Yates Family: January 2009

I just realized that I didn't put any pictures of my darling child on Christmas morning. I don't know how that happened!

Probably because that's the only present he got this year. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa. I had a bunch of stuff for him and somehow got to Utah with two books and a movie. I felt so guilty and even cried when I realized what a sad day it was. Then, I looked at him and saw how happy he was realized that he had no idea how much he "didn't get" and then remembered that presents aren't everything for Christmas. I think we all know the "real meaning" of Christmas so I won't go into that. I guess I'm lucky that he's to young to really understand. If only I could get away with this every year!! Still I felt bad which is why I think I am going way overboard for his birthday in two weeks. Still, Santa came to our house while we were gone and left this............

The table, not Daddy. Or the toys on the table.....again, thanks Grandma. She saw my lack of presents and felt bad for the little guy and went out and got him more. Not really, she had gotten him a game that we already had. When we got to the store to get a different one he really liked the little people so she got it for him instead of a game. He loves it!! And the table. He would play on it all day if I would let him.(sometimes I do)

First of all, we had a white Christmas which was great except that it was freezing cold. Hayden wanted to play in the snow so bad and kept asking for days, so we finally got him all ready to go out and after about 5 minutes of "playing" he said "Mommy, I'm cold. I don't want to play in the snow anymore" He is defiantly an Arizona boy. A big thank you to MarKey and Shilo for rounding up snow pants and boots for him to use for those 5 minutes. I had a feeling I would be wasting my money to buy them myself.

So we built a snow man in our P.J.'s that night with play dough

Other than the severe coldness, we had a wonderful time. We spent Christmas at Shilo's house. We were crazy to drive in the awful storm to get there, but it was well worth it. We ran into Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve while doing our annual Christmas Eve service project. This year we, and by we I mean my Mom, made dinner for the parents with babies in the NICU at the new IHC hospital in SLC. I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know it. It was pretty nice though.

My friends were kind enough once again to plan the Christmas Party when I would be home and we had a very nice time. It's so fun to see them and catch up with what's going on in their lives. Thanks to Jami and Josh for hosting again and also for getting MarKey's loan done!! Yay!! Congrats to Christina and Tyler on the arrival of baby Eddie. Thanks Tyler for staying home with him and letting Christina come visit for awhile. Krachel and Matt were in and out but it was good to see you guys for a minute. Baby Lexi is so cute and didn't make a sound the whole time. I can't believe it. And my sweet Misty is sure going through a hard time right now, but is so strong and focused that you will get through it. I missed seeing your girls but understand why you left them home and will see them on my summer visit. I love you girls and I'm so happy that we have remained friends all these years.

The Camp Family Christmas Party was a blast. Kacie did a fun game with wrapping paper. My camera was upstairs, so to see the results, you'll have to check Shilo's blog. -Spoiler Alert-There's a man dressed as a beauty queen(the swim suit portion), a bride(with a special surprise) and an 83 year old BYU football player. You won't want to miss that. I did however get pictures of my mom, aunt and grandma bowling. Wii style.
Notice Hayden in front looking homeless in an over sized white tee shirt. I don't dress him that way often. That's cause he puked all over himself(and Me) earlier in the evening. I had given him a little ice cream with egg in it. Stupid food allergies. Tucker was nice enough to loan him a shirt.....

We had the best time watching them try to figure it out. It was so funny. Bennett was very entertained by it. But it wasn't the old ladies that caught his eye.

Earlier that day, I was able to attend the temple where Court's sister Heather and her husband Jason had there 2 adopted children sealed to them. It's been a long road for them and it was so neat to witness that. Their children looked so beautiful all dressed in white. Their three biological children were there also and I know their two deceased children were as well. It was an amazing experience. Court had to go home on Sunday to get back to work, so he couldn't make it.

Bouncin off the Walls was a blast again. The kids have the best time at these places

I'm not sure that Grandma loved it. You can't see her face but she looked miserable and screamed the whole way down.

Rub a dub dub, 4 grandbabies in the tub......

I don't remember who needed the bath, but within minutes all the kids were in!!
New Year's Eve was a big girls night party. The boys were in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl to watch Utah defeat Alabama. My Dad actually didn't care the outcome since he is from Alabama but attended the University of Utah(Dallas just graduated from there also). It was a great game and they had a wonderful time. As did we at our NYE party. We played games and watched Mamma Mia. We actually stayed up to welcome the new year. The kids didn't....well, I think Bennett was there. I don't remember. It was to long ago.
Then we had to come home. Our flight was delayed about 2 1/2 hours which would be a night mare for any parents with a toddler. Or any child for that matter. I could not believe how good my little man was. He sat so patient and quiet. After finally boarding the plane we sat on the tar mac for about an hour waiting to be de-iced. He was so good and excited to be on a airplane.

A special thank you to Aunt Sharon for making her flight the same as ours so she could help me. It turned out I didn't need her for that after all. He was such an angel. I'm still glad you were with us. It's always fun to spend time with you.
We did learn from that flight that even though he didn't eat the peanuts, they still affected him. He threw up on the way home in the car pretty bad. The flight attendant got really nervous when I asked if he could have something else to eat. She had already handed them out to half the plane. I told her it would be fine but I now know that it is not. He was complaining of a stomach ache about 1/2 way home and was sneezing and coughing a little. So, I am apologizing to anyone who is ever on the same flight as us for not be able to have the peanuts. You'll get pretzels instead.

And last but not least, when we got home we said goodbye to our dear friends Richard and Stacie Phelps who left us to move to Las Vegas. While we don't blame them for taking the wonderful job opportunity, we are still sad to see them go. Lucky for us, Richard's entire family lives here, so hopefully we will see them often. Hayden keeps saying "Mommy, I don't want Stacie to move away" He's still mad at Richard for the nut in the ice cream joke. He'll get over it, don't worry. This is Stacie and I at dinner the night before they left-looking quite stunning I might add. A day of packing and loading will do that to you. We'll miss you guys!! Come back soon....next weekend right?

And that's what we did during the Holidays!!