I know it's not the new year yet but I was kinda getting tired of looking at my christmas background so I decided to change it before all the good ones got taken!

*Christmas Morning*

SANTA CAME!! SANTA CAME!! Christmas finally came! After John and I were done playing in the snow, we went over to my parents house for a Christmas Eve dinner-we had prime rib, salads, corn, and mom's famous hot wassail. The food was really yummy-Thanks Mom! After dinner, all the kids played games while mom and dad finished wrapping Christmas presents! About 10:30 p.m. we all settled down on the floor to try and get some sleep. Around 4:45 a.m. Robert woke us all up and the unwrapping began.....

My new red coat that I love!

I got John a GPS Satellite Navigator for his pick-up


I wish I could post all of the pictures I took but that would take a while and I'm not very patient when it comes to downloading! I loved every part of today! Everyone had a great Christmas! Thanks everyone for a fun time over at mom and dad's!

*Christmas Eve*

Christmas Eve John and I were bored just sitting at our house so we got all dressed up to go outside to play in the snow! We made snow angles, had ourself a snowball fight that got way out hand and then we were going to build a snowman, but since the snow was too powdery-we built a snow cave instead! We built it right by our ditch. It's always fun to be a kid again!

We dug out the cave so both of us could fit!

This is John inside of our "igloo"


John's Snow Angel

My Snow Angel

*MERRY CHRISTMAS!!*

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! This year we will be spending Christmas Eve over at my parents' house! This is mine and John's first Christmas and I am so excited! Our family tradition is we all sleep in the tv room either on the couches, on the floor, or one of us in the La-Z-Boy chair! My little brothers wake all of us up around 3:30 am to open presents! Very early! Then, we take turns opening our presents one by one. Even though this takes a long time to do, I love doing it because I love watching the excitement on everyone's faces! On Christmas Eve, my mom usually makes a really fancy dinner-prime rib, a few salads, goodies, and her hot wassail! So yummy! Then, after dinner we stay up and play games for a few hours and snack on sugar cookies, homemade caramels and chocolates! Oh ya-and some of us watch "The Christmas Story"-it just wouldn't be Christmas without watching that show- or any old fashioned Christmas Carols that might happen to be on. Other than the fact that the roads are slick, it's below zero outside, and my tires on my car have no traction, I love this holiday season! Everyone seems to be a good mood. Let's not forget what Christmas is really about, though. In all the hustle and bustle, I sometimes find myself forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Torn ACL/THIS REALLY BITES!!!

Well, as most of you already know-Tuesday night Alex had a very rough bball game in Rigby. To make a long story short...He ended up with a knee injury and sat out the rest of the game that night. The next day, he had an MRI to check and see if anything else went wrong. He called me Wednesday night with the bad news that he had torn is ACL and he's out for the rest of the basketball season! And it had barely started! "Pretty bummed" is definately putting it lightly. He was very upset about the news and I don't blame him. He LOVES basketball! Our hearts ache for him and his feelings. He will be having surgery in Jan and then comes the long road of physical therapy and recovery. I know that he is a strong kid and is ready for any obstacles that will come his way. Some sisterly/brother in law advice-Alex, we're very sorry for your accident and for this minor set-back in your athletics. We know how you must be feeling and that you're wishing you could be out on the court playing with your team. We both want to let you know how proud of you we are about your attitude about this. You seem to be handling this pretty well...mentally, at least. Remember, just because you're not playing doesn't mean you're not part of the team-cheer along with them and keep your hopes and spirits high. We think you are great on or off the court! We all support you more than 100 percent and are willing to help you with therapy as much as we can. You're in our prayers and we love you very much!

We hope that surgery will go well and that Alex will recover soon! It is too bad that this had to happen to Alex but I know that Heavenly Father knows that Alex is strong enough to get through this trial in his life.

What Do You Do For Christmas?

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper

Real tree or artificial? Artificial

When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving weekend

When do you take the tree down? Around the end of Jan

Do you like Eggnog? I think I just threw up a little

Favorite gift received as a child? My dolls

Hardest person to buy for? This year it's the new in laws

Easiest person to buy for? Myself

Do you have a nativity scene? No!! Not a single one!

Mail or email Christmas cards? I would mail them if I did them

Favorite Christmas Movie? They're all great, but if I had to choose one it would be "The Nutcracker"

When do you start shopping for Christmas? In December

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

What is the best thing to eat at Christmas time? Ham, cheese and crackers, candy canes, and I have to mention that I love sipping hot wassail.

Lights on the tree-colored or white? All 1200 lights are white!

Favorite Christmas song? "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant

Travel at Christmas or stay home? We've done both

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph

Angel on the treetop or a star? Neither

Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Very early in the morning!

Favorite ornament theme or color? The "Our First Year" ornament would be if I had one! :(

Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham, potatoes, and rolls

What do you want for Christmas this year? To see John's reaction when he opens his presents!

One Year Ago...

....is the anniversary of mine and John's first date. Little did I know that this night would be the night that would changed my life forever. I can remember the night like it happened yesterday. He picked me up around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday Decemeber 15th 2007. We were doubling with him and his cousin, Trevor who was set up with one of my roommates. We drove up past Rexburg to the ice caves for a little game of "hide-and-seek." We had gone to Wal-Mart prior to the caves and gotten some glow in the dark sticks. Once we got up to the caves, we splattered ourselves with the sticks and also sprayed some on the rocks and started playing our game! It was one of the funnest dates I had ever been on....obviously! John was such a gentlemen, too. He would help me down the rocks that led into the caves, he would tell me the best places to hide and then he helped me through the snow back to his pickup. After the caves, we drove to Trevor's apartment for some pizza and a movie. I didn't want to the night to end but the time came too soon for him to take me home. We did the whole "I had fun..."/hug bit and then he drove off leaving me little hope if I would ever see him again! Well, Sunday night I actaually got a text from him!! We made plans for another date and the rest is history! I can't believe I have known John for a year! It's been the best year of my life! I love you John! Happy One Year!

Trevor and Adria's Wedding

Saturday, John's cousin Trevor Bates (most of you will probably remember him from high school) got married in the Idaho Falls Temple to a very cute and fun girl, Adria Adams! They started dating around the same time John and I did and since John and Trevor are the best of buds and are used to doing everything together...I've gotten to know Adria pretty well. (and Trevor, too.)

It's just way too bad that the terrible snow storm had to ruin their day..but that was the only thing that did. They got married at 9:30 a.m. and it brought back so many memories of mine and John's special day! If I had the choice I would definately do it all over again. The ceremony was beautiful. They didn't have a reception but they did have a luncheon at the Hilton Hotel in Idaho Falls. After the luncheon, Trevor and Adria headed up to Island Park to Adria's cabin where they would spend thier time...honeymooning! Congradulations Trevor and Adria! Best of wishes and we love you both!

Work Christmas Party

On December 4, my office had our work Christmas party! The Dr.s have been keeping it a secret for about a month from all of us. This year, we all met at Wal-Mart then Dr. Hanson and Dr. Nielsen drove us to Leo's Place where we played 3 games of Laser Tag! That was so much fun! But, boy! Am I sore!! Three 20-min games takes a lot out of you-since you don't really have time to stand you end up running the entire time! After Laser Tag, they drove us to the mall and gave everyone $100 to spend on ourselves. But, we only had an hour to spend the money! I got a couple of shirts at Aero. After the mall, they treated us to dinner at Ruby River. It was a lot of fun being with everyone and just laughing. Thanks to both Dr.s for an eventful night!

Decorating the Tree

Trimming the Tree!

It's finally December and everyone is in the "Holiday Spirit" I'm very excited cuz this is mine and John's first Christmas! Saturday, he and I went into town and bought our first Christmas tree at Wal-Mart. We looked at a few that were small so it would fit in our house and then John decides to jump the gun and buy a 7 footer!! Anyone see "Christmas Vacation?" "Do you think there's enough room for the Angel, Clark?" Our tree is just inches from touching the ceiling! We both got a good giggle out of that!

But, if the height of the tree wasn't enough--I let John be in charge of buying the lights...Big Mistake!! He ended up buying 800 lights!! And it only covered the bottom half of our tree so back to town for about 400 more lights! That's right-12oo lights!!!! Careful- Don't look directly at the tree and remember to put your lead vests on!! (It's very bright if you didn't catch my drift). I'd scare myself of the idea of putting lights around our house! =)

Enjoy the pics of John and I having our holiday fun!

Notice the tree touching the ceiling

John putting on 100 out of the 1200 lights

Oooh! The finished 7-footer! Isn't it B-E-A-UTIFUL?!

A bit much? Maybe? Oh well! Christmas only comes once a year, right?!