Christmas in Utah - Snowmobiling

I had the brilliant idea to rent snowmobiles and take them out for a day. My not so brilliant idea was to bring the kids along. I've said it before and I will say it again my.kids.are.not.meant.for.the.cold!!!!! They were fussing the entire time and it was no bueno.

 We had to take a twenty minute ride on the snowmobiles to get us far enough into the mountains to where the good snow was. The ride in and out was every ones favorite part of the day. We had nine people and two snowmobiles and we all made it out in one trip. The boys loved being pulled in the sleds and I loved watching Trav and Carter on the tiny kids sled bounce around the entire time. 

 Carter was absolutely exhausted and crashed on the drive back in. I'm pretty sure my Mom's arm was burning after holding him like this. 

 Thanks to Brienne's family and the residents of Saratoga Springs we were able to outfit all nine of us in snow gear. It was no small feet that is for sure. We tried to go buy stuff and there was nothing left in the stores. 

 Trav and I took the snowmobile out for a ride. It was Trav's first time and he made the rookie mistake of slowing down in the powder. Thankfully I am pretty good at getting out when we get stuck, but his turn driving didn't last too long ha. 

 I was dying with how cute Carter was bundled up in his puffy snow gear. 

 Trav and Kyle rode back in like this and it was hilarious from what I was told. Trav's face was frozen! They both had sore backs the next day. 

Literally two minutes after being back in the car Boston crashed. He was the fussiest of the fussiest so we were happy that he got in a good nap. So aside from kids complaining it was so much fun!

Christmas in Utah - Temple Square Lights

The temple lights in Salt Lake city are absolutely breathtaking! I hadn't seen them for almost 6 years so I was pretty excited to go check them out……that was until I stepped outside. One thing for sure is that we are not a family that is meant for the cold. It was a quick trip around, but so fun to see. I still can't believe how many lights they have and that every.single.branch is wrapped in lights. We had a yummy dinner before and Grandma Haymond came along which was so much fun. So glad that it worked out that she was in Utah for Christmas and could spend so much time with us. 

Christmas in Utah - Grandma D's turn

My Mom couldn't be there on Christmas day because of work so we got to do Christmas morning take two a couple days later. With doing G&G Wilson's Christmas before we left and Grandma D's after we were doing Christmas for almost a week straight. Spoiled boys I tell ya!

 The boys were pretty darn excited about their new plasma cars. I never knew a present could make me and them so happy. They ride those things ALL the time. 

A favorite gift for our family this year was Kels and Brie announcing that they are prego! They have been trying for a long time and had such a great attitude during it all. Can't wait to have another baby in the family!!!!

Christmas in Utah- Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so much fun! We kept it super low key and took our sweet time opening presents. Because we were traveling we opened Trav's parents gifts on FaceTime with them before we left. My Mom also wasn't able to come out until the day after Christmas so we held out on her gifts too. We were worried that the boys wouldn't have enough (I know that sounds ridiculous) but after Santa got his gift their wasn't much $$$ left over. We shouldn't have worried, because the boys loved it all and were so grateful for everything they got…..even the clothes after our talk the night before. 

 Santa came and brought the boys the bikes they had been asking for since October. Boston looked at his bike and yelled "it's perfect" if that doesn't make you happy as a parent than I don't know what would. Carter despite the look on his face was so happy with his bike. 

 I wish his eyes were open in this pic, because his reaction to getting gum in his stocking was the cutest thing ever! You would have thought he had just been given the best gift ever, but hey I guess gum ranks pretty high on his list these days so maybe it was. 

 The boys racked in Disney pins to trade this Christmas and were so happy about it. 

 Aunt Brienne and Carter needed a snack break during the opening. 

 Brienne and Kels got Carter this little dragon toy in Thailand and boy did he love it! We could have spent $5 total on his presents with this little dragon and the gum and he would have been the happiest little boy ever. 

 This was Boston's reaction after opening a coloring book that Carter gave him. It was so cute and it just might have been one of his most favorite gifts of the day. Sure love those sweet brothers. 

 I have never been so happy about a present in my entire life! I actually started crying the second I knew what it was. I have wanted a DLSR camera for so long and Trav, his parents, and my parents came together and got me one. Now I just need to figure out how in the world to use it. 

We were so blessed by all our family! It was such a great day and spending it with the people we love most was amazing!

Brienne and I worked so hard on Christmas dinner and this is the only picture I took. It was the first time we both had done a big meal from start to finish with out either of our Mom's there. Trav made his famous super moist, super flavorful, super yummy, absolutely delicious Turkey. Brienne and I made home made rolls, a salad, funeral potatoes, jello salad, pumpkin pie, raspberry danish dessert, and something else that I can't remember and surprisingly we happened to have it all ready at the same time so that everything was warm. We were super proud of ourselves and I must say it was pretty darn amazing! So glad we were able to spend Christmas at Kelsey and Brienne's house. They always make us feel so welcome and we had so much fun together!

Christmas in Utah- Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was kept pretty low key and I loved it that way. Trav flew in that afternoon and the party got started. We had a yummy dinner and finger foods that we munched on all night and before bed we read the Christmas story. The boys were so interested in the story that they completely forgot about all the presents waiting for them. Sarcasm is one of my many qualities! I always with they would do a better job listening during the Christmas story, but I guess at 3 and 5 that's not really realistic. After we opened our Christmas jammies. I love this tradition, Boston on the other hand was less than excited to find that his one present he got to open was jammies. After we had a talk about how we need to be grateful for all that we are given and he came back with some big story on how he "just thought that the jammies wouldn't look good on me, but now I know they do and I love them and am so grateful for them" Turns out he's pretty cute and his attempt to win us back over worked out. We wrote our letter to Santa and left some yummy soup and carrots for him and the reindeer. No cookies at our house. We like to make sure Santa is nice and warm while traveling through the night. It has nothing to do with the fact that the Mom of the house totally forgot about leaving something for the big guy until right before bed.