Thanks to Barney for giving me time to do this update! Of course, pictures are still backwards - need to remember next time... SO, I am going to pretend that you are reading this entry from the bottom and will start from there.... to the beginning!!!
Here is our arrival back at DFW. Uncle Roy was familied out and took off as soon as his luggage came. For some reason he didn't want to wait around for the Maas's 7 bags, 3 car seats, and one ski bag. Wow - lots of work to get ready but lots of fun too. I think I'm glad there aren't any trips on the radar for the next little while because I am exhausted! Although I do want my niece to come play again for a few weeks. She is Ben's idol and he followed her everywhere. Not many 12 year-olds would have been so kind to an active 4 year-old boy who wants to be with you ALL the time! She's a gem!!!!
Andy got me some beautiful earrings and a pac-man game that you plug into the TV (in preparation for a youth activity where they are playing old school video games, I'm sure!). After the Wii excitement at Christmas, it was great to have a game Ben could play and we weren't all holding our breaths that he would drop it! Andy had fun skiing on our trip and also took Ben for an afternoon. Ben LOVES his ski goggles and has been telling everyone that he and Dad and Uncle Roy skied in Utah. The bus driver told me this morning that Ben must have had fun in Utah!!
I think Ben's favorite Christmas gift was waiting for him at home from Uncle David and Aunt Christina - 2 new cowboy shirts. He loves opening gifts (as do all children) and expresses excitement over everything, but I wish I'd had the video camera out when he ripped open the box and exclaimed, "COWBOY SHIRTS!!!!" So, here is Ben in one of his new cowboy shirts, with his cowboy hat, and a favorite ornament that a friend made. Thanks Uncle David and Aunt Christina because the one he has been wearing does not stay tucked in and that has been a major source of contention between Ben and his jeans for the past few weeks!
We had so many people we wanted to see, but there is never enough time. We did get to visit my Grandmother (my dad's mom) and a favorite aunt and uncle in their new home. Utah has most of our favorite people living there (notice I said MOST, not ALL) - maybe it's time we shuffle on back... :)
The new Gordon B. Hinckley building. It is beautiful!
Another this we really wanted to do was take the kids to visit BYU. We walked around on campus for awhile, visiting the new Gordon B. Hinckley building and eating lunch in the WILK. It was a cold and snowy morning!
For my mom's 60th birthday we went to Olive Garden for lunch with her younger sister and a few of her girls. It was great and the servers did a rowdy rendition of the birthday song. When we got home it was to find that the 6-layer birthday cake I was making (we had dinner assignment for the evening) for each decade of mom's life was missing a layer. The big dog strikes! Duncan the dog who is not even allowed in the kitchen somehow cleanly snatched a layer - either that or my brother-in-law is a fabulous liar, whom I can't see him lying about food. So, it turned into a 5-layer cake. One layer for each child she has raised into adulthood. (In all honesty, it was probably a really good thing we only had five layers because by the time I stacked the fifth layer on with chocolate frosting in between each layer and peppermint sticks holding the cake upright, the cake was being mocked. My family decided they didn't need to travel to Italy to see the leaning tower because they had already seen it. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of this because my camera was downstairs and we needed to quickly sing and blow out the candles. Where was my structural engineer when I needed him?
Andy and I took our kids earlier on Christmas morning while the others were playing Wii. It was a short-lived trip as both Annie and Emily were ready for naps...
Those ready to brave the snow! Bronwyn was hanging out with me... I really don't know who had the most fun - Uncle Roy or Andy...
Andy giving them a good start. This was a FAST hill with a bunch of snow-covered rocks at the bottom so we tried to stop fast as well...
Uncle Roy and Roman...
Ben and I getting ready to go sledding. It was a cold and beautiful Christmas Day. We did the big turkey dinner on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day playing. All my sister's prayers were answered as we had a very White Christmas (as well as the preceeding and following days!).
Outside the St. George Temple where our newest family addition was sealed to his parents - little Trevor is very cute and has the MOST pinchable cheeks! He and Emily are two months apart and were really fun to watch as they watched each other!
Most of our time in Utah was spent in PG at my sister's house (who doesn't have tv set up). We went to St. George for 2 days to see my brother and his family and stayed in a hotel that night - ironically that was the night of BYU's bowl game. So here is Emily and Daddy how we found them when Ben, Annie and I got back from swimming in the hotel pool.
This is Christmas Eve. Grandma and Grandpa bought all the kids jammies to open on Christmas Eve. Also, I think this is the cheesiest grin I have EVER seen from Emily!
Okay - so it's still not in order, but this is better. Here is Ben on Christmas morning excited for his REAL cowboy hat that Santa brought! For some reason he didn't seem too shocked that Santa didn't bring him a horse and actually hasn't even mentioned it, so I think we're good...
Here is our arrival back at DFW. Uncle Roy was familied out and took off as soon as his luggage came. For some reason he didn't want to wait around for the Maas's 7 bags, 3 car seats, and one ski bag. Wow - lots of work to get ready but lots of fun too. I think I'm glad there aren't any trips on the radar for the next little while because I am exhausted! Although I do want my niece to come play again for a few weeks. She is Ben's idol and he followed her everywhere. Not many 12 year-olds would have been so kind to an active 4 year-old boy who wants to be with you ALL the time! She's a gem!!!!
Andy got me some beautiful earrings and a pac-man game that you plug into the TV (in preparation for a youth activity where they are playing old school video games, I'm sure!). After the Wii excitement at Christmas, it was great to have a game Ben could play and we weren't all holding our breaths that he would drop it! Andy had fun skiing on our trip and also took Ben for an afternoon. Ben LOVES his ski goggles and has been telling everyone that he and Dad and Uncle Roy skied in Utah. The bus driver told me this morning that Ben must have had fun in Utah!!
I think Ben's favorite Christmas gift was waiting for him at home from Uncle David and Aunt Christina - 2 new cowboy shirts. He loves opening gifts (as do all children) and expresses excitement over everything, but I wish I'd had the video camera out when he ripped open the box and exclaimed, "COWBOY SHIRTS!!!!" So, here is Ben in one of his new cowboy shirts, with his cowboy hat, and a favorite ornament that a friend made. Thanks Uncle David and Aunt Christina because the one he has been wearing does not stay tucked in and that has been a major source of contention between Ben and his jeans for the past few weeks!
We had so many people we wanted to see, but there is never enough time. We did get to visit my Grandmother (my dad's mom) and a favorite aunt and uncle in their new home. Utah has most of our favorite people living there (notice I said MOST, not ALL) - maybe it's time we shuffle on back... :)
The new Gordon B. Hinckley building. It is beautiful!
Another this we really wanted to do was take the kids to visit BYU. We walked around on campus for awhile, visiting the new Gordon B. Hinckley building and eating lunch in the WILK. It was a cold and snowy morning!
For my mom's 60th birthday we went to Olive Garden for lunch with her younger sister and a few of her girls. It was great and the servers did a rowdy rendition of the birthday song. When we got home it was to find that the 6-layer birthday cake I was making (we had dinner assignment for the evening) for each decade of mom's life was missing a layer. The big dog strikes! Duncan the dog who is not even allowed in the kitchen somehow cleanly snatched a layer - either that or my brother-in-law is a fabulous liar, whom I can't see him lying about food. So, it turned into a 5-layer cake. One layer for each child she has raised into adulthood. (In all honesty, it was probably a really good thing we only had five layers because by the time I stacked the fifth layer on with chocolate frosting in between each layer and peppermint sticks holding the cake upright, the cake was being mocked. My family decided they didn't need to travel to Italy to see the leaning tower because they had already seen it. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of this because my camera was downstairs and we needed to quickly sing and blow out the candles. Where was my structural engineer when I needed him?
Andy and I took our kids earlier on Christmas morning while the others were playing Wii. It was a short-lived trip as both Annie and Emily were ready for naps...
Those ready to brave the snow! Bronwyn was hanging out with me... I really don't know who had the most fun - Uncle Roy or Andy...
Andy giving them a good start. This was a FAST hill with a bunch of snow-covered rocks at the bottom so we tried to stop fast as well...
Uncle Roy and Roman...
Ben and I getting ready to go sledding. It was a cold and beautiful Christmas Day. We did the big turkey dinner on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day playing. All my sister's prayers were answered as we had a very White Christmas (as well as the preceeding and following days!).
Outside the St. George Temple where our newest family addition was sealed to his parents - little Trevor is very cute and has the MOST pinchable cheeks! He and Emily are two months apart and were really fun to watch as they watched each other!
Most of our time in Utah was spent in PG at my sister's house (who doesn't have tv set up). We went to St. George for 2 days to see my brother and his family and stayed in a hotel that night - ironically that was the night of BYU's bowl game. So here is Emily and Daddy how we found them when Ben, Annie and I got back from swimming in the hotel pool.
This is Christmas Eve. Grandma and Grandpa bought all the kids jammies to open on Christmas Eve. Also, I think this is the cheesiest grin I have EVER seen from Emily!
Okay - so it's still not in order, but this is better. Here is Ben on Christmas morning excited for his REAL cowboy hat that Santa brought! For some reason he didn't seem too shocked that Santa didn't bring him a horse and actually hasn't even mentioned it, so I think we're good...