party each year. There is always lots of people, candy and frosting. We miss that we can't be there with everyone so we usually make our own at home. We have always wanted to invite other families but just don't have the house to accommodate that. We found out that we could use the community center for free so this year we had the Kentucky edition of the Best Gingerbread Making Party. We bought lots of candy and graham crackers and I made frosting for an hour straight. We had several families come. It was so much fun. We were just so happy to be able to share our tradition with our friends. So plan for next year Y'all!