*Christmas 2009*

Picking out the PERFECT Christmas tree. I think we found it this year!!!




















After we pick out (or cut down) our tree we ALWAYS traditionally go eat at Village Inn.

Adding lights and decorating is always a TALL order!!!

But the end result is worth all the effort.

I LOVE gingerbread houses and I love making them too, but NOT every year. I made this one two years ago and it has held up so far!

Christmas Eve Dinner. ↓ I am using my new Christmas dishes for the first time even though I've had them for a couple of years. The chargers look black in these photos, but they are a gorgeous dark purple!

So happy my parents were able to attend this year. Last year, my mom was down due to a hip replacement.

Christmas Eve splurge! Bryce helping with the feast.



















Lots of that nasty FISHY stuff, but thankfully we also had Prime Rib!

My cute parents!



















On Christmas Eve we always have a birthday party for Jesus complete with cake and candles and singing Happy Birthday. This year we opted for a pie because time was tight. We each write down what gift we want to give the Savior for his birthday (usually some character trait to improve on) and then we take it to a manger scene and leave the notes in Baby Jesus' crib. It has been one of our funnest and most meaningful traditions. I have everyone write their gift down twice and I keep a copy. It is so fun to go back and read what they wrote when they were younger. It's such a treasure to have all of Tyson's as well.

Christmas Eve and the photos they LOVE to HATE that I force them to let me take every year.











































Christmas morning!



















It's obvious I was up all night and missed out on my beauty sleep!

My parents returned bright and early ...well "bright and early" for teenagers that is! lol The boys used to wake us up at 4:30 a.m.! Now WE have to wake them up by 8 a.m.!















MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


Our house looked like a bomb had struck, so we went to Dave's parents house and exchanged gifts there until their's looked the same.


Dave's sister Karen, my niece Dani, and moi.














Dave HAD to buy this PINK fishing vest for my little niece Mackenzie because they are fishing buds.













Me with my nieces playing some crazy game! I think it was called CURSE. If not it should've been, because that's what it made me WANT to do!

THIS ↓ is what I asked Santa for this year. I guess I was too naughty because I didn't get one! Waa- waa!













Another great Christmas! Wow that went fast!!!

The Road (Show) to El Dorado (Elder Otto)

For those of you that don't know what a ROAD SHOW is, let me explain.


It is when you get 40+ youth together to practice a play for weeks that will need costumes, props, scenery, sound effects, and extreme patience on the part of the director, all with basically no budget and no professional help. It is also where the youth bond with one another and with their leaders and in the end it provides memories that last a lifetime! AKA - perform the show on three different stages as you travel from one to the next with ALL your costumes, props, AND performers! Can get a little tricky at times!

Our stake leaders gave us the theme which was "The Road to....." We were to fill in the blank and then base our show around that. Someone suggested The Road to El Dorado and then I got the idea of keeping that BUT changing it to The Road to Elder Otto and make it a play on a missionary's life. They liked that idea and so we went with it. It was a lot of work and creativity, but in the end everyone pitched in great and it came together amazingly well!














Once the play started we changed this sign to El Dorado to Elder Otto. It was part of the script.

I was in charge of choreography. These were my cute cheerleaders!

















Taylor and Mitchell so enthused to be there!






















Ashley and Steph ARE enthused! Well, I think they are...

McKay and his buds who would much rather be playing XBox but still being good sports!





















Rehearsing...↓














Me with the Angel and the Devil hitching a ride in this way cool car!






























We all fit nicely don't ya think?



















Steph, Chelsea, and Maddy pretending to be afraid of my driving skills...
Seriously can't imagine why!

Stephanie now driving and scaring the horns off the devil!


Live performance. McKay is in the black (top front right). Taylor is bottom left. They were both football players in this scene.



















Taylor is in all of these scenes.

Elder Otto successfully made it on his mission even with all of the modern distractions such as sports, girls, cell phones, Ipods, video games, scholarships, etc. etc. And guess where he was called to? The Beijing Spanish speaking mission! Ha ha... actually to El Dorado!!!!

The grand finale!!!

What great fun!!!