Christmas Pictures

We had a wonderfully busy December. I truly meant to do separate blog posts throughout the month, but here it is the end of December. So consider yourself warned...there are many pictures in this post! 

Anna and I started out the month by taking a trip to the Festival of Trees. I love wandering through the amazing displays of decorated Christmas trees in honor of children and loved ones who have fought an illness or those who have passed away. I always recognize a few of the children's pictures beside the tree, and I enjoy reminiscing about their story and their amazing families. One of my very favorite trees this year was in honor of sweet little baby Annie.

 

In addition to the trees, the Festival has gorgeous displays of wreaths, gingerbread houses, gifts, and yummy treats. Anna loved "Frosty the Snowman". She was busy singing the song and couldn't be bothered with smiling for the camera.

 
Can you guess which tree was her favorite? The one with all of the horses, of course! I was very impressed with her restraint...I thought for sure she would burst past the chains and mess up the display.

  
We were able to enjoy another fun PICU Christmas party at the bowling alley. My camera battery died, but I did capture a little trademark "Evelynn love".  Hug? Or choke hold? You decide...

My little family decided to go pick out a real Christmas tree this year. Our front room is STILL not done, so I didn't really get all of my decorations out, but Trav and I wanted Anna to have a Christmas tree to love. So we bundled up and headed out in the ice cold weather to pick out a tree.

 

Here is our beauty! We got a great deal on a really pretty tree. It was newly cut and still frozen, so it is still going strong on New Year's Eve. I couldn't find the box with all of my ribbon, the tree skirt, and the topper, so the tree has been decorated with only lights and a few ornaments, but Anna loves it. I think she will truly cry this weekend when we take the tree down.

The week before Christmas was riddled with Christmas parties. The John family party has gotten a little crazy. Look at all of those kiddos!

 

A huge thanks goes out to my cousin Randi who offered her beautiful spacious home...it was perfect! She has a huge playroom for all of the kids. Of course, Anna went down to the basement and found the two horses...little did she know that she was getting two horses of her own for Christmas!

Anna getting some love (and some treats!) from her uncle J.J.

Cody and Laci learned that they will be relocating to Seattle in a few weeks for an amazing job opportunity, so this holiday was a little bittersweet knowing that I won't see them as much as I do now. Cody and I have grown a lot closer in the past few years, and I absolutely adore Laci. I guess a few Seattle trips are in my future!

My brother Brandon and Maday were here for a week, so I tried to see them as much as possible.

 

This year Brandon and Maday chose to drive from Phoenix. A long drive, but it's a bit more difficult to fly when you are bringing a horse the size of Texas for a toddler...

 

The other great thing about them making the drive is that they were able to bring Iggy, Brandon's cute Boston terrier. I have missed Iggs! We had a bit of a zoo going on at my mom's house with 5 dogs and a two year old running around. Anyone who visits during the holidays better love animals.

Anna's favorite thing about Iggy? His kennel. She instantly made it her new play house, climbing right in with her horsies, her blankie and her sippy. She spent hours playing in that thing. Who needs expensive play houses?

My family did our Christmas Eve celebration a day early. My dad cooked a great dinner, then we played Just Dance on the Wii. So fun! Even Anna got in on the dancing action...

We didn't catch Santa that night, but the reindeer came to visit my mom's house!

 

Awesome bedhead for Christmas morning.

Her first Barbie...and of course a horse for Barbie to ride.

Grandma Laurie showing Anna how to make the horse walk.

My cute Dad.

We all chipped in and got my mom and iPad. She will love it!

Later that day, Trav, Anna and I headed back down to SLC for the Newman family Christmas party. Anna was the belle of the ball. Since she insisted on taking her Barbie and the horse, all of the kids gathered around her for the entire night.

18 month old Payton threatening to grab the Barbie...did not go over well with my child.

I stuck this photo in to prove that:

1. Yes, Trav did get to spend a little bit of time with his family for the holidays.

2. Yes, he does know how to smile occasionally. ;-)

On the actual Christmas morning, we opened our presents at home. It's interesting what a toddler finds fascinating. Santa left her all of these amazing fun toys and books to play with. What did she want most?

"Lips!" The inexpensive package of Hello Kitty lip glosses with sparkle lids were her favorite.
Here she is with her Christmas stash (minus the 300 horses she got at G & G Newman's).

Trav gave me a present that I am super excited about, but definitely wasn't expecting. An Xbox Kinect! The games are phenomenal. I can't wait to play! After we opened our gifts, we headed out to my in-laws for the day.

Anna was spoiled with many gifts, including this horse on springs. She had already outgrown her rocking horse, nearly tipping it over each time she rides. She will get a lot of use out of this one!

So much excitement for a little girl...I'm pretty sure that this piece of candy is the only thing that Anna would eat on Christmas day.

Anna loves her grandma Joyce. She spoiled us all rotten!

This photo is for Grandma Laurie and Buppa. They gave Anna her first Aggie cheerleader outfit. (Yes, I am a Ute gymnastics fan, but I am still an Aggie fan too!) She loves to wear her pretty dress over her clothes!

 Loving those "lips"!

My last Christmas celebration was dinner with my cute friends on the day after Christmas. Instead of gifts, we go out to dinner each year. It is getting more and more difficult to get us all together with our conflicting work schedules, but we figured it out. I have the best friends in the world! I don't know what I would do without you girls and all of your support. Love you!

Now, here we are on New Year's Eve. Happy birthday to me! What a great year 2010 has been! One of my goals for this past year was to learn a little bit more about digital scrapbooking. Although I still have MUCH to learn, I did manage to create my own Christmas card this year with Photoshop Elements. It wasn't perfect, but I think it turned out cute. So for any readers out there who have stuck in through this marathon post, here's wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!