A month to remember

Okay, so we really haven't just been playing guitar hero for the last month...(see post below). We've actually been really busy. It all started out with my Mom,Dad and Byron coming out to visit us in Texas the first week of December. we had a great time...hanging out, eating, playing, eating some more. You know, all the good stuff. Eating.

Before they got here I cleaned the house from top to bottom. It just goes to show me that yes, I can have the whole house clean at one time. It just takes special effort and a whole lot of ignoring the kids. Maddie and Lyndon's bathroom is always a mess. It's so tiny, I wonder why I can't seem to keep that room tidy...anyways, I planned on having my parents use that bathroom while they were here so I really polished it nice up for them. After my Mom and Dad were here for a while Maddie gave them a tour of the house. She started in her bathroom and while displaying the bathroom with her hands (Vanna white style) she said, "Mommy REALLY cleaned my bathroom for you. It was a MESS!"

Thanks a lot, Maddie, for divulging my housekeeping secrets.

Here are some pictures while my parents were here:


This is Lyndon's favorite way to enjoy a good movie. He actually sleeps like this too.

We decided to do a traditional Turkey dinner. It was so yummy. All of the comfort foods from home...

Turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, orange salad, homemade rolls, stuffing and real whipped potatoes and gravy. Nothing says lovin' like comfort food from home.

We had Lots of desserts while they were here. My Mom is a bread genius. She whips up a batch of bread in no time and makes, cinnamon rolls, sticky bun and fresh homemade rolls. Can anyone say carb overload? It's amazing. I can make myself sick from eating too much of it. This is a picture of my dads caramel and pecan rolls. My mouth is watering just typing this. For the record, I DID workout almost everyday they were here but I don't think it was enough!

Because we were spending Christmas is Nebraska this year, my Mom and Dad brought their Christmas presents for us to open while they were here. Lyndon has been really in to Elmo lately. Momo, as he calls it!

My Mom made Maddie a bunch of dress-up clothes. She adores them. Here she is taking a bow.

Lyndon walking around this his new "Momo".

My Mom waited to hem some of the dress up clothes until she got here. This is a classic picture of my Mom. I have lots of memories of her pinning our clothes so she could hem them.

Lyndon also LOVES balls. So my Mom made a bunch of soft balls that won't hurt much if they hit people or furniture. Good idea, Mom!

Maddie got this witches costume as well, but Lyndon liked it a little more!

We were sad to see my family leave. We always have so much fun when we're together. It so fun making new memories and remembering the old. I really have amazing parents.

On to Nebraska...

We left for Nebraska the day after my parents left our house. (By the way, thanks Mom for cleaning our house! It was very helpful.) Jonathon's sister, Rachel, was returning from her mission in Ogden on Dec. 11 so we wanted to be there to greet her. It was so fun to see her. She was a great missionary.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

We weren't sure what Lyndon was looking at but it almost looked like he saw Santa and his reindeer. Couldn't miss that photo opportunity.

The kids LOVE being at Grandma and Grandpa Evans house. This is Rachel making Lyndon laugh. One of the many.

Here's the sleeping princess. A true princess never takes off her crown!

Kris made a gingerbread house for the kids to decorate. Maddie was thrilled, to say the least. She liked eating the decorations almost as much as she liked decorating.

Lyndon just liked eating the decorations. Are we surprised?

This is how I always think of Christmas Eve at Jonathon's parents. Kris has made a stocking for each person in the family and they are always hung on the mantle. We have a big dinner on Christmas eve and the table is set up in this room next to the mantle and the tree. It always feels so cozy.

These are "poppers" that we get to pull after the meal. The food is always so so so good. I get spoiled when we go to Jim and Kris's. The food is always so good.

Here's the gang. Kris' sister, Keely and her husband Les along with they twins, Jack and Riley always spend Christmas with the Evans. Kris' other sister Karla was also their along with their Mom (Jonathon's Grandma) who lives in Wyoming.

Here is Maddie's favorite pose. Nice. (Thank you to Rylee from last Christmas.) :)

Inside the poppers are this fabulous crowns and a little toy.

Maddie's little toy happened to be a whistle. Very LOUD and very SHRILL. I threw it away. I'm mean, I know.

She did get to share it with her new dog from build-a-bear. During the day on Christmas eve we went to the mall to pass the time. You know it's the longest day of the year, right? Keely took Maddie and her daughter to build-a-bear. Only they both decided to build dogs. Maddie had a GREAT time. She loves her new "Aurora Princess Dog".

Kris made these adorable Christmas eve PJ's for the kids. I wanted to get a cute picture of them in front of the tree. But this is what I got instead. I like them, though.

Here is Santa's plate of cookies and the reindeer's carrots after they ate them.

Christmas morning!! Lyndon really got in to opening his gifts. He was fun to watch.

He got a cute little puppy that he liked to tote around.

Maddie asked Santa for a Cinderella dress, shoes and crown...she must have been a good girl because they got them! She was so so so excited! She immediately stripped off her clothes so she could put it on. Only the lace was "scratchy" so that was the end of it. Silly girl. She now wears it with a shirt underneath.

Lyndon got a train to tote some animals. Only he thought it was for him.

I caught him playing the piano all my himself one night.

This picture sums up our trip. Content and tired! We had such a great time. It was wonderful to see everyone and make some great memories. The whole family was together this year so that was really special. I took some family pictures...but that will just have to wait until next time.
A HUGE thanks to Jim and Kris. We had a great time and look forward to seeing you guys soon.