Christmas Festivities

Christmas itself was another fun filled day (and how can it not with little kids?!). We had some family over for dinner on Christmas Eve since many of us had other committments Christmas Day. Which was kind of strange not doing the usual meeting at Grandma's house; but, since she was out of town this year, plans changed. It was a nice way to start the holiday! We enjoyed the smoked ham that our friend, Bernie, gave us (he's a pro at that!)...sooo tasty! And with everyone's addition to the meal, we ate well for sure!

There of course were some silly moments, as there always is when we get together!

Once again, Kaley & Dylan had to give us a little dance performance (which made me laugh actually...not quite the same Christmas Program of re-enacting the manger scene, like I remember when I was little. Instead it was Flo Rida, Sean Kingston's & Alvin & The Chipmonks hip hop songs in the background)

Little Jazzlin dancing along with Pooh BearI wish the others could have been there too; but, glad to get whatever family we can together whenever possible!
Mom & Dad

Sharing just a few of our favorite gifts...(not to single any out...of course we love them all! :})

Glenn had my name this year. I have a thing for angels & lighthouses, so these crystals were a beautiful addition to the living room, especially with the lighted stand that turns! It's awesome to look at with all the other lights off especially!

The figurine of the 3 girls ("Forever In Blue Jeans"), was given to Monica & I by our good friend, Connie. I love how it represents us 3...we do have a special bond so it means a lot to me!

This just makes me laugh. It's that Leach sense of humor!

Yea...I finally got a laptop! I was really surprised, I had no idea! (which as most of you may know, as you get older & married a while, actual surprises don't happen as often :})

Doug's big gift was getting to go to the Sugar Bowl, which was an incredible memory for him! We had to get some gear to go along with it. Here's his shirt showing our fabulous season!

Kaley loves her Bratz! This was a "Yes, Santa listened!" moment!

Dylan scored with a new bike & a chair perfect for his gaming moments!

This was the best surprise...when Bradon finally realized, along with the Sugar Bowl shirt/hat, that there was a ticket to go to the game too. He was shocked! We were so excited to pull that off...he was begging, even offered to give up 3 Christmases for that! :}

A few other precious moments of the day....

Poor little Toby had to put up with the reindeer ears that Kaley got for him

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday yourselves!!

Sharing Holiday Fun

As I mentioned, it was a month FULL of fun events! Of course, that's the holidays for ya! One of the first activities was the Annual Cousin's Christmas party. We always do some kind of charity event with this. This year the kids saved up money to buy food for the Utah Food Bank. We got a good collection to add..so proud of my family! With the current economic times, it's needed more than ever! Another thrill of this event is the tradition of splitting up all the $/treats that Grandma & Grandpa Leach have added to the jar over the year. It's then divided up equally between all the grandchildren. This is a tradition my Grandma Leach used to do to help buy us new PJ's for Christmas Eve, which is a tradition we've kept in our own family now. The money they get helps them to buy their own Christmas gifts (and maybe something for themselves :}). We are so thankful to my parents for doing this for them, it means a lot. Also just for creating & keeping so many great traditions as well (like our Christmas morning Hoot N' Nannys too! :})

The kids counting the money

We got in a game of Holiday Yahtzee. Always love playing games, especially with Grandma...it's one of her favorite past times!

We're so glad Grandma got to come too! We value our time with her all the more these days, knowing that our days may be limited here. Bradon gets a kick out of her, totally gets her sense of humor!

Couldn't tell they were mom & daughter, could you?! :}

The next event was The Festival Of Trees, to watch Kaley perform. I just HAD to capture a few of my favorite trees! (I mean, it is a GREAT theme after all! :})

There were a couple of others I just thought were so cute...

Of course our beautiful little star was fabulous as always!

I think we may be in trouble! :}

We did manage to get in a Baking Day (just missed it last year...ran out of time). This year my good friend, Melissa, her girls, and Danielle joined in on the fun. It's a fun thing to do with the girls...I think they loved it (especially when we kept getting each other with powdered sugar! :})

My sister, Cathy, was in charge of her ward's Christmas program, so a few of us joined along...it was a beautiful program & got us in the Christmas Spirit. Plus she fed us a great meal after & it gave us more family time, so all the better!

Then there was the kid's school program, which is always entertaining! Especially with this character of mine! :}

Kaley was SOO excited for the program, she was counting down the days to this before she was counting down the days until Christmas! It's the star in her I'm sure! We also got to have more time with Grandma, and some of the rest of the family, at the annual extended family gathering, which was also held at Cathy & Jim's house. You got to love being able to capture Four Generations together! This party always includes some musical numbers, which used to be by the grandchildren; but, now more so by the Great Grandchildren (kids are just so cute & entertaining!)Kaley insisted she get a turn too. Nevermind she doesn't actually play the piano...which is what made this funny! (we really need to get her started on lessons, she obviously has the desire to!). I have to say though her gentle touching of the keys sounded pretty, like snowflakes falling :}

Sure do love my family! :}

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Wow, another year has come & gone! That's just crazy really...just keeps going faster & faster! So, yea...I know....I STILL need to catch up for December! It was just such a full & fun filled month. And with no time to catch up on everything else...blogging is on the side burner. I'll get there soon, hopefully! Just again thought I'd say a quick hi...we're still alive, survived the holidays. And oh, by the way...did you happen to catch the Sugar Bowl? Oh yea baby...our Utes made us more than proud!! Final Score was 31-17, we ended with a 13-0 season!! The ONLY team with no losses for the year I might add!! So, I don't care about all the BCS logistics ...whatever. In my eyes, we are truly #1!! I'm on the rally wagon for the BCS to wake up & realize they need to change their system!! We had a lot to prove, and we did just that! We dominated the game from the beginning. It's a great time to be a Utes Fan!! The best part of all this, Doug & Bradon, along with his Dad & step brother, Mike, actually got to go & witness this historical event! And of course Anjila got to be right on the field & cheer it on...lucky girl! So more pics to come.