Tis the season to be...

I am not quite sure how to complete this sentence. I can think of several words that apply. Here are a few:

JOLLY?

1. Russ and I were able to go and see the play "A Christmas Story" at the Electric Theater with his boss, Todd, and his wife. The play was fun and well performed. That movie is a true Christmas classic.

2. We loved listening to our favorite Christmas CD. My friend Mindy gave us a Christmas CD last year and we absolutely love it. Our favorite song is Mamacita, Donde esta Santa Claus? It also has a great song by Rob Thomas, Merry New York Christmas. We really listen to it occasionally throughout the year, but at Christmas time we get to listen to it everyday.

3. We love spending time with our families. We were able to have family home evening and make gingerbread houses with my parents and the Ellsworths. We spent some of Christmas eve with the Brooks and then had a Mexican Fiesta with my family. On Christmas morning Grandma and Grandpa Brooks, and Jill and her kids came over for Christmas breakfast. We had Christmas dinner with the Little's, the Ellsworth's, Harris and his daughter- Kristen, and Jill and her kids. Later that night Kurtis and his family came to town. We all congregated at grandma Brook's home. Grandma and Grandpa Hyde came to town on Saturday and we all got together again. It was crowded, loud, and fun!

DISAPPOINTED!

1. Grant asked Santa for a hamster for Christmas. Unwillingly, we obliged. Christmas morning as the kids woke up and ran to see what Santa had brought them, we soon realized that something was wrong with the little rodent. The thing DIED within two hours. It ruined Christmas morning as we watched the little guy kick the bucket. (no pictures of the morbid experience)

2. We bought grandma Hyde a watch for Christmas. I set it on the kitchen counter Christmas morning to wrap it. Gracie jumped up to the counter with her new DS and knocked the watch on our tile floor. The watch face shattered. SO SAD! Anyway, we have had to order a new watch-face and will now have to mail grandma her present.

3. Let me just tell you about our Christmas tree. Last year, I hit the after Christmas sales. I bought some really cute decorations for our tree. I was so excited to decorate our tree this year. Well, our fake tree was falling apart last year so Russ took it to D.I. We were going to buy a new one this year. Russ' secretary at work has a bunch of land up above Cedar City. They asked us if we wanted them to cut us down a tree this year. Russ said that would be great. He gave them $35 and they cut down for us a 14 foot PIECE OF CRAP tree. It was bare at the top, really full in the middle, and very sparse at the bottom. We ended up cutting 4 feet off of the bottom of the tree. It helped a little, but not enough to get us excited. Kami came over to our house and laughed hysterically for 30 minutes. She then made a phone call to my mom to tell her she needed to make a special trip to our house just to see our tree. Every time I made a comment about the tree, Russ said I was hurting the tree's feelings. Unfortunately, these pictures do not do justice... it doesn't look half bad in the pictures.

4. We once again didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards. So don't feel left out... nobody got them. We are losers in that regard. We try, but we are rarely successful.

EXHAUSTED!!!

After being up late every night making gifts for co-workers, wrapping presents, shopping, and enjoying the festivities. Then getting up early to exercise, work, clean, and prepare for more festivities. We were completely exhausted.

GRATEFUL

I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful every year that we are able to celebrate His birthday, remember His life, be more giving, be more forgiving, and feel His love as we serve others. I love the Christmas holiday for that reason most of all.

WELCOME HOME

We were able to spend the past weekend in LOVELOCK, NEVADA. Where in the heck is that you ask? It is in northern Nevada, an hour outside of Reno, in the middle of somewhere. It is where my darling husband was raised and where his dad (Bill) and step-mom (Connie) still reside. Bill and Connie just returned home from serving a mission in Mexico City! We are so thrilled to have them home. They faced many challenges while they were there, and are facing many more upon returning home (they came back to a flooded home- so much ruined). They are now beginning the process of remodeling their home... which could be fun... if it wasn't so much work.

We spent the snowy weekend with 6 of Russ' 7 siblings and some of their families (Sad Nate couldn't be there).

It was fun to visit, and get reacquainted with those that live far away. We went to a Pershing County High School basketball game on Friday night (that is where Russ went to school). We saw several people that Russ knew growing up. Russ loved seeing his old stomping grounds and talking about the glory days in Lovelock! On Saturday, the men helped Bill around the house and then went hunting in the afternoon.

They killed some quail and rabbits which they later BBQ'ed. Yummy? I don't know- I didn't taste any... this time. I was able to sneak away for a 6 mile run on Saturday afternoon, in the snow. It was actually very fun. My muscles were so numb from the cold, I couldn't feel them aching! I felt like I could have run forever. The kids mostly played video games since there was snow everywhere and we were not well equipped for that kind of weather (us being from St George and all). All of the boy cousins sat in the "game room", a spare bedroom where they gathered with their Nintendo DS's. I think there were 5-7 of them going at all times. Occassionally they would venture outside and throw a few snowballs (it never lasted longer than a couple of minutes).

On Sunday, Bill and Connie spoke in church and told about their experiences in Mexico. I was very impressed that they were able to focus on the positive experiences and not dwell on the hardships that they faced. They are wonderful examples for my family and I appreciate them so much. I admire them for "sticking it out" in Mexico, not giving up, remaining positive, and finding ways to learn and grow from their experiences. It was a quick, but fun trip.

We have a new favorite thing that we discovered on this trip... books on tape. We got a couple from the library and listened to them during our 8 hour drives to and from Lovelock. What a great way to pass the time, especially when you are driving through the middle of NO WHERE and you only pass another car (or brothel) every 30 minutes! Drive- terrible, books on tape- fantastic! I am not sure why we haven't done this before now.

Baby if you're good to go...

Let's go down to MEXICO!!!

Well the official contest results are in. Russ "won" (earned) a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We will be flying to Mexico at the end of February. We will stay at an ALL-INCLUSIVE resort for 5 days. Russ won a very similar vacation two years ago to Cancun and it was absolutely fabulous! So we know exactly what to expect and we are very excited to be able to go again. His company knows how to vacation! Two years ago, when we went, we extended our vacation and stayed to fly-fish for a total of 10 days- just the two of us- with NO KIDS. It was a great vacation, but we missed the kids terribly. This year we are taking the kids with us. We had their passports made and they are very excited. Gracie is excited to swim all day. Garrett is excited to eat all day. And Grant is excited to miss 3 days of school and fly in an airplane. It is amazing how different each of my kids are.

I am so proud of Russ who worked so hard in this contest. I am so lucky to be married to such a great man. He is truly amazing. He is a hard worker. He is so supportive of all of my crazy ideas (graduate school, running marathons, working with the Huntsman games, etc., etc.). He is the best dad to our kids. He helps coach the boys sports teams. He helps Garrett with scouts. He irons the kids Sunday clothes each week. He makes the breakfasts of champions (most mornings these days). He initiates Family Home Evening every week and family prayer every day. He rubs my back and neck every time he watches Sports Center. He works out with me every morning at 5 A.M. He warms up my ice cold hands and feet every night when we go to bed. He paints (and re-paints) the rooms in our home. He fixes my crashed computers (spending 4 hours on the phone with some guy in India). He sends me funny texts and calls me during lunch everyday I work. He listens to my continuous complaining about my pieces of crap, lazy, ignorant, selfish co-workers. I have become completely SPOILED!!! He is dedicated to serving the Lord and devotes so much of his free time to his THREE callings. He is always happy and positive. He is funny, clever, and easy to get along with. ALL of this wrapped up in one handsome package! The greatest thing about Russ is that he continues to put up with ME!!! Just two more years Hon! ;-] My point being... if anyone deserves this vacation... it is Russ! Congratulations!

I also need to give a huge SHOUT OUT to his employees that also worked so hard in this contest. We would not be going on this trip if it were not for them. Thank you "Johnny Lingo", Kurt, and Mike who went all out this year. Also to Richard, Tracy and the Vegas crew. Thanks for making Russ' job easier and enjoyable. I wish all of you were coming with us!