OK, Let's face it; I have been terrible at keeping up with our family blog the past couple months! We have had so much going on, and some new changes and adventures it's been hard to keep track of it all.
So lets start with a little bit about our second Thanksgiving as a little family. We went over to Keith's parent's for Thanksgiving, as it was his family's turn this year. His sister Krystal and her husband Mike were there with their two little boys, and then Great Grandma Olsen, and Aunt Barbara and her daughter Kira. I was in charge of bringing a fruit salad, but I felt like it was water compared to all the other amazing dishes everyone else prepared! However, I can't really cook, so it's probably good they didn't ask me to bring anything else. ;) The dinner was super yummy and we stuffed ourselves full. Aria ate like a bird as she always does when we are not at home, but she seemed to enjoy all the food she did eat. After dinner, Krystal had planned some super fun games for us to play. We played a bunch of Minute to Win It games, based off the TV show, and split into teams of two. It was seriously a blast and so hilarious! We even got Aria laughing at some of the silly sames we played. :) Later that night we headed down to Layton to meet my mom and sister to do some Black Friday shopping. It was crazy ridiculous. But we got a few things we wanted/needed so it was great.
Moving on to December! My favorite month out of the whole year. My birthday was on the 8th, and I turned 23---I am so old! ;) LOL. My mom and sister came up on the 5th to celebrate early with me by watching Aria so I could go get my hair done, and then take me out to lunch and shopping. It was so fun! Then on my birthday Keith made me breakfast in bed and let me sleep in, and then Aria and I played around and went out shopping in the afternoon. Ha--that night Keith made his really good shepherds pie, which is one of my favorite meals (and it was on that nights menu list...) but he somehow didn't pay attention when he was adding salt to it, and so when we went to eat it, it was so overly salted we about died! Aria loved it though, it was soo funny! So he felt terrible that he had ruined dinner and went out and got us pizza. I felt bad that he had spent like an hour of his time making the dinner and then we couldn't even stand to eat it!
We had a blast the rest of the month. We had so many little get together and Christmas parties to go to that we kept pretty busy. Not to mention decorating, and all the shopping we had to get done too. We got to spend a lot of time down in the Layton area in December visiting my Mom and all our family down there. I absolutely loved it. It was so nice to be around them all and just hang out, and talk about life, and laugh and tease each other about when we were little. It is so great that our big family of 9 siblings are pretty much all great friends now. And they all adore Aria--that's even an understatement ha-ha. She got to know and remember them all better too since we spent so much time there. We celebrated a few more of my siblings birthdays in December; (I have three other siblings that have December birthdays, and a Grandma too..it's a pretty busy/expensive month at our house.) went out shopping and out to eat a lot, and just felt very spoiled. We had Blair's family's Christmas party in Layton with his huge family, and it was really fun. We ate and had a fun gift exchange with everyone. Aria even got to be apart of the little nativity the did for the kids. She was absolutely adorable. Pictures below. :) Then we had my mom's family's annual Bethlehem Supper at my Grandma and Grandpa Tingey's house. This is literally my favorite get together that we do with her family out of the whole year. We have done it ever since I can remember. We have a dinner and only eat foods that would have been found in the time Jesus was on the earth. Then we have a little lesson and sharing time from my Grandparents, (we used to do a nativity but now we are all too old..) read the Christmas Story from the scriptures, sing carols and then just visit and bask in the wonderful Christmas spirit this wonderful tradition brings. My Grandpa has this AMAZING Christmas village and train set up in their front living room, that has been there every year since I was little too. It brings the magic of Christmas to life every time I see it. I was so excited for Aria to see it this year since she was old enough to actually appreciate it a little. Needless to say she LOVED it and wanted to be in that room almost the whole time. It was so fun to watch her little eyes sparkle and light up watching the train go round and round and see her smile as she picked up the little bears out of the cars as they came around the track. We did Keith's family's party after Christmas on the 27 at his parents house. It was so fun to have all of his siblings together with their kids. (just missing Tamara who's still on her mission in California---we did get to talk to her on Christmas however, she is doing well.) All the kids ran around and played together and it is so fun to have someone for Aria to play with. We opened gifts for our family gift exchanges, and ate a yummy dinner. I love spending time with his family; they are all such wonderful people. :) I was incredibly blessed to marry into such a great family.
We took Aria to see Santa this year at Station Park in Farmington, I had won a free visit with Santa coupon that came with free picture too. I was super excited. They had Santa set up in a cute little cottage near the ice-skating rink and we got there at a good time I guess because there was hardly a line. I had anticipated that Aria would be scared of Santa this year, but I didn't expect her to completely freak out and loose it as much as she did. As soon as we stepped into the room to see him, she took one look at him and started crying and clung to my neck and wasn't letting go. Santa was really sweet and said he didn't want her to be scared and traumatized, so he had us pull out the little couch he was sitting on and had me sit on it with Aria on my lap, and then he sneaked around behind us to be in the picture. So, unfortunately it was kind of a disaster and I had to be in the picture...and I look soo weird. My eyes look huge like I am crazy or high on something. Ha ha. Oh well, its a funny memory for her someday. I am sure we will endure many more years of our kids screaming and crying as we try to make them sit on Santa's lap...but its like a right of passage ya know?
Christmas Day was wonderful. Aria let us sleep in till about 7:30 and then we all got up. I was so excited for Christmas morning, I felt like a kid all over again. I had finally bought us stockings this year, and had filled them up with special goodies and random stuff for each of us. I was also excited for Keith to open his gifts because I actually got him a couple gifts that he had no idea what they were. :) Anyway, we opened gifts--we tried to film Aria opening hers, but it was kind of difficult because she wanted to play with my phone while I was recording, and then wanted us to immediately open all her presents once they were unwrapped. She got completely spoiled by everyone this year. She got 3 new dolls, and lots of other fun toys, and some cute cute clothes. It was a beautiful Christmas for our little family. I felt so blessed to have Keith and Aria to celebrate the season with me. I am the luckiest girl ever! It is amazing to me how much Aria and her pure little spirit bring me closer to the savior, and open my eyes daily to all that he has done for me and our family.
The rest of our Christmas holiday break was really nice and relaxing. Keith finally got to take a nice long break from school, which he loved. We ended the year off with a very low key New Years Eve, Aria went to bed and Keith and I barely stayed up till Midnight. :) The fact that we could barely make it to midnight made us feel old. Being a parent and a grownup with responsibilities, I now understand why my parents would go to bed early, and barely make it to midnight on New Years. I thought they were weird and old, now I get it... life is exhausting sometimes! Our Holidays were really great, and we were so thankful to spend it with so many of our family and friends.
So lets start with a little bit about our second Thanksgiving as a little family. We went over to Keith's parent's for Thanksgiving, as it was his family's turn this year. His sister Krystal and her husband Mike were there with their two little boys, and then Great Grandma Olsen, and Aunt Barbara and her daughter Kira. I was in charge of bringing a fruit salad, but I felt like it was water compared to all the other amazing dishes everyone else prepared! However, I can't really cook, so it's probably good they didn't ask me to bring anything else. ;) The dinner was super yummy and we stuffed ourselves full. Aria ate like a bird as she always does when we are not at home, but she seemed to enjoy all the food she did eat. After dinner, Krystal had planned some super fun games for us to play. We played a bunch of Minute to Win It games, based off the TV show, and split into teams of two. It was seriously a blast and so hilarious! We even got Aria laughing at some of the silly sames we played. :) Later that night we headed down to Layton to meet my mom and sister to do some Black Friday shopping. It was crazy ridiculous. But we got a few things we wanted/needed so it was great.
Moving on to December! My favorite month out of the whole year. My birthday was on the 8th, and I turned 23---I am so old! ;) LOL. My mom and sister came up on the 5th to celebrate early with me by watching Aria so I could go get my hair done, and then take me out to lunch and shopping. It was so fun! Then on my birthday Keith made me breakfast in bed and let me sleep in, and then Aria and I played around and went out shopping in the afternoon. Ha--that night Keith made his really good shepherds pie, which is one of my favorite meals (and it was on that nights menu list...) but he somehow didn't pay attention when he was adding salt to it, and so when we went to eat it, it was so overly salted we about died! Aria loved it though, it was soo funny! So he felt terrible that he had ruined dinner and went out and got us pizza. I felt bad that he had spent like an hour of his time making the dinner and then we couldn't even stand to eat it!
We had a blast the rest of the month. We had so many little get together and Christmas parties to go to that we kept pretty busy. Not to mention decorating, and all the shopping we had to get done too. We got to spend a lot of time down in the Layton area in December visiting my Mom and all our family down there. I absolutely loved it. It was so nice to be around them all and just hang out, and talk about life, and laugh and tease each other about when we were little. It is so great that our big family of 9 siblings are pretty much all great friends now. And they all adore Aria--that's even an understatement ha-ha. She got to know and remember them all better too since we spent so much time there. We celebrated a few more of my siblings birthdays in December; (I have three other siblings that have December birthdays, and a Grandma too..it's a pretty busy/expensive month at our house.) went out shopping and out to eat a lot, and just felt very spoiled. We had Blair's family's Christmas party in Layton with his huge family, and it was really fun. We ate and had a fun gift exchange with everyone. Aria even got to be apart of the little nativity the did for the kids. She was absolutely adorable. Pictures below. :) Then we had my mom's family's annual Bethlehem Supper at my Grandma and Grandpa Tingey's house. This is literally my favorite get together that we do with her family out of the whole year. We have done it ever since I can remember. We have a dinner and only eat foods that would have been found in the time Jesus was on the earth. Then we have a little lesson and sharing time from my Grandparents, (we used to do a nativity but now we are all too old..) read the Christmas Story from the scriptures, sing carols and then just visit and bask in the wonderful Christmas spirit this wonderful tradition brings. My Grandpa has this AMAZING Christmas village and train set up in their front living room, that has been there every year since I was little too. It brings the magic of Christmas to life every time I see it. I was so excited for Aria to see it this year since she was old enough to actually appreciate it a little. Needless to say she LOVED it and wanted to be in that room almost the whole time. It was so fun to watch her little eyes sparkle and light up watching the train go round and round and see her smile as she picked up the little bears out of the cars as they came around the track. We did Keith's family's party after Christmas on the 27 at his parents house. It was so fun to have all of his siblings together with their kids. (just missing Tamara who's still on her mission in California---we did get to talk to her on Christmas however, she is doing well.) All the kids ran around and played together and it is so fun to have someone for Aria to play with. We opened gifts for our family gift exchanges, and ate a yummy dinner. I love spending time with his family; they are all such wonderful people. :) I was incredibly blessed to marry into such a great family.
We took Aria to see Santa this year at Station Park in Farmington, I had won a free visit with Santa coupon that came with free picture too. I was super excited. They had Santa set up in a cute little cottage near the ice-skating rink and we got there at a good time I guess because there was hardly a line. I had anticipated that Aria would be scared of Santa this year, but I didn't expect her to completely freak out and loose it as much as she did. As soon as we stepped into the room to see him, she took one look at him and started crying and clung to my neck and wasn't letting go. Santa was really sweet and said he didn't want her to be scared and traumatized, so he had us pull out the little couch he was sitting on and had me sit on it with Aria on my lap, and then he sneaked around behind us to be in the picture. So, unfortunately it was kind of a disaster and I had to be in the picture...and I look soo weird. My eyes look huge like I am crazy or high on something. Ha ha. Oh well, its a funny memory for her someday. I am sure we will endure many more years of our kids screaming and crying as we try to make them sit on Santa's lap...but its like a right of passage ya know?
Christmas Day was wonderful. Aria let us sleep in till about 7:30 and then we all got up. I was so excited for Christmas morning, I felt like a kid all over again. I had finally bought us stockings this year, and had filled them up with special goodies and random stuff for each of us. I was also excited for Keith to open his gifts because I actually got him a couple gifts that he had no idea what they were. :) Anyway, we opened gifts--we tried to film Aria opening hers, but it was kind of difficult because she wanted to play with my phone while I was recording, and then wanted us to immediately open all her presents once they were unwrapped. She got completely spoiled by everyone this year. She got 3 new dolls, and lots of other fun toys, and some cute cute clothes. It was a beautiful Christmas for our little family. I felt so blessed to have Keith and Aria to celebrate the season with me. I am the luckiest girl ever! It is amazing to me how much Aria and her pure little spirit bring me closer to the savior, and open my eyes daily to all that he has done for me and our family.
The rest of our Christmas holiday break was really nice and relaxing. Keith finally got to take a nice long break from school, which he loved. We ended the year off with a very low key New Years Eve, Aria went to bed and Keith and I barely stayed up till Midnight. :) The fact that we could barely make it to midnight made us feel old. Being a parent and a grownup with responsibilities, I now understand why my parents would go to bed early, and barely make it to midnight on New Years. I thought they were weird and old, now I get it... life is exhausting sometimes! Our Holidays were really great, and we were so thankful to spend it with so many of our family and friends.
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| Putting up Christmas! |
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| She had this obsession with the Christmas lights for days...they always had to be plugged in. |
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| Cutest Couple selfie on Thanksgiving. |
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| Little Will and Aria with Grandma :) |
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| Please ignore my face--Mommy daughter selfie showing off Aria's princess tree in the background. |
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| Aria discovered the broom--she loves to help sweep! Yay!?! |
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| Fun at the park after Thanksgiving. While we still had no snow and cold! |
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| Messy baby--spitting out milk is soo funny; not. We were trying to get her used to drinking it. |
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| OK, this is me looking very excited because I had just won a $500 shopping spree to Station Park!! That's right, $500!! WHOO!! |
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| Birthday dinner for Marissa--My mom and almost all my sisters :) |
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| Cute little Aria was a cow/donkey/moose type thing for the nativity she was in. She was adorable but didn't like the hat. Go figure. |
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| Exploring the amazing train set at Grandma and Grandpa's. |
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| Our stockings I was very proud of. :) |
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| Christmas Morning!! |
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| She loves this cute Cinderella tea set we got her. It is SOO fun to have a little girl!! |
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| OK, these pictures are literally the best I could get of Aria in her darling Christmas dress my mom got her. I need to take more of her in it before she grows out of it. She was so tired by this point I'm surprised I got a half smile. |
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| Daddy and Baby chillin' :) |
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