Christmas Break Highlights

Some highlights of the Christmas Season:


1. Getting build-a-bears and playing with them for the entire day.
2. Playing at little biggs and having the entire place to the 5 of us for most of the time.
3. Seeing Princess and the Frog on Christmas Eve with the Morrills.
4. Watching my small people act out the nativity.
5. Opening presents on Christmas morning. Santa brought candy in stockings and legos for Mia, a camera and sword for Justin, and American girl dolls for Ashley and Katelyn. I also gave Mia some Dora books, Justin a transformer and remote control tractor, and the girls a webkinz with a leotard for Kate and a jewelry box for Ashley. They were, of course, also spoiled by grandparents. It was fun this year to have the kids draw names for each other and watch their excitement at picking out presents for their siblings. It was a great morning. Justin and Mia were up before 6:00 am so we had time to bathe them, clean, do laundry and all sorts of other inappropriate Christmas morning activities before the girls even woke up. I, in my craziness, had even taken down all of the Christmas decorations by lunchtime. I'm okay in my obsessiveness. We had Morrills for dinner and were grateful they came for the distraction.
6. Driving to Utah on the 27th. Hans' and my anniversary. I left my driveway at 4 am. I was somehow able to stay awake without Hans there and I kept trying to coerce the kids to fall back asleep. I did have an Ensign article experience in Denver when I felt the prompting to switch lanes, which gratefully I did. Within a couple minutes a car came driving along, lights off, driving the wrong way in the lane I had been in. A drunk driver, I am sure. What kind of idiot drives the wrong way on a 5 lane freeway, clearly marked with big dividers in the middle? Just another reason to not take up alcohol...I didn't even see the car until I would have crashed into it. I'm feeling grateful for the protection offered by the Holy Ghost. The rest of the drive, gratefully, was uneventful. The kids did so great and we made it to Utah by noon.
7. Signing the girls up for ski school and having them LOVE it.
8. Skiing an entire day with the girls. I was on a high for several hours afterwards feeling so amazed that I was doing something I love with my girls, who also seemed to love it. They did so great too. They both did a black diamond by the end of the day. I was totally impressed. Hans is taking them this Saturday.
9. Walking around Temple square with the Fords and touring the Conference Center.
10. Spending a morning at Christensens watching Sara, Justin, and Mia play. I love cousins.
11. Going to dinner with my siblings and in-laws and parents and then bowling afterwards. No kids.
12. New Years Eve party with my parents and making predictions for next year and in 10 years. Realizing I'm getting old.
13. Having to tell Mia that we don't do booty shakes at the dinner table. That girl. She loves to dance. And whenever she's naked she runs around shaking her booty, while yelling "booty shake, booty shake." She also has taken to calling anyone who wrongs her "a meano meano."
14. Touring Grandpa Egberts fire station, including fire truck, ambulance, and bomb squad truck, and getting to aim and spray the actual fire hose. So fun.

And while I'm remembering I need to get this down - our babysitter experience on Halloween. We came home at around 9:30 pm and the babysitter was sitting between the girls watching a Barbie movie (I'd told her 8:00 for bed) seeming to enjoy it more then the girls. Justin was asleep on the staircase. And Mia was screaming in her crib, totally naked. I've never had this happen before. I really couldn't stop laughing at how funny it all was. The babysitter seemed totally oblivious to it all. I probably will ask her to babysit again, just most likely during the daytime...

I, of course, took NO pictures while I was in Utah. Not a single one. I will post Christmas morning pictures eventually. I did take a few of those.