The last month of the year 2010-December update

Can I just begin by saying...What a way to end a year!! You'll understand what I mean after reading about this month.
So This month was super crazy busy for us! As it is for everyone, I know! The holidays just seem to add busyness to our lives (Good busyness of course), but you add a lot of stuff of life on top of that holiday busyness and you get this hectic, fun and full of tons of emotions all at once type of month!!

We began by Patrick and I going on a trip to Denver, CO the first week of this month. Patrick's work (former employer. aka Jones/Simkins) sent him there for a CPE Training. They gave him a $ amount of expenses that they would pay and he had to find the flight the hotel and such. Well he found us a great deal on flights and was able to take me with him. Plus while we were there we stayed at Patricks Mission Presidents house so that cut one nights cost of hotel and food. Needless to say we ended up getting paid to go on this trip. We left the kids at G&G Munsons house and left for 3 days. This was the first time Patrick and I had gotten away for a night since we had Porter. So it was a much needed and enjoyed get away. I was a little worried about the kids(my motherly nature) but once we got away and Grandma said the kids were good I realized it was it was okay to relax and enjoy my time without the kids. While in Denver, I was able to go see Harry Potter all by myself since Patrick was in Trainings for 2 days. I was also able to go to the Denver Mint. Patrick's Mission President and his wife came and picked me up and took me there. Then after the Mint we picked Patrick up for lunch. Then later we were able to be shown the Denver Temple and some of the area around. It is a gorgeous place and Patrick and I were almost talked into moving there by Rick and Stephanie. :)

So Brave!

When we got back from Denver, we took the kids home and started the big adventure of packing to move! With it being during the holidays it was crazy because of all the friend, family and work parties we attended. So the middle two weeks we packed, went to Patrick's work party, which by the way we won a 150 $ prize!! OH YEAH!! We had 5 choices of what to choose from, and we had all 5 of them, so we decided to get a second surround sound. Anyways we also went to the Tuttles house for some Yummy Brazilian food made by Phil and enjoyed the time spent with them and the Johnsons that evening. Then we decided to plan to have all packed by Friday Dec 17th so we could go down to Family Christmas Parties. We always enjoy those fun parties and the laughter involved!

Last few minutes in our Home in Logan, UT.

Then Monday the 20th came and it was MAJOR packing and cleaning time! We of course thought we had most of the packing done, but you leave for a weekend and you have laundry to do and lots more things. So we were go go go Monday and Tuesday. We loaded up the truck Tuesday night and left our adorable home in Logan around noon.I totally bawled the entire 20 minutes to Brigham City and then decided to buck up. But We loved Logan so much!! We left a LOT of GOOD behind us and it was really really hard! Anyways more about that day and the move, It was snowing lightly in Logan when we moved and raining in North Ogden at our new home. So things got wet and it made for a slippery walking things into the house. We had great help from the Elders Quorum here in our new ward and it was nice to meet some people. We tackled the unpacking and got quite a bit done so we could leave Thursday for Christmas.
So we left Thursday early evening for Grandma Christensens house. Friday we woke up and got things ready for the Christmas Eve Party that Night. We went and picked up a couch and a bed from my brother who was so NICE to give them to us for our new home!!!

Christmas Eve was so fun! We got together with the Christensen Clan and ate a nice dinner and caroled to the Skeens and Brandon and Holley! The kids all performed some of their songs they sang for their school Christmas Programs. Corbin fulfilled the Dad role in our Christmas traditions of reading the Nativity story and then making us Eggnog! We went back to Grandmas house and got the kids ready for bed. I let Porter color Santa a picture and write a note to him. We got the cookies and milk and carrots out for Santa and his reindeer and all that fun stuff! By the time we got the kids in bed it was about 10PM!  LATE I know!

Christmas Morning we woke up before the kids because we were so anxious for them to open their presents. Porter got up about 8:30 and we took him into Grandmas room to wait for Kinley to wake up so we could have family prayer and then all go out together to see if Santa had come.Well, just our luck Kinley slept and slept and slept. It was about 9AM and she still wasn't awake so we went in to try and wake her up, but... even kissing her on the cheeks and moving her wouldn't wake her up! So we tried to play games with Porter but then we turned on some music and that woke her up! It was about 9:15 AM and Patrick went to turn on the Thomas the Train set that Santa had set out for Porter. And he turned on the music and Porter heard it and got wide eyed and said "THOMAS the TRAIN!" and BULTED for the front room. He was in AWE at what Santa had brought him. He played with that Thomas all day. While opening presents he played with it in between gifts that he had to open. He still plays with that Thomas ALL DAY LONG! Let me tell you-he ran the battery dead within that one day on Christmas and has since gone through another set of batteries.
Kinley being not quite One caught on pretty quick. Almost all the gifts she got played music and after just opening a few she learned and from then on she would dance every time it was her turn to open a gift! She loved ALL the toys scattered on the floor!

Later that evening we went and stayed with G&G Munson and Kelsey. We played games and opened some presents. Then came home Monday morning.
We had lots of fun seeing the bright eyes and smiles on our kids faces this year! Seeing that Santa had come and had eaten the cookies and drank all the milk gone. Rudolph had some of the carrots we left out and Santa even wrote a note back to Porter! Now we really can't wait for next  year...we'll have two kids who 1 REALLY gets it and 1 who will start to get it! YAY!

P.S. Kinley LOVES this little EGG WIRE WHISK!