CHRISTMAS!!!!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! This is such a special time of year and we hope it finds everyone happy and healthy! We had such a beautiful white Christmas here in Utah! So much snow!! We spent Christmas eve night at my parents house and per a family tradition we watched a movie. Before we all had babies we would go out to see the movie at a theater but with babies we just watch it at my parents home. We watched "Mama Mia" which I LOVED! The music was so fun what a nice way to spend Christmas eve. Zoe had a rough night she must have been super excited for Santa! She ended up sleeping most of the night in bed with Cory and I!

We got up around 7:00 to open presents but my niece Pamela was too tired to wake up..but she finally decided it would be a good idea to wake up! My Dad got a standard Poodle for Christmas named Kona and she is a sweet but rambunctious pup! Zoe just loved Christmas!! She loved all the wrapping paper, ribbons, and presents. My mom bought her the best little "gear" present that she just laughed every time we turned it on! It was so cute! Cory and I got a new dishwasher (this is a picture of the old one right before the plumber installed the new one!) and some other great stuff.

Ever since Cory and I were married we have decorated a Christmas stocking for each other. This year we still decorated each others and we shared decorating Zoe's. Did you notice the Christmas pickle I drew on Cory's stalking?!

After Christmas we watched some movies and enjoyed each others company! Zoe and Pammy got to have a fun Christmas bath in Grandmas big tub with Bubbles! Yay! It was an excellent holiday!

We hope you all have a very fun and exciting new year!

Christmas trees and Cookies

We had so much fun decorating our Christmas tree this year! All 4 artificial feet of it! We bought this tree last year thinking we would be apartment dwellers for a few years to come. So we plan to use it for at least a couple years. Plus it's pre-lit and it doesn't take long to put up ornaments. Oh...and guess who got her Pickle ornament this year!!! Me!!! I was so excited to find this one..and I also convinced my sister that she needed a Pickle on her tree! I love my pickle! The house looked so cute all Christmasy and Zoe just loved all the decorations.

We also had a really fun Cookie exchange Christmas party to go to this year! I love this kind of party it makes me so excited. I had been trying to find the perfect cookie recipe this year and I even made 2 trial recipes just to try and find the most tasty of all. But in the end I decided to try and make gingerbread cookies from scratch. I bought a rolling pin and some super cute cookie cutters and gave it a whirl! I think they turned out so darn cute and they were delicious. However if I make them again I will roll the dough a bit thicker for softer cookies. These ones were pretty crispy and I had wanted more of a sugar cookie type cookie.

Temple Square Lights

I was having some nasty computer issues for a couple of weeks..we got some virus/viruses that were making it really tricky to get online for any length of time. But Cory is a handsome computer genius and he fixed it up real good!

We went to Temple Square a few weeks ago and it was so much fun! The baby loved the lights and wasn't bothered by the cold at all. It probably helped that we had her bundled up so much that she kind of resembled the kid in "A Christmas Story" who can't put his arms down in his snow suit. Check out the pictures..her arms are basically in the same position the whole time!!! We had her in a pair of pants with jeans over those..a turtleneck with a sweater over it and a warm coat on top...mittens, a knit hat, and the hat on her coat. Then we had her bundled with 3 blankets!! I wasn't taking any chances! The lights were so pretty and we even went into the visitors center and listened to some caroling. I love Christmas songs! It was such a fun night!

Christmas Tag

Christmas Tag
1. Egg Nog or Hot chocolate? Egg Nog is soooo gross!! My vote is Hot Chocolate ALL the way!!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? A little of both! That way the kids can have instant fun with the gifts left open and also have fun unwrapping the others.

3. Colored lights on a tree/house or white? We haven't pulled out our tree yet (it's a pre-lit fake one) but I think it might be white lights. However I think both types are lots of fun!

4. Do I hang mistletoe? Nope... isn't Mistletoe poisonous? I have a small baby to think about here!

5. When do I put up my decorations? Whenever I get the chance. Hopefully this week..but we'll see...

6. What is my favorite holiday dish? Nacho biscuits!! So tasty! I also love my Grandmas Chicken Noodle soup with orange rolls.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I have way too many favorite holiday memories!! Here is one that I really love...Every year in the Highland house we would tie pretty red bows on everyone in the neighborhoods mail box. It always turned out so pretty the red bows surrounded by fresh white snow!

8. When and how did I learn the truth about Santa? I am pretty sure I was in Sixth grade...sad story! My teacher had us write letters from Santa to the younger children (1st and 2nd graders) and I was really confused about why we would write letters back and not Santa...then someone made fun of me and told me the sad truth!

9. Do we open a Christmas gift on Christmas Eve? Yeah and according to tradition it's usually new Pajamas..so much fun to wear that night!

10. How do I decorate our tree? Lights and ornaments..this year I want a Pickle ornament. It's supposed to be lucky for whoever finds the pickle or something like that. It just sounds funny to have a pickle on my tree.

11. Can I ice skate? Kinda...well at least I used to kinda be able to.

12. Can I remember my favorite gift? They have all been so awesome!! My parents have always been so generous! When I was 19 my parents got me a cell phone and they had it ring so I could hear funny noises in the box! It was very exciting because cell phones were still new and fancy back then.

13. What is the most important thing about he holidays for me? Enjoying the Magic of the season. There is just something about Decmeber that makes my heart feel happier. I can't wait to experience Zoe's first Christmas!!

14. What is my favorite holiday dessert? I don't know about a specific holiday dessert...but my mom makes these wicked delicious cinnamon rolls where the top secret recipe was handed down from my Great Great Great Grandmother. Soooo delish!

15. What is my favorite holiday tradition? We would always watch a movie on Christmas Eve! It was so fun and it probably helped my parents get through the night without a bunch of Christmas crazy kids. I will continue this tradition with my kids...The other tradition I LOVE and Cory hates is after all the gift giving is finished we put the gifts on our beds so everyone can see what we got. This was always really exciting because my Grandparents would come and see our gifts!

16. What tops my tree? A star

17. What do I prefer - Giving or receiving? I love both..however finding the perfect gift for someone is priceless! Like last year for example..I found a really classy fake Llama with Alpaca fur for my sister and I was so excited for her to open it!!!

18. What is my favorite Christmas song? Rockin Around the Christmas Tree

19. Candy Canes? Yummy.

20. Do I feel Christmas is too commercialized? Nah..Christmas is perfect...okay maybe starting to put Christmas in the stores before Halloween is a bit exteme but...

I hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas!!