Christmas 2015

We had a nice Christmas this year filled with many wonderful events. Of course there was the holiday party at Montecito fire station with our new fire family :) I had a nice Christmas brunch and ornament exchange with my bunco group. It was here I got the idea for a fun ornament to make this year! Our host, Elissa, had made a bunco ornament out of wooden scrabble letters, scrabble board and some wire & dice. It was so cute! I had to find a scrabble board and make my own. I did our last name and year instead of bunco and dice.

We attended our ward Christmas party and dinner. I helped with the kids table there as well and set up a craft for them to do. It was the same one I did at the fire station because I had all the stuff left over :) Easy. It was a nice evening hanging out with our church family.
The Sunday before Christmas we drove up to see Ian, Stephanie & Emmett before they left for Truckee. We spent the evening with them and had a nice dinner together. The boys all did a painting activity together and had fun playing in Emmett's new room. We stayed long enough to welcome Grandpa Wrenn & Uncle Nathan to the house :) Grandpa was like Santa Clause and unloaded presents for all to open! Boy, were the boys excited about that!

A day later, Grandpa & Uncle Nathan came down to stay with us and play. The boys really enjoy playing with Grandpa & running away from getting their toes cracked! Uncle Nathan took turns with each boy getting his shoulder press reps in :) They loved it.
Christmas Eve, Billy picked up a shift at the station. We drove around dropping off gifts and handing out goody plates to the neighbors. Then we went to the fire station to have Christmas eve dinner with Billy :) It was a wonderful dinner. We feasted on chicken parmesan, salad and garlic bread. The best part was, I didn't have to cook or clean! No, the best part was that we still got to spend Christmas eve as a family even though Billy was at work! Not cooking or cleaning was nice too though. We went to his room after dinner and read the Christmas story out of Luke 2, it was really nice. His job is such a blessing to our family.
Christmas morning, the boys were so good to wait for each other to all wake up. They got to dump out their stockings and open their gift that Santa had brought them. Then, we had a pancake breakfast and played outside until Billy got home from work. He didn't get home til just about noon! The boys didn't complain or ask about presents once! I was so impressed that they wanted to wait for Dad so he could be part of Christmas with them. They are amazing. Leila got to open her first Christmas presents and did a good job. She loved the wrapping paper best :)

We had a nice mellow Christmas day, enjoyed each others company and ended the day with a lasagna, caesar salad, and homemade bread dinner. I had all the ingredients for apple crisp and homemade whipped cream too. We sat down together before bed and wrote out our gifts to Jesus this year. It was a perfect Christmas day.

A few cute moments this month

I had my camera on hand for a few cute moments this month. Family sure is a blessing.

Montecito Holiday Party

The Montecito fire department puts on a nice Holiday party every year and we all had a nice time attending our first year. I volunteered to help plan and put on the party with a few other wives in the womens association. I was put in charge of the beverage bar, kids craft table & helped with set up as well.

The party was in the engine bay at station 1, this way all on duty could still be a part of it. (Billy was on duty) There was a bounce house for the little kids, a Christmas tree to decorate, a face painter, ornament making, games, a visit from Santa, caroling & a taco bar catered dinner. There was also a blow up money vault where you get inside and try and grab money that is blowing all around inside. At the end of the evening, they put real dollars in it and kids took turn getting inside and grabbing for cash. William ended up with $7, Zachary grabbed $11, and Jameson came out with $5. They thought that was pretty cool.

I was a little surprised the boys wanted their faces painted! They have never wanted to do this before, but they all stood in line & took their turn, and told the lady what they wanted. All their cute faces turned out awesome! The face painter was REALLY GOOD.

It was a long day, we went to the station straight after church and didn't leave until 8pm, but it was a good time. We can't wait for the party next year :)

Thanksgiving Recap

I can't believe it's been a month and a half since I have posted an update! Sorry. Life seems to go at warp speed when the end of the year approaches.
We made the trip out to Utah for Thanksgiving. Billy was able to get a couple of his shifts covered to open up a 10 day span of off days. It was a blessing to have him join us on the long drive out to Mapleton and be part of the Mills/ Anderson family gathering for Thanksgiving day to honor my Grandma. It was a special day and one that will be in our memories forever. We had everyone shy of 2 people, 53 in all, to celebrate my Grandma and eat a huge feast together. It was a beautiful gathering!
There were crafts, visiting, eating, laughing, and a talent show of acts for Grandma to enjoy. We took family pictures and even got a picture of all 52 of us family members together!
Here is just the Great Grand kids- 30!

I got to get out on a couple cold runs, one in the light snow fall, and a hike with my sisters as well. I had a couple nice visits with my Grandma as well. I'm glad I got a few special moments with her as this was the whole reason why we made the trip. I love her so much & wish very much I could spend more time with her. She is a wonderful example to me and has taught me much throughout my life. I feel very blessed to be her grandchild.

Christmas is now 1 week away! Time to get back to prepping....

 And a picture with my siblings :) got me right after a run... oh well.