Christmas

LeeRoy was the first to wake up this morning and ring the Christmas bells. He was so excited all night that he barely slept. I think the rest of us were too. The girls couldn't wait to see what Santa had brought them. Emily got an Easy Bake Oven, Wendy got a Pony Playhouse, LeeRoy got a game, and I got a new computer chair. We spent the rest of the morning opening presents and playing with everything. Wendy was so happy with each present she opened we had a hard time convincing her to open the next one!

Later in the morning we headed over to the Palmer's to open more presents and play games. Once we got back home it was nice to just relax and spend time together. LeeRoy made us some delicious steaks for dinner and when we tucked the girls into bed we all decided, like we do every year, that this year has been "THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER"!

Christmas Eve

LeeRoy's parents not only came over on Christmas Eve morning but they brought us a delicious breakfast too! It was nice being able to visit with them and exchange presents. One of the presents they gave to Wendy was a giant jumping play area. The girls call it the "Jumping Machine".





Later I talked LeeRoy into donning his Santa suit. Emily loved sitting on his lap but Wendy was so scared she ran and hid under her bed. Emily decided to try the suit on herself and Wendy warmed up to that pretty fast. She even sat on Emily's lap!




That afternoon we headed over to the Palmer house. We played games until dinner time. Every Christmas Eve we get to open one present, which is always pajamas. It was Emily's turn to pick out the fabric for this year's pajama pants. She did a great job. Later we headed home where we watched a Christmas movie and laid out snacks for Santa. Emily also colored him a picture of the nativity. She said she wanted him to know that she was happy to get presents but that she would still remember the true meaning of Christmas. We had been tracking Santa's progress through Norad so when we saw that he entered the United States we rushed to get into bed! We didn't want to miss his special visit!

White Christmas

Last night Alisha and Travis were nice enough to watch the girls so LeeRoy and I could go on a triple date with mom and Dad and Lance and Sarah. We went to the Mystique's dinner theatre to see White Christmas. It was our first time going and we had a really good time together. It definitely got me even more excited for Christmas than ever before.

Live Nativity

Last night we went with Alisha and Travis to the Live Nativity that all the churches in Blackfoot do every year. While we waited in line there were big fires to keep us warm, carolers singing, great company, and hot chocolate and cookies. They had a horse pulled wagon that took us scene by scene through the nativity. It was amazing! After we were done we played on the ice rink. This is the first year that we have gone but I think we will have to make it a tradition from now on.

Call Family Christmas Party

Saturday was our annual Call Family Christmas party. We all gathered together for a wonderful feast. Even Santa came and surprised us with a visit. The adults had fun visiting and catching up while the kids ran around and did some crafts. It was really nice to be able to see everyone again. We always love it when our family has a chance to get together!

Training

I just got home from Boise where I spent a week learning to drive, install weapon systems, and maintain the M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle. It only cost me missing out on my oldest daughter's Christmas singing program. It was not worth it. Here are pictures of the weapons mounted in the dual mount turret and our convoy outside in the rain. Below is a short clip of me Commanding an ASV for a quick gas run.

Emily's Christmas Program

Tonight was Emily's 2nd Grade Christmas Program. I was lucky enough to be able to run up and snap a quick picture before it started. They did a short play that incorporated all of their Christmas songs. She had a lot of fun performing and we loved being able to watch her.


Emily is the one in the front-middle wearing the green and white top.

Christmas Tree

We loaded our vehicle full of winter clothes, added an entourage of trucks carrying two sets of grandparents and headed up Knox Canyon once again to find our Christmas tree. I told Emily if we concentrated on the trees hard enough our Christmas spirit would let us know which tree would be perfect for our family. It didn't take long to find that perfect one! LeeRoy even let Emily help cut it down. After we all had our trees we gathered by the trucks for a warm fire, hot chocolate, sledding, and rides on the four wheeler. Once the kids had enough of the cold we headed to the Andersen's house where they had warm bathrooms, heaters, and hot beverages waiting for us! We had a lot of fun and once we got home it was nice to put up our Christmas decorations and decorate our new tree.

Reflections

Today was the Reflections awards ceremony at Emily's school. The theme for this year was beauty is........ She received 3rd place for both categories she entered. The first category was literature. She wrote a short story called Beauty is Snow on Trees. The second category was photography. We waited and waited for it to snow then took her to the park where she took a picture of a tree with snow all over it. She was so excited when her name was called as one of the winners! She got a certificate and a cash prize for each. She worked very hard this year and we are so proud of her!

The Forgotten Carols

Last night Papa was nice enough to watch Wendy for us so we could take Emily to see the Forgotten Carols. We went with my mom and Lacie and we had such a good time. LeeRoy and I have been many times but this was Emily's first and she loved it! After the show we drove down Candy Cane Lane and looked at all the beautiful lights. It was such a good way to start the Christmas season.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has been a week long holiday this year. We had an early feast with just our little family. Then I got busy getting pajama pants sewn for Christmas Eve while the girls got a chance to play outside in the snow.

On Thanksgiving day we went to LeeRoy's parents and had a wonderful time eating and visiting together. LeeRoy worked out in their garage for a few hours cutting and drilling wood for crafts I am working on and at the end of the evening Emily gave us a wonderful lesson on being thankful for all of our blessings.

That night, Lacie was nice enough to spend the night and babysit so the day after Thanksgiving we were able to get up before the crack of dawn to do some BLITZ shopping. I know it sounds crazy but we had a blast and with the help of my wonderful mother we were in and out of each store quickly. After shopping we followed tradition and went to breakfast together. It has been a great week filled with my favorite things:
Food
Family
Fun

Forever Plaid

In high school our marching band went to a competition and we stayed the night in Las Vegas. While there we went to the Flamingo Casino for dinner and were able to see the play Forever Plaid. The other night while at the library with Emily I saw a poster advertising that the Playmill Theater was putting on the same play in I.F. I was so excited! My mom went with me and we decided to make a night of it. We did some shopping, went to dinner, and lastly the play. It was so good! We laughed the whole time.

Family Holiday

Yesterday was our "Family Holiday". It has been 4 years to the day since LeeRoy came home from Iraq. I still remember gathering outside the airport with all the other families. Emily and I waved the same little flag we waved when he left and we were so excited it seemed like it took forever for LeeRoy's turn to step off the plane.

Every year on this day LeeRoy takes off work and we let Emily stay home from school so we can do something as a family and just appreciate being together. This year we went to see the new Christmas Carol movie in 3D. It was great because we were the only ones in the theater. Wendy got a little scared towards the end but we all loved it! After the movie we spent the day Christmas shopping and then went out to dinner. It was nice to have a stop in the middle of the week and just have some fun together.

Trick - Or - Treat

This Halloween we had a lot of fun. Since Grandma Pat was nice enough to stay and watch our kids last night she was still here this morning which made us all very happy. We had LeeRoy's homemade pumpkin pancakes, which was an outstanding start for a great 2009 Halloween.

Later in the evening, we got all dressed-up for tricks and treats. The only way we could get Wendy to wear her red-riding-hood costume was to tell her it was a red princess dress. Emily was a bumblebee, LeeRoy was Sherlock Holmes, and Lori was a witch.

We went to the ward trunk or treat, followed by some traditional door-to-door candy begging. This was Wendy's first year trick or treating and she started to enter the first few houses as they opened the door! She almost said, "Trick or Treat," too!

When the girls were satisfied with their candy loot we headed home and watched "Ghostbusters" together. Once the kids were in bed we rolled the clocks back and had another hour all to ourselves to "inspect" the candy. The perfect ending.

Pasta, Passion, and Pistols (A Murder Mystery Party)

The succulent aroma of home-cooked pasta is drifting from New York City's most popular Italian eatery, La Speranza, but something else is heating up in the kitchen . . . cold-blooded murder! Restaurant-owner Pepi Roni has been shot in the back with his own pistol. Tonight his family and friends will gather to pay their respects to poor Pepi, but one of the guests won't be shedding any tears...


Remembering our beloved Pepi Roni...

Welcome to La Sperenza!!

Dinner is about to be served...

THE SUSPECTS:
Rocco Scarfazzi, Tara Misu, Mama Rosa, Father Al Fredo, Marco Roni, and Bo Jalais


Clair VoyantAngel Roni ..... Lacie played this part

Dinner in Pepi's honor ...

Who dunnit? We cannot tell! But it was a night to remember and fun had by all the guests! Only 2 of the 9 guests correctly identified the murderer after 2 1/2 hours and 6 bottles of wine (Sparkling cider) later.

Great Family, Great Food, Great Fun!

Scarrrrrry Food!

Every Friday in October I like to make simple Halloween themed dinners and then we do a HUGE Halloween themed dinner on Halloween night. We always have a lot of fun with this and the kids love it!

Spider tacos with a spiderweb cheesecake.


Ghastly grub spaghetti and eyeballs, Witches' brooms, and Goblin Goo.

The Great Pumpkin

I love everything about carving pumpkins! Halloween music playing in the background, the smell of delicious pumpkin in the air, getting completely messy, and especially baking yummy pumpkin seeds. When the girls were finished with their pumpkins Wendy loved hers so much she kept hugging it over and over!