Christmas Day

This year Christmas was on Sunday.  I really liked it.  It was easier to focus on the true meaning of Christmas by going to church in the morning.  It brought an extra measure of the Spirit into our home that Christmas day.

We made the kids wait until after church to open up their presents.  The first thing they spotted was the 2 cute dwarf hamsters.

These hamsters were so adorable and so cute together.  However before we could even name them, and only a couple days after Christmas, tragedy struck.  These 2 little brothers started fighting over the hamster wheel. The fighting continued until it started to get a little vicious, and at one point one of the hamsters bit the others’ leg pretty badly.  We separated them and took care of the injured one the best we could but it died a couple days later.  I was NOT too happy with the more aggressive hamster, so we took him back to Petsmart.  So much for having hamsters.  When we purchased them the Petsmart employee said that it’s fine to have 2 hamsters together as long as they are from the same family.  Well, brothers will be brothers I guess…if we ever do that again, we’ll have 2 wheels to avoid conflict.  Lesson learned.  It was sad.

Stan’s sister Linda crocheted these beautiful blankets for us.  It was truly a labor of love.  They are beautiful.

Dallin admiring his gifts…

Santa really surprised Parker with a Ripstick (a variation of a skateboard).  He definitely didn’t see that one coming.

Cassie asked for clothes, clothes, and more clothes.  That’s what she got!

Later on in the day we headed over to my parents’ house for chimichangas…my favorite part of Christmas day.  Yummy!!!

My Mom and Dad gave every family one of these fun Spinsticks.  So fun!!

Little Annie thought it was great!

Wren, not so much…

So the guys thought it would be funny to make the kids run a race while they were dizzy.  They spinned the kids all at the same time, stopped and said, Run, Run, Run!! We got a kick out of watching them try to run across the yard without falling down. :)

In the evening we headed over to the Roberts’ home for a night of relaxation, food and visiting. 

We feel so blessed to have such great families to celebrate Christmas with. 

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

Thanksgiving weekend was spent decorating the house for Christmas. 

Just as they have done every year since they were little, the kids assembled the Christmas tree. Cassie and Parker were only 7 & 4 yrs. old when their Dad started forcing…I mean allowing them to assemble the Christmas tree.  They needed some help the first couple of years, but have been pros ever since.  They don’t complain about doing it anymore because they know that it won’t do any good.  Dad will make them do it regardless. :) 

We went to see the Temple lights early on in the season to avoid the heavy crowds.  It makes it so much more enjoyable. 

Christmas means parties, parties, and more parties.

Ferrin Party:

Roberts Party:

Phelps Party:

Lots of love going around!!

We have so much fun with our tradition of having a Christmas “picnic” in our family room. 

Merry Christmas to my sweet family!

Haley’s Wedding

On December 16th my niece Haley was married to Kyle Ayelsworth in the Mesa, AZ Temple.  It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Haley is the oldest granddaughter and the first to be married in the Phelps family.  I just can’t believe that we are to the stage in life where our nieces and nephews since we have known and loved since birth are starting to get married!  What’s crazy is that Cassie is the next oldest granddaughter (3 yrs. younger than Haley).  Scary! Life is happening way too fast!

I loved this picture of some of the grandkids watching a movie while they were waiting for Haley to come out of the Temple.

Not too many kids can resist climbing the Temple gates. :)

Haley and Kyle coming out of the Temple. Happy as can be!

Such a beautiful Bride!

The reception that night was beautiful! There was plenty of dancing going on!

Father/Daughter dance

Even my parents got out to do a little swing dance.

Congrats Haley & Kyle!

Christmas Lists

I really get a kick out of reading my kids Christmas wish lists. Sometimes they come up with the most random things. These are a few of the things that Dallin wrote on his list:

*Alvin or Theodore or Simon toy speakers
*Darth Vader friends clock
*Ninja snow or fire globe
*Rainbow shooting gun

Oh my goodness...does anyone know if these things even exist?? But it doesn' t matter because even if they don't, Santa's elves can make it, right?? At least according to my cute 7 yr. old.


Parker’s list was quite interesting as well. Here are a few of things he asked for:
*BB Gun
*Real Hand Cuffs
*Safety Glasses
*Back Pack
*Duct Tape
*Rubber Bands

What is this kid planning??? All I know is that if Santa actually comes through with these gifts for Parker, we’ll be keeping a real good eye on his little brother. :)

Also on his list…a “Preach my Gospel” book. Maybe I shouldn’t be too worried. 

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we spent Thanksgiving at my parents’ house along with my Mom’s side of the family.  It was a perfect day to have Thanksgiving lunch outside.  The food was so delicious, just as it always is! You can never go wrong when the Phelps’ and Ferrins’ get together for a meal.  Yum!!

You may remember last year when Stan stayed up all night to brave the Black Friday crowds to get Parker a $200 laptop (with Parker’s own $ that he had saved up).  Well, Cassie decided that it was her turn this year.  She’s been awfully jealous of Parker and his laptop this last year.  So, she and Stan were crazy enough to go get a place in line at Walmart about 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.  This is the first year that the stores opened their doors at midnight rather than at 4 or 5 in the morning, so it complicated Thanksgiving Day a little more.  In a way it’s good in that you can just stay up late to catch the deals and then go home and sleep rather staying up all night long to be in line.  However, I don’t like that they weren’t able to be around Thanksgiving night.  But Cassie was willing to make the sacrifice in order to purchase her $200 laptop.  She had been saving her $ for a while and this was her chance to get a good deal.

The line for the laptops was in the paint aisle…boring!!

They ended up being 2nd in line, so Cassie had no problems getting the laptop.  They probably could have waited a few hours before getting to Walmart, but it was just so hard to know what time everyone was going to start lining up, and last year, they only had 15 laptops available.  This year they ended up giving out 60.  Oh well.  It was all worth it to Cassie.  They were home by 1 a.m. and went straight to bed.  Mission accomplished!