Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

The Evans have a Christmas Eve tradition of getting together for dinner, then having a talent show and acting out the nativity. Nothing novel, I realize, but we have been lacking in the "talent" department every year. Well this year, Trav had the idea to get helium balloons and sing the Chipmunk song ... "Christmas don't be late". We even admitted our plans to the lady at Safeway who filled up our balloons, but I think she thought we were crazy. And I felt a little dumb, like maybe she thought I was endangering my fetus or something (also why I didn't tell my mom). But it really can't be harmful, right? Collin was our {Alvin}. ( I know the A should be on the front, but then he would have taken it off)  I have video of our performance, but it's pretty cheesy so I'll  not be posting it. Trav did a great choreography job when the "hula hoop" part came up though. He's got moves. I was just proud to actually have something prepared beforehand this year. :)

Collin was one of the Wisemen this year... his mouth is stuffed to the brim with M&M's so he'd cooperate.

The whole group doing the nativity...

My wiseman is just thrilled to be there :)

Later that night when we went back to my parent's house, we were soundly hushed when we interrupted the  playing of National Lampoon's Christmas. Just as sacred as acting out the nativity.

Christmas morning we exchanged gifts at my parent's house and I was thrilled to get the set of The Book of Mormon Made Easier! Wahoo! I've wanted these for a while now. My favorite gift of the day!

We were all stumped about this present.... :)

 And of course the little boys were all excited to play with Grandpa's new "toy".

This should have been David's boring {missionary} Christmas, but I think this was his only gospel related gift. He's going to be a sharp lookin' missionary!

Shelley had the genius idea to make freezer meals for my mom since she has long sinced been {cooked out} by 7 kids. So a week earlier, I went over to her house and we knocked out 10 freezer meals. I had the nastiest cankles after being on my feet for 5+ hours, but it was so worth it to see the look on her face when she opened the box, then proceeded to pump both arms in the air like she'd won the lottery!

I made Miss Marcie Moo a necklace then found a cute shirt to go with it... all the boys had to make cracks about it being see-through of course.

We are grateful for Casey and his knowledge of my dad's "needs", so we jumped on board with their gift this year. He was pretty excited about this drill and started outlining all it's features, just like he was on QVC.

David and Jefferson ended with the same gift so we made them open it "back to back", just like Shelley and I spent most of our Christmases. Oh, being a twin. :)

Trav joined the {boy fashionistas} of the family with his plaid shirt. :)

And Collin got a Home Depot toy saw, complete with safety goggles that he thoroughly enjoys. Apparently, they were the very reason Grandma purchased them. Good buy, Mom!

Since my parent's gift to the married kids is money, my mom likes to spice things up with a game so we can "win" our money. This year was a fun trivia game with the categories "Acro- what" (Acronyms), "Primary tunes", "Are you my brother's keeper?" (facts about our 4 brothers), and "Random Thoughts". She awarded us our money just for playing, but you won the bonus money by winning the most points in the game and picking which Bonus Bag you wanted first. There were three bags with $50, $100, and no money in them. We picked first and snagged Mr. Benjamin! Shell and Casey picked the $50, which left nothing for Christopher and Jael :(. I was nearly as excited about the can of beans that the bills were taped to as I was the money (Refried beans are WAY too expensive in Buffalo!). I look forward to our game every year... thanks Mom!  

Our group Christmas shot minus the father. I guess someone has to take the picture. I think Lane had just been scolded. :)

After snarfing on biscuits and gravy for breakfast, we had lunch at my grandma and grandpa's house later in the afternoon, then spent the evening with the Evans'. Grandpa had gotten a new toy horse that was the hit of the grandkids.

I didn't get any pictures of the gift exchange between siblings, but this was the craft I made for one of Paula's gifts. I got the idea from Shelley and I'm proud to say that Trav helped make it just as much as I did! He finally took pity on my burnt fingers and stepped in to help with the hot glueing. Now we both could have 3rd degree burns :)

Collin was so excited to get "CARS!" from Grandma, along with some clothes. The green "snot" ball was also a favorite.

My mother-in-law is so amazing to sew us all new pajama pants every year for Christmas!

Here are some of the models of year's past...

Now for the not-so-favorite moment of the day....

I was outside cooling off... Arizona people think it needs to be 74+ degrees to be warm... and Collin was playing while the dogs ate their dinner. Well he made the mistake of interrupting Hopper's/stupid dog's meal and he turned and bit Collin. I grabbed him and rushed him inside, only seeing the dent on top of his arm, but when Trav took him and flipped his wrist over, you could see the deep puncture in his arm. That's when I freaked. I hate dogs anyway, and I know I'm an overly paranoid first time mother, but I just felt so bad for him! He was crying, but didn't do too bad when we cleaned it out and put a band-aid over it. I wanted to kick the dumb dog, but I guess Wayne did that for me. It healed fine, but Collin was very much aware of what the "woo woo's" did and for the rest of the trip would meekly hold out his wrist and pitifully say "woo woo's", reminding you of his injustice. However, it also didn't stop him from playing with the dogs. I don't know if that's good (get back on the horse!) or bad (doesn't learn from his mistakes).

I just took this picture to show his battle wound. His dad likes to remind him that chicks dig scars.

Regardless, I this was my favorite Christmas to date. It's so easy to take your family for granted when you're younger, but I think especially once you've moved away, you realize how important they are. I literally loved every second we had at home (ok, minus previous incident) but I really felt so blessed to be a Lindblom and an Evans! Thank you, family, for all you did for us this year. We are lucky, lucky, lucky.

Two weeks of HeAvEn

Amazing! I'm blogging whilst on vacation. I think this will make going back to Buffalo a bit easier, knowing that at least part of the blogging is done! I've been anticipating this vacation for a long time and it has not disappointed, so there is lots to talk about.

The night before I left, Gavin and Rach came over and the boys swapped their first Christmas presents. Collin made out big with the cutest fleece blanket with.... BALLS on it. This is big news if you know this kid. So cute. Thanks Rach!

The next morning brought freezing cold and wind, but not much snow. Phewf! I was so nervous our flight would be canceled or delayed, but it went off without a hitch! We got to travel with our two fav companions (pictured below) and even snagged seats for our unpaid tots. That made a huge difference. As did the continuous playing of Curious George on the portable DVD player. The elderly gentlemen next to me had some noise canceling headphones on (smart fellow), but he really didn't need them much. Collin only had one crying episode when he woke up. I think I planned for the worst and was pleasantly surprised when I didn't want to strangle him upon arriving in Phoenix.

My family knows me well and treated us to Gecko Grill for dinner, then it was off to bed for Collin and I wasn't far behind. I actually made it to an early bedtime the whole week I was here before Trav showed up. Nice change from the usual schedule! 

 Tuesday morning we visited Grandmother and he had a great time playing with her toys and eating Cheez-its off a dolie. He wouldn't take it any other way. We must be fancy at Grandmother's house.

 Did I mention that AZ has FABULOUS weather in December? To be honest, it was actually a bit warm the first few days. Record heat in the 80's. I was driving down the road, listening to Christmas music on the radio and it occurred to me that something didn't feel quite right. How can it be Christmas time when it feels like July?! Where is the snow? I quickly scolded myself for even contemplating that snow could be appropriate right now (wasn't I SO excited to get away from it?!) That's a firm yes. So we have been cherishing every sunny moment since.

Collin loves to play outside and see the "CAT!" Minners is good to not scratch his eyes out when he {plays} with her. We have gone to a few parks and spent lots of time in Grandma's backyard. Grandma Evans had a couple of little, yippy dogs, so when we are over there he runs to the back door and starts "woofing" to let us know he is ready to see the dogs... or "woof woofs".

On Wednesday, my good friend Jenni and cousin, Leah came over with their kids. Oh and of course Shell bell! I made the ever delicious Cardamom Bread and an Olive Garden soup recipe for Zuppa Tuscana. Fun afternoon visiting and eating! Wish I had taken a picture.

Thursday consisted of top secret Christmas stuff at Shelley's house. It took up most of the day and Collin had fun playing with his cousins. I also visited some old coworkers at the doctors office I worked at for several years in college. I cracked up when I was leaving out the back door because they all panicked and told me, "Oh, it's raining! Are you sure you're ok to go out the back door?!" I just smiled and told them I thought I'd be fine. It was still a warm day (ok, a bit cooler than usual, but still not cold) and everyone was in a tizzy over the {cold day}. I love Arizona.

Yea for a Mom who likes to babysit her grandkids! Trav flew in Friday night and she watched Collin so Trav and I could go get him then go out to eat (yum, Cafe Rio). I was missin' my husband so I was glad when Friday finally came. Saturday night, she babysat again while we went to dinner with Travis's married siblings. I guess my sister had also asked her to babysit that night and they had a wedding reception to go to, so here they all are ready to head out! I was a bit nervous about it...Collin really does need a leash most times... but she was excited and ready to have fun with the grandkids. I guess she did have 7 children, so maybe this wasn't such a big deal to her. I on the other hand would have been stressed.

 We went to BJ's Brewery for dinner, then got icecream at a place called Udder Delights. It's supposed to be organic icecream or something and they have interesting flavors (apparently Reddin had been there when "hotdog" was on the list once). It was good, but expensive. I think I'm ok to have icecream produced by cows on a non-organic diet. Probably won't be returning, but it was fun to be out with everyone!

 Sunday night was the Udall family Christmas party at my parent's house. We had dinner and the traditional reading of Luke 2, interspersed with Christmas hymns, and then came the presents! My mom counted 52 people above the age of 10, so we probably had around 65-70 bodies in here!

 Grandma and Grandpa got the great grandkids a little something....

 Yea! A truck!

 Someone had the idea to get a picture of all the "greats" with Grandma and Grandpa. What an organized picture!

 Almost as good as this one.... all the grandkids holding their children with Grandma and Grandpa. Such models.

 The married grandchildren do a White Elephant exchange and there was a theme this year of "Food Storage". Boring, but practical. Of course, almost none of it would have been conducive to flying back across the country. Thanks to some {cheating}.. thanks Leah!.... we made out with batteries. Choice pick Shelley! We were just sad we couldn't take home the 4, 12 packs of Dr. Pepper. We brought beef jerky and trailmix and.... Twinkies! Trav made the good point that those are supposed to last through a holocost, so we felt it was appropriate to food storage. Jesse had them at one point, and couldn't resist digging in.

 Monday night, Trav's parents treated us to.... Gecko Grill! Shocker. :) They know us well. Afterward we went to the temple lights and enjoyed a concert by the Robin Harris family. Collin wasn't a peach, but he lasted, and I'm really glad because the music was beautiful and really brought the Spirit.

 And nothing else really brings the Spirit like icecream! We tried out Sub Zero... where you pick your base (premium, custard, yogurt, etc.) then add toppings and then watch as they use Nitrogen to freeze your treat before your eyes! Who thinks these things up? It was yummy... I'd go back.

How I have no more pictures of the following... I don't know. But on Tuesday night we had the Lindblom family party at my cousin, Jill's, house. They simplified with pizza, salad, and desserts, then we had the usual "talent show" program. Always a strong showing from our family.... nada. Collin managed to sit on Brooklyn's head and make her cry, creating a disruption, so I guess that was our contribution. I missed the hayride since I was visiting, but Collin and Trav had a good time on it!

Wednesday night my mom babysat for us AGAIN, so that we could go to my friend, Jenni's sealing. They just adoped another child, Macy, which makes 5 kids total for them! 3 of their own and 2 adopted. I had never been to a sealing before and it was beautiful. Really, the Spirit was so strong and it was such a blessing to witness their family sealed together forever to this new, sweet baby. It was my favorite part of our vacation so far. I'm so grateful for the gospel!

Afterward it was fun visiting at their house and eating yummy Joe's BBQ. Thanks for being amazing Jenni and letting us participate in such a special occasion. You will always be Super Mommy to me.

Finally, last night we had the Evans family party. They hosted it at our parent's ward building. We ate "Flora Specials" aka. chimigangas and had another talent show. I sure hope one of my children comes up with some sort of musical talent, because I will probably never initiate a family talent display. As it is, we are supposed to have something prepared for the talent show tonight, and we've got nothing.

I believe that gets me caught up on the last two weeks! Still lots to fit in, but there is time! Merry Christmas Eve to all!

(A pic of me and my sistas that I found later on Marcie's blog while we were at the Lindblom party)

Scary Santa

Monday afternoon, we took a trip to Bass Pro Shop, aka the dead animal store, for our free picture with Santa. We tried to prep Collin beforehand by pointing out Santa, telling him he wanted a high five, saying he was nice, etc. It was for naught. His reaction was priceless. Really, it was all I could have ever hoped for. You must watch the video :)

To Have a Snazzy Buffalo Christmas...

1. One must participate in a gingerbread house makin' extravaganza!

*Tips for a successful evening:

-Wear your stretchy pants (no problemo for me)

-Get all your ideas online (your own are never very good anyway)

- Put equal amounts of candy in your mouth as go on your house

- Encourage your hosts when their masterpiece goes caput, and console your husband when his caves in multiple times and he emphatically exclaims that this is really no fun at all.

- Throw it all in the garbage when days later you find yourself needing just one more piece of roof before hitting the eliptical.

 2. Wear your ugliest Christmas Sweater, swap ridiculous gifts, and pig out with your amigos.

 * If you aren't lucky enough to get your sweater from your mother's closet, *cough, Travis*, and Goodwill is out of holiday apparel, you might just find yourself in a homemade rendition of what looks like a toilet seat rug. Since washing it would probably ruin it and spraying with Lysol might create unbearable breathing condintions... just pray that the lice have left and found more favorable living conditions.

 *Always remember that no one is cooler than Bron.. .. especially when wearing a picnic basket backpack.

 *And if you must give up your treasured N'SYNC paraphanelia... that's ok, just seek counseling.

 *And don't forget to make a fun Christmas themed trifle!

 *Your son will thank the White Elephant Guru for his new {Dentist Ball Pit}. Yes, those teeth are removable and yes, those forceps actually work.

 3. Make sure to attend the best Buffalo Ward tradition to date... the ornament exchange!

*This year, we made only one ornament, then played a game to decide which one you ended up with. Wrapping your ornament extra nice will even win you nearly a pound of Fine Belgian Chocolate.

 *And of course, don't go without bringing your Cherry, Chocolate Cookies!

4. Cross your fingers that the snow storm on the horizon doesn't delay or cancel your flight for tomorrow so you can move on to having a Snazzy Mesa Christmas!

Yuck

The snow has come.

Collin actually thinks it's quite wonderful. His momma would have to disagree. I don't know whats gotten into me this year (not that I've loved it in years past) but I've been a real grinch about winter's arrival. Maybe it's because this time around I have an active little boy that just wants to be outside and doesn't understand why I keep telling him no. I've almost gotten his snow apparel in order (bib, hat, gloves, jacket) just missing the snow boots. Argueably the most important part. When I let him walk from the garage to the back door, he can't help but find amusement in the ice and white powder that covers our driveway and backyard. It would be cute if I wasn't freezing my patootie off. Buffalo got hit with a pretty bad storm this week, but our humble abode was spared the worst and didn't suffer any power outages or the like. Actually, I had to admit that our neighborhood turned into a veritable winter wonderland... just like on the movies. It was pretty breathtaking. And then I read a friend's email about her boys playing in the sprinklers in their yard in Florida and I groaned in envy. I just hate cold weather. I just do.

 On that note, I have just about a week left until the great bird in the sky transports Collin and I to {home} and desert wonderfulness.

 Trav is usually a big stickler about not starting the Christmas decorating or music until after Thanksgiving. He really puts his metaphorical foot down. And I would totally understand if I wasn't missing out on 2 weeks of seeing my own decorations. Well, about a week before Thanksgiving he told me he had been thinking about it and didn't mind if I put up the Christmas decor early this year. And for some reason he was surprised when he got home from school that day and the house had been transformed. Like I was going to waste any time! I did hold off on the tree, however, so we could decorate it together. Isn't it a sad little thing? Fit perfectly in our shoe box-apartment, but not so much here. That's ok, I actually like it a lot. I like the homemade ornaments. Matchy- matchy trees are gorgeous, but they remind me of what I am not... perfectly put together and sparkly and well... perfect. I will probably never own one, but like to admire my sister's and friend's.

 Even our star is ghetto, but hey, it works.

(I just realized that in these pictures, the tree looks big.... it's on a table. It's about 3 feet tall. Don't be deceived)

And I'll grudgingly admit that Travis was right... about decorating early anyway... it jumpstarted my longing for Christmas too soon. I'm beyond giddy about it. I even printed a special calendar just to document all the festivites... and what I'll be baking for them. Last night was the first... our ward party. It didn't really go down as expected since Collin wasn't feeling well. He came down with a fever Thursday afternoon and all I can really attribute it to is the nasty McDonald's playplace. We went there for ward playgroup on Wednesday afternoon and even though we santitized... you can't feel good about letting your child run amuk in a place that smells of feet. He really didn't have any other symptoms besides general crankiness, so I just gave him Tylenol and we watched lots of Curious George on Friday. He also fell asleep on my chest which is unheard of. Well, he woke up at 6:15 this morning and had fallen apart by 9:30am, so we took him into our room to see if he would repeat Friday, and sure enough he conked out on Travis's chest. So we took a family nap until 1pm! I think he needed the rest (who am I kidding... I needed the rest!) and has thankfully perked up much more since then. Having a sick kid over holiday festivities is no bueno. But as sad as it's been seeing him sick, I'm soaking up all the snuggle time. I just love how he rests his head on my shoulder, then wedges his arms between our bodies.

And just because I've been meaning to get a shot of this for a while now... here is Collin's ear as we'll frequently find it.... pushed out. It must not bother him, because he'll go forever with it like this. A bit strange.

 And again... random, but this pic was still on my camera when I downloaded the latest pictures. We recently tried a new {local} restaurant called The Pizza Plant. I guess they're known for their "pods" or calzones. We waited 45 min., but it was pretty good. I just don't think I'd wait that long again. But I really don't know if there is anything better than going out to eat. It's a big weakness that Trav and I share. It makes me nervous for the time that we'll actually have the money to do it more often. I mean, it doesn't get any better than having someone else make your food, serve it to you and then clean it up! Whoever invented eating out was a genius.