December: Things I Am Loving

December: Things I Am Loving

Besides the obvious...the holidays, family togetherness, Light the World, parties, and celebrations...Here are a few other things that I loved in December.

1.) Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

I watched the original series when it first aired. At the time Reilly was four years old and I had a newborn baby, cute little Kam. I loved the show and eagerly watched every week. I was so sad when it aired the final episode. (I was Team Logan.) I was super excited for the new reboot and couldn't wait to watch. I loved the new series. I want more!! Four episodes were not enough for me. Was it as good as the original series? No. Did Lorelei bug me slightly this go round? Yes. Am I still Team Logan. (Yep!) I CANNOT STAND Jess. Ugh.

2.) Hearing Kameron bless the Sacrament (and Tyler)

I am loving hearing Kameron bless the Sacrament every Sunday. He does such a great job and is so serious and reverent. One Sunday the other priest wasn't at church and so Tyler got to bless the Sacrament with Kameron and my heart nearly burst with joy seeing the Johnson men doing their duty and using their priesthood righteously.

3.) Reading Glasses

The man looks pretty darn sexy in his readers!! Yep, it's official. Reading glasses are now a part of our reality. Tyler needed them last year and this year it was my turn. It sucks to suddenly not be able to see small print. I feel like it happened overnight. Ugh. I don't need them to read books but I do need to put mine on when reading my scriptures. Mine are the small sized quad. I also need them for looking at markings on silver and dishes and other antique items for Sisters Creed. Tyler and I had quite the hilarious outing picking out our readers!!

4.) Red lipstick

Over the holidays I put on some red lipstick and loved it!! I haven't worn red lipstick since my Texas days and on into college. I forgot how much I liked it. Reilly and I were on the hunt for the perfect shade of red over Christmas break. I bought the MAC red and a limited edition matte red from Sephora. I particularly like the matte. I usually layer the matte red with another shade of lipliner over that top to produce the shade that I like the best. It has been fun to have that pop of color in the middle of winter. I am sure that I will go back to my usual earth tones and nudes eventually but I am loving rocking the red right now!! It's a little south on my mouth!!

5.) Bryn the Personal Trainer

Picture obviously not from December but Bryn in her sporty glory.

In December Bryn's 2nd grade class did a unit on business. Each student had to come up with a business and then they had "market days". They were supposed to only use items in their classroom or skills that they had which was a great idea so that kids didn't go home and come back with elaborate things to sell while other kids made things from construction paper in the classroom (although some kids didn't follow the rules...annoying). Bryn's business was fitness training. She came up with this idea all on her own. She made the cutest posters that said things like "Do you want to be fit? Let me be your personal trainer and get you in shape!" She taught her "clients" all kinds of exercise routines and dances. She coached them in running. She taught them how to play different sports. She made healthy food plans for her "clients" and taught them how to "stay hydrated". They had market for a week and Bryn's teacher pulled me aside to say what a great job she did!! She taught kids to play soccer, volleyball, and basketball. She taught yoga, aerobics, hip hop, and ballet. She would train kids who wanted to be faster runners. It was seriously so cute. She made a lot of "money" too. She worked hard at recess teaching "classes" or being a personal trainer/coach to her "clients".

This was so up Bryn's alley. She is our little health nut. She LOVES healthy food. (Her favorite food is salad.) She requests fruits and vegetables all the time. She hates processed foods. She says that they make her feel sick. She even oddly dislikes carbs. She doesn't like potatoes and rice. How is that even possible? She is active and sporty and she will be the child that keeps Tyler and I fit and active into our old age. It was so fun to hear about her business, her clients, and her success each day. I remember doing this in 4th grade but I sold homemade heart-shaped suckers that my mom and I made together. Such a totally 80s thing. :)

2016: A Year In Review

2016: A Year In Review

2016: highlights and lowlights

-2016 started off a bit rocky with me having some weird health issues and having to do a bunch of testing. Luckily my weird symptoms went away and the tests didn't show anything amiss. Thank goodness.

-Tyler turned 45.

-Kameron auditioned for and made wind ensemble as a freshman.

-Kameron grew his first peach fuzz mustache.

-Tyler and I went on an awesome trip to Portland and the Oregon Coast for his birthday.

-Ailey's artwork was selected to be in an art show downtown.

-My favorite author Pat Conroy died. :(

-My mom was hospitalized with multiple pulmonary DVTs and a clot shower. She struggled with her recovery from that for the rest of the year.

-Reilly survived her break up with her high school boyfriend Justin. It was a traumatic one but a good decision.

-We went to Utah over Spring Break and had a fantastic time hanging out with Reilly.

-We stopped in Rexburg, Idaho on our way home and got to visit with my grandma. This was one of the last few times that she was lucid. She knew us and it was a gift. I am so glad that we had this time to tell her that we loved her while she still knew who we were.

-Bryn turned 7.

-Our ward was divided three different ways and we were traumatized.

-I was released from Young Women. That was HARD and I was called to serve in the Primary Presidency.

-Ailey auditioned for and got two big parts in her 6th grade musical and sang two duets. She was amazing!

-Kameron finally shaved his peach fuzz mustache. Glorious day!!

-Kameron was a nerd in the stake roadshow.

-Tyler and I celebrated our 21st anniversary with an epic staycation downtown.

-Kameron ran track.

-Bryn lost both of her front teeth. :)

-Bryn was a cute cowgirl in her 2nd grade music program.

-Sisters Creed had a super successful Farm Chicks show.

-I turned 44 and Reilly drove through the night to surprise me on my birthday!

-Kameron lettered in band.

-Kameron had an awesome experience at youth conference.

-Ailey graduated from elementary school.

-Ailey turned 12 and graduated from Primary and moved up to YW.

-Tyler and the kids and I went on a fun trip to Flathead Lake, MT to do the Vintage Whites Market show.

-Ailey went to Girls Camp for the first time.

-We had a great family reunion at the lake.

-Tyler got his continuous glucose monitoring device and it has changed our lives!! (Best thing ever!!)

-Tyler and I did a ton of hiking!!

-I did a lot of paddleboarding!!

-Tyler discovered the joys of kayaking.

-Reilly came home for a visit in August and we hung out at the lake the entire time.

-Kameron had a great experience going on a week long canoe trip for Scout High Adventure.

-Kameron went to band camp.

-Ailey attended math camp.

-Bryn started 2nd grade.

-Ailey started 7th grade and middle school.

-Kameron started 10th grade.

-Reilly started her 2nd year of living in Utah.

-Reilly moved into a new apartment and absolutely loves her roommates.

-Sisters Creed had a very successful show at Funky Junk Antiques show in Sandpoint, Idaho.

-Bryn ran XC this year and loved it.

-Bryn qualified for the All-City meet.

-Kameron ran XC this year and was plagued by injuries.

-Kameron auditioned for and made Jazz Ensemble.

-Bryn started piano lessons.

-Ailey started math club.

-Ailey started choir.

-Ailey went to the temple for the first time. She loved it!

-Reilly attended General Conference for the first time.

-Ailey got her braces off!! She looks beautiful.

-Reilly turned 20. (gulp)

-Tyler and the kids and I traveled to Montana to participate in the Vintage Whites Christmas Market. It was fantastic!

-I met the designer/blogger Miss Mustard Seed. So cool.

-Kameron turned 16.

-Kameron was ordained a priest.

-Kameron started Drivers ED and earned his Learner's Permit.

-Ailey made the drill team!!

-Kameron started dating. (gulp)

-Tyler was ordained a High Priest.

-Ailey had her first choir concert.

-Bryn had her first piano recital.

-Reilly came home for the holidays.

-My mom had a bilaterial cardiac catheterization and found out that her heart is healthy.

-We rang in 2017!


Favorite Books that I Read in 2016:

1.) The Lake House by Kate Morton
2.) Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
3.) Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
4.) For the Love by Jen Hatmaker
5.) The Royal We by Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks

Book that I Hated: (And Abandoned)

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Goal Review for 2016:

This year I doubled my goals and I felt like I made real progress in so many areas. That was encouraging. Of course there were several areas in which I didn't make any progress at all and that sucks. Those are going to be my hardest hit goals for 2017.

Happy 2017!!

Christmas Break: Part 2

Christmas Break: Part 2

The week after Christmas was delightful. Days of rest and days of fun. The day after Christmas we did absolutely nothing. We lounged around in our pajamas all day and cozied up in our blankets and watched movies and ate junk food. All day long. The only time anyone left the house was when Tyler and Kameron had to do a junk food run. We needed chips, pop, and sour candy, yo!! And...yes. We felt terrible by the end of the night but it sure was fun!!

Not a pretty sight!

The next day we showered, spruced up, and headed downtown. We went to the Davenport Hotel, had a fun lunch, rode the carousel, shopped, ran into old friends, and generally had a great day!

They are closing down the carousel for over a year while repairs are done and Riverfront Park gets a remodel and we are so sad about that!! But I'm sure that it will be worth it when it is all done.

It's so nice when everyone is home because everyone has a buddy. These two have become the best of friends and it a joy to see. They have so much fun together. :)

The beautiful Davenport Hotel!!

I love the trees at the Davenport! 

We also tried to do a little ghost hunting...because why not? (The Davenport is rumored to be haunted.) We didn't even get so much as an orb in a photo. Oh well. So much for that.

We had a lovely day exploring our beautiful city!

The next day we headed to the movies. We all liked Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. We are huge Harry Potter fans and we will take the wizarding world of Harry Potter any way we can!

God bless the inventor of reclining movie theater seats. Now if only they were heated!! That would be sheer bliss!!

That night we played our own version of Bizarre Foods. This was our favorite game of Christmas break but also the grossest. Each person in our family had to pick out something that they thought would be a "bizarre" food. The person who ate everything or the largest amount of everything was the winner and money was on the line. A big 5 bucks!! Ha ha.

Some selections were found at the grocery store, the health food store, and some were found at the Asian market as we had a major craving for pad thai and needed some supplies STAT.  Pad thai is one of Reilly's favorite meals so we made a HUGE batch and found some other delicacies to try.

1.) Reilly picked out the Coconut Gels from the Asian Market. (They were delicious.) #fail
2.) Kameron picked out the fruit flavored bean paste snacks. (They were good for the first bite or two
     and then they weren't.)
3.) Ailey picked out the Sweet Spirulina Sprouted Raw Bites from the Health Food Store.        (absolutely wretchedly disgusting.)
4.) Bryn picked out Spam. (Some of us grew up eating this. #kristinandtyler. It has NOT improved with age.)
5.) Tyler went with the pickle and pimento loaf. (revolting)
6.) I picked out the anchovies. (The hands down winner of the most vile food.)

We should have filmed this but we didn't. It would have been a video full of gagging, spitting, sweating, and nausea. Good times!! My brother Kirk thought that this was too tame. True. But keep in mind that our kids have all been raised vegetarian and so this was actually very challenging for them. Even as a meat eater spam gives me pause. Growing up eating spam and bologna type products did not help Tyler nor I with this game. That pickle pimento loaf was one of the nastiest things that I have ever tasted. Spam will never pass my lips again either. After the game I fried some up in butter like my mom used to do. (She likes a nice fried spam sandwich now and then. Sometimes she served it with mashed potatoes and green beans. Ew. Sadly, Tyler grew up eating it too.) Did frying it in butter help? Nope. So gross. Never happening again. (Has spam always been gritty?) Of course in the game we had to eat a slice straight out of the can and covered in the nasty meat jelly. I don't even have words for the grossness of the spirulina snacks. I can gag just thinking about them. And anchovies... I thought how bad can they be? People love them. People put them on pizza. People eat them in pasta. People grind them up and put them in Caesar salad. Oh...those hairy little fish were the WORST! If only we had been allowed a spittoon. Nope. We had to crunch those suckers right up. Never again on those either!!

I am proud to say that all of our kids tried everything. They were in it to win it. Bryn was a little green by the end. Ailey had the meat sweats. Tyler refused to try the anchovies and was the first one out. #lame. I couldn't finish my slice of that nasty pimento and pickle loaf. It was so bad that one bite was all that I could do! Reilly and Kameron battled it out to the end. But don't mess with a poor college student when 5 bucks are on the line. Reilly won and grossed us all out by eating not one but two anchovies and 3 nasty sprouted spirulina snacks. (How was that even possible?!) She felt dreadful for the rest of the night. Fear not, this game will be brought back this summer at our family reunion at the lake. Kirk is taking it on and the stakes and $$ will be high. We have a little over 6 months to find the most bizarre food!! Can't wait. Feel free to leave suggestions. Kirk must NOT WIN!!

The next day family togetherness was growing thin. Oh yes, it happens. The fighting and bickering started to take a toll. Tyler and I were asking ourselves...When does school start again?!?!

We suggested that now might be the day for them to spend some time with their friends!! We needed a bit of a break. We ditched them all and went out to lunch. Then Kameron took off with his friends. Reilly headed out to meet up with some of her friends that morning and had a date that night. Let's just say that we all needed a little break from all the togetherness. It worked it's magic and we all came back together to enjoy New Years Eve. Win-Win.

I will say that one of the perks of having a 20 year old is that they will clean of their own volition. They can see a need and take care of it. Reilly cleaned out my fridge until it was sparkling. She organized all kinds of things, cooked meals, and picked up after herself and others. I was in shock. Is this the same kid who lived in our house for 18 years?

I had to get a photo to show Tyler!! A year and a half ago this would have been like seeing a unicorn. I can't even begin to describe how disgusting her room was and the fact that I don't think I even saw her bedroom floor for the entirety of her senior year. Now not only does she clean but she cleans really well. She even THANKED US FOR MAKING HER DO CHORES growing up!! For reals. Keep in mind that this is the same girl who in elementary school turned us into her school counselor because she felt that we were making her do too much work at home. True story. Her counselor laughed her right out of her office. This is also the same girl who would scream regularly, "YOU DIDN'T WANT KIDS...YOU WANTED SLAVES!!" Look at her now!!

Reilly thanked us multiple times for having her grow up doing chores, cooking, doing laundry, and all kinds of other things. She said that her roommates can't clean and are basically helpless in many areas. She has had to teach them all how to scrub down a bathroom properly and how to do their own laundry and how to cook meals for themselves. She said that it is absolutely crazy. Poor little snowflakes.

Conversation that occurred:

Ailey: The kitchen is done.

Me: Yes, but is it done to my standards.

Ailey: (Screech) It is NEVER done to your standards!! I'M NOT PERFECT!!

Reilly: Ailey, stop throwing a fit! One day you will thank her for that!

Ailey: I DOUBT IT!!

Reilly: Mom and Dad are SURPRISINGLY good parents!!

(I will take "surprisingly". Ha ha!!)

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The kids (and Tyler) requested homemade pizzas and pie for New Years Eve. Not our usual holiday fare and not my favorite. I don't like pizza but we have it every Valentine's Day out of my LOVE for them. I did relent to it for New Years out of my joy of all of us being together. (I ate tempura shrimp and was happy as could be. :)

Ailey helping to make the cherry pies. We also had two pecan pies because Reilly missed out on them at Thanksgiving and we were more than happy to eat them again!!

Then as a little late afternoon snack before all of the festivities began we had to Tim Tam Slam. This year we discovered Mint Tim Tams. Oh boy! New favorite. I am happy to report that Tim Tams were everywhere this year. Sometimes they have been very difficult to track down.

And clearly so delicious that someone couldn't even pose for a photo!

Making the pizzas!

We set the table with some shiny leftover wrapping paper and got ready to ring in the New Year!!

A little blurry but we don't care!!

This year we all talked about it and decided that we wanted to be home for New Years Eve and to have it be just us. Reilly flew home right after New Years so our time together was winding down and it was precious to all of us. We ate our pizzas (and tempura shrimp) and had a very wild game night!! We played a huge marathon game of dominoes chicken foot. We love that game! We played the Beat the Parents trivia game which is a lot of fun! Of course we played Speak Out with those darn mouth guards. They killed my mouth plus everyone had to have a napkin to soak up their drool. Funny but so gross. We played cards until it was almost time for the ball to drop at midnight. We also learned that there IS a more violent game for our family than Spoons. Who knew? This year the most violent game was Slap Jack!! If you can't take the heat get outta the kitchen!! We turned on the TV just in time to see the train wreck that was the Mariah Carey performance. Whoa... And then the clock struck midnight!! It seemed to come so quickly this year. No one was asleep. No one was even tired. The days of the photos of shame of everyone who fell asleep before midnight seem be over and the days of tricking the kids and celebrating New Years on East Coast time are definitely long gone.

Phone Stealer!!

We kissed. We cheered. We tooted our tooters. We banged on pots and pans. We threw open the door and welcomed in 2017. We went outside and popped our poppers. We screamed Happy New Year to our neighborhood. Then we went back inside and played games until after 2 am. It was great!!

Then just like that the holidays were over and it was time for Reilly to fly back to Utah. It was a wonderful 15 days. They were days of... fun, irritation, laughter, bickering, joy, tears, hugs, kisses, games, movies (we also saw Trolls), good food, good music (except for the Trolls soundtrack that all three girls made us listen to constantly), eating out, cooking together, playing in the snow, sledding, shopping, spending time with family and friends, and loving one another!! Here's to a WONDERFUL 2017!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Christmas 2016

Christmas 2016

Christmas Eve

We spent the day hanging out as a family and crossing things off of our family fun list. In my extended family we all spend Christmas Eve with our own families and then we gather on Christmas Day. Kirk and his family and Jordin and her family weren't able to come for the holidays this year. They were definitely missed.

The kids wanted me to do a more formal dinner this year. They requested pecan patties, mashed potatoes with gravy, my infused edamame, and Meier's sparkling juices to drink. Cold Duck is our very favorite but it is hard to find here in Spokane. Pink Catawba is our second favorite sparkling juice. My pecan patties are absolutely delicious. I know that they sound weird but they are one of our family's very favorite meals. They are also a pain to prepare so I don't make them all the time and everyone was really wanting them. It was also on Reilly's list of foods that she wanted me to make while she was at home.

Pecan patties are made by crushing pecans and adding them to a mixture of oats, cheese, onion, salt, pepper, and a little egg to bind it all together. You form them into patties and fry them until they are brown on both sides. Then you put them into a casserole dish and bake them in a gravy of mushrooms, mushroom soup, onion soup powder, and sour cream. It is kind of like a stroganoff sauce. They are out of this world delicious. You serve them on a bed of mashed potatoes. Since it was Christmas we made Killer Mashed Potatoes that have sour cream and cream cheese in them. Absolutely divine!!  I know edamame doesn't really go with this meal but the kids really wanted it. I make a sauce of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, siracha, and honey and saute the edamame (in the pods) in this mixture at high heat until they basically carmelize. So good. This is our latest addiction. (I just made it again last night.) Then we had our Christmas treats and eggnog for dessert and to snack on throughout the night.

I love our house at Christmas!! It is so cozy. Here is a little video that I think was shot by Reilly. I guess she was just filming all of our decorations? Who knows. My phone says that it was taken at 4:10 pm on Christmas Eve. The calm before the storm. That was before we had set our table for dinner and started in on all of the festivities.



The girls decorated and set the table for our Christmas Eve dinner. Tyler and I finished up all the food and we had fun snapchatting, facetiming, and texting with family and friends. Technology is pretty amazing!! It is awesome to feel connected especially when you can't all be together during the holidays!!

After dinner it was onto the entertainment portion of the evening. Ailey and Bryn were in charge of planning this and they did such a great job and got everyone to participate!!

 Check out the professional looking Christmas programs Ailey made!!! Awesome.

We started out by reading the three Christmas count down books that we hadn't read yet. Life got a little busy and our nightly Christmas book reading fell by the wayside. Then we sang some carols. I read a little about gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Next up was the talent portion of the night. Kameron played his trumpet and his chanter. (I cannot wait for next year when he can play the actual bagpipes!!) Ailey sang a solo. Bryn played the piano. Reilly, Ailey, and Bryn all sang a song together. Even Tyler and I had a little duet and got to shake jingle bells. Ha Ha!!

When Tyler and I were engaged we went to his big Kofford family Christmas party at his Uncle Lew and Aunt Marilyn's house. They were hosting the entire family. There were 50 million kids who had all been given a big jingle bell stick and they were going crazy with those things!! The Koffords were all belting out the songs and all the kids were shaking those jingle bells madly. I looked at Tyler in exasperation and said, "Who gives that many kids a bunch of jingle bells?!?!) Those Kofford cousins shook them all.night.long too!! You could barely talk or hear yourself think. Well, my how times have changed. I am just as big of a jingle bell shaker and song-belter-outer as the family I married into. :) I love it!! Our *talent* portion of the evening was an hommage to that infamous night. Ha ha!! If you can't beat 'em...join 'em!! ;)

Kameron: Coventry Carol



Ailey: God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman



The Johnson sisters: I'll Be Home For Christmas




Then it was the Christmas Pageant which was pretty much sheer chaos. Reilly narrated and Kameron was Joseph (as usual), Ailey was Mary, and Brynnie was the angel. It was hilarious. Then Tyler read The Night Before Christmas. After that it was time for opening our ornaments and pajamas. This year Reilly surprised Tyler and I with a beautiful ornament. This was my very favorite gift that I got this year. It was so sweet and thoughtful. I, of course, instantly started bawling. We love it so much and will treasure it.

It is a beautiful German glass style ornament (my favorite) of the Salt Lake Temple. The very place where this whole crazy crew began. Tyler and I absolutely love it. It's hard to see in the picture but the Christmas lights shine through the windows of the temple and it is absolutely gorgeous and glowing.

Then it was time for the pajama parade!! Yes, video was taken but no it will NOT be posted!! It is one of my favorite parts of the night. Dancing around and parading in our new pajamas to "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Trust me. It's gold. Then we snapped a few pictures in our new jammies to text to our families. Then Brynnie set out cookies and eggnog for Santa.

After that all the lights were turned off including the trees casting our house in darkness. One candle was lit and Tyler read Luke 2 from the Bible by candlelight. We sang Silent Night and said family prayer. Then we escorted each child to their room by candlelight and said goodnight.

Tyler and I turned the lights back on the Christmas trees and settled down to enjoy the peace and quiet for awhile before Santa's arrival. Then Santa did his thing and we fell into bed at about 2 am. Christmas fell on a Sunday this year which is both lovely and challenging especially as our church started at 9 am. We told the kids that we were just getting up and getting ready. They could look at their stuff from Santa that was visible but that we were going to concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas that morning and would open gifts and go through stockings when we got home. The kids were super good sports about it and that saved us from opening presents at 4 am and then having to get ready for church. Hallelujah.


Christmas Day:

On Christmas morning we awoke to even more snow!! It was so beautiful as we headed out the door and went to church.

It's been a long time since we could all take a Sunday selfie!! This was even better...a Christmas Sunday Selfie!!

Church was fantastic! It was awesome to be able to partake of the Sacrament and to worship on Christmas Day. I am a big fan of Christmas Eve services and love attending other denominations on Christmas Eve so it was super nice to be able to be at church on Christmas.  The greatest Christmas gift that I got this year was having all of our family at church together and having our bench full. I loved it so much!

We had a wonderful musical program...the ward choir and the primary both performed. Bryn was darling beaming and singing her heart out up on the stand. There were a few other musical performances and speakers. It was fun to see our friends and to wish each other a Merry Christmas. We only met for Sacrament meeting and then everyone was able to go home. Our friends, the D'Hulsts, knew that we hadn't opened any gifts yet so the minute Sacrament meeting was over Dan yelled, "Run Ailey and Bryn!! Run! Forget your coats!! Just go!!" and they bolted out the door. Ha ha!!

We were meeting my family at Kelley and Elle's house for Christmas dinner at 4 pm so we came home and put our pajamas back on, made a delicious brunch of crepes, both sweet and savory, and started opening our presents. I really kind of liked how all of the Christmas fun was extended until later in the day due to our crazy morning schedule. It was really nice.

I love these satiny nightgowns. I bought the girls some last year for Christmas but in other colors and they loved them so much that they wanted them again this year but in a Christmasy color. Last year when their cousin Kaiya saw their nightgowns she had her mom order her a pair right then. All three of them were wearing their matching nightgowns at the lake this summer. They are so cute! I bought them on Etsy (a lady out of Utah...of course) and I just love them. You can also order a matching nightgown in an American Girl doll size if your girls are into that. Mine are!

This year Reilly really only wanted domestic things for her apartment and gift cards. Kameron is getting a trip to San Francisco and wanted Taco Bell clothing (who knew that was a thing but it is!) and gift cards, Ailey wanted clothes and make up and craft supplies. Bryn was the only one we bought toys for this year. So weird. But she was pretty pleased with her haul. Oh and they all requested junk food since I don't buy it for them normally. Ha ha. Santa came through. I think it was all gone before Christmas break was over.

Kam was loving his BYU hoodie from Reilly and his nasty Cheez-Its.

Oh yes, we got this game!!

Bryn with about half of her stash. She was putting it away in her room as fast as she was opening it! Ha ha.

Tyler got the squatty potty as one of his gifts from the kids!! Hilarious.

I had a very Sephora Christmas!! It pays to have daughters who KNOW what I like and help their dad out with gift ideas!!

I also had the pleasure of Reilly and Kameron being stunned into silence...mouths agape... when I opened up one of my gifts from Tyler which were Beats Headphones!! They were like "How do you even KNOW about THOSE?!"  So hilarious. I love shocking them with my hipness. I will say that I absolutely LOVE them. They are worth the money. They are BY FAR the best headphones that I have ever had!!

That night we went over to Kelley's house for Christmas dinner. We met up with my Mom, my Uncle Steve, Stacey and John and their family, and Kelley and Elle. I cannot believe that we didn't take one single picture. So sad. But we had a lovely Christmas dinner of prime rib, roasted vegetables, and my christmas salad. It was very delicious. It was nice to also celebrate the good health of my mother which was a Christmas gift to our family. Later back at our house, we played games until very late into the night. We had a fantastic time and laughed our heads off!! It was a wonderful Christmas for our family and I hope that it was for your family too!!