What to Remember about Christmas 2012

•  I did get around to writing and completing Christmas cards. Sorry if you didn't get one. Let me know I will make sure I send one next year.
• We made it to Temple Square to see the lights and we made sure to go on one of the last warmer (for Utah) nights. It made the whole event much more pleasant. It also helped that we set a record for the fastest lap around the square. Not time to stop and smell the roses for this family. Macy made sure to document the trip with a few snap shots of the lights.

• This year we took the kids to Kohl's and had them pick out something that they would really like to receive for Christmas. This included Brian and I. We then purchased the items so we could donate them to the Candy Cane Corner. Kelsey was not real happy with this idea. She cried because then she wouldn't get what she really wanted for Christmas. The sad part is she probably can't remember what she picked out and I know she didn't get it for Christmas. I also donated the family's new Christmas jammies because Brian's mom was getting the kids PJs for Christmas and we tend to overflow with Christmas pajamas at our house. I think the kids were a little disappointed Christmas Eve, but they were over it by the next morning.
• The third grade had a whole Christmas program one day and then the next day the entire school had a sing around. Each grade sang one song for all the other kids. What amazed me at the second performance was one of the teachers sang a religious song. I believe it was the First Noel, but don't always bet on my memory. It could have been O Holy Night. I think it was one of those.
• I was able to get together with some of my best friends from high school for lunch. We don't get together often because 2 live out of state and 1 just moved back so getting together is sometimes hard. This time everything fell into place.
• Christmas Eve night, the girls woke up at 1:30 AM thinking it was later than that and came into our room to see if they could get up yet. Brian and I had gone to bed at 11:45. We were not thrilled by this intrusion. We sent them back to bed, gave them their ipods so they could check the time and to told them to not come back downstairs until 7:30 AM. They were so obedient. Best kids a mom could ask for.

Just like every year we got a whole lot of stuff.

• Macy's haul: r/c car, electric scooter (already had to be replaced because it never worked), jewelry box, the game of Life, dream lite, snow boots, Legos, clothes, books, watch, camera, furby (most annoying toy award), and a scripture case. There might be more but you can already tell they are spoiled.

Excited about Just Dance

• Kelsey's pile: bike, r/c car, Sorry, jewelry tree, Legos, boots, clothes, watch, camera, portable speaker for ipod, furby, and tinkerbell figures. Same endnote as Macy.

• Braden's: bike, 2 r/c cars, Legos, clothes, gator golf, Jake and the Neverland eyeglass, boat for the bath tub. Again same side note.
• Family gifts were Just Dance 4 and dart guns for the whole family.
• Now for the good stuff. I received clothes, a new coat and tickets to the symphony. Already went to the symphony and it was great. Brian opened new ear buds, snow boots, backpack and a Utah shirt.
• The not so fun things were a new water heater and a new dishwasher (which I still have to order). The water heater started to leak the Saturday before Christmas and the repair company couldn't come out until after Christmas. I don't blame them and it wasn't too big of an in convenience.  I think the dishwasher has been leaking for awhile but it finally became noticeable. I never liked the dishwasher and wanted a new one, but when did they get so expensive. Thank goodness for the home warranty. It just paid for itself.
• To really add to the buying season we finally upgraded to a brand new computer. Hurray!

• The worst part about Christmas was all the germs flying around. In the wee hours the Friday before Christmas, Kelsey comes to me and tells me she has thrown up. I had to watch and clean up her misery for the next 4 hours. It was painful to watch. We had our fingers crossed and we prayed that no one else would come down with it. Well that was not our lot in life. Remember when the girls got up that night, well Braden woke up 1 1/2 hours later at 3 to tell me he had thrown up. Out came the bucket. He was so proud that several times he hit that bucket. Again I had to sit and watch as someone had to go through a miserable illness for several hours. Finally all was quiet and a little shut eye was caught. Luckily it was Braden who got sick because he is the best and happiest sick kid even in the middle of the night. Brian and I made one fatal mistake the next morning. Braden acted pretty normal and from pictures you would never know he had been sick. We let him eat chocolate from his stocking. His stomach wasn't ready for that and I now need to call the carpet cleaners. The bucket had been put away because we thought all was well. We slept most of the afternoon and missed one grandma's party, but made it to another's (they had already had the little flu bug so felt okay about having him over). The next question was when was Macy going to get it. We have lucked out so far, but not completely. She threw up on New Year's night but I am 99% sure it was from all the junk she ate.
• Despite the last few items, it was actually a really great holiday. Nothing really put a huge damper on the actual day and we have been so blessed that we were not bothered. It is all a part of life and leaves us with memories that we will always remember and sometimes it is nice to have a few stand out years to always talk about.