Any house can be a home

While we were down in Utah for Christmas we went down to Provo to visit Uncle Clay at the fire station. After the visit I told Nate that we should drive by our old duplex from the college days. We moved into the duplex after we found out that Dallin was going to be joining our family. I wanted to live somewhere with clean carpet. That was ALL I cared about honestly. I couldn't imagine setting a new baby down on the carpet in the apartment we lived in for the first few months of marriage. It was brown, old and NASTY.

Anyway, we found this old duplex south of campus. It was in great shape, had a yard, a 2nd bedroom and the NEW carpet I was hoping for. The price was right and even though it was probably about 30 years old, I was THRILLED.

We made all sorts of memories there. We had BBQ's with friends, planted some flowers in the yard, did alot of dishes by hand because there was no dishwasher. I decorated Dallin's nursery there. I sat in front of the huge swamp cooler all summer while I was HUGE and pregnant. We did our wash in the kitchen (where the washing machine was) and took the clothes to the outside shed where the dryer was. Ahhh  yes, those were some good times. I LOVED to jump out and scare Nate when he would take the clothes out to the dryer at night. Bahahaha! I'm evil.

We brought our teeny tiny Dallin home there. We were SO poor yet SO happy.

ANYWAY........so we drove past our former home:

Holy crap. It looks like we lived in a crack house.

hApPy 2011

Happy NEW Year! We had such a great time last night! We started out the night going over to our neighbors house to play the annual candy bar game. As always, it was a huge hit! Then we left to meet up with our Samoan family. They may be cousins once removed but they still treat us like we are immediate fam. They invited us to meet over at Bonneville High School to play basketball and volleyball and hang out with everyone. It was a small family gathering, you know, only about 80 people all together! I LOVE it! They are always SO kind to us. James and Sierra joined us for the night as well. It was SO much fun seeing Aunt Sue.....she is Nate's Grandma's sister. We sure miss Grandma Whitaker but it was so special to see her sister.

Then we headed back over to the house to put the kids to bed and ring in the new year.

The boys lasted until about 11. I was impressed, especially since the night before all 3 of them were in bed and asleep by 6:30! I'm blessed with GOOD sleepers.
In the morning after breakfast we decided to give the sled hill another go. It wasn't windy this time but it was sure COLD! It was 5 degrees! Brrrrrrrr~ At least the sun was out though!

 Check out Uncle Ramo in this little gem he found at the DI. Surprisingly, no one even looked at him twice. He sure makes me laugh.

"It's not where you're from; it's where you're going. It's not what you drive; it's what drives you. It's not what's on you; it's what's in you. It's not what you think; it's what you know." Here's to a fabulous 2011!

Farewell 2010!

Dear 2010,

I feel like we kicked off this past year on a bad note. As soon as you started, life as I knew it started to change drastically. Even though you began as a year of uncertainty and stress, you have been one of the most powerful and strengthening years of my life. You have taught me much. You have forced me to dig deep and be stronger then I ever thought possible. You have made my family grow and rely on one another. You have taught me to appreciate the journey, and the loved ones you meet along the way. You have reminded me how blessed I really am. You have uprooted me and pushed me to my limits. You have tested my faith, and reminded me about the things that really matter most in life. I was quick to hate you at first but have now seen many of the good things that you had in store for us. We had our highs and lows. We've made some incredible memories. I won't ever forget you, but I can't lie...I'm kind of glad to see you go. ☺

SO LONG 2010.....WELCOME 2011!

Sincerely,

Stac

Sledding

We woke up this morning to a few fresh inches of snow and I decided we needed to get outside and enjoy it because negative temps are headed our way!

We called Dad and had him come home on his lunch break to put together the boys NEW snowmobile sled. (A Christmas gift from Grandma Rock!) Quick side note....can I just say how fabulous that it only takes a few minutes for Nate to come home mid day? I ♥ it!

Then we headed over to the Ucon hill to give her a ride!

 THEN the wind started picking up. We're not talking about a little breeze.....we talking like 35-40 mph gusts. Then the sleds started pulling a Santa on us...if you weren't holding on to them, they would just FLY away!
Here is a picture of Dallin retrieving one that got away!

Some peoples sleds were literally blowing off into the sunset or over onto the freeway. Yikes. Can you imagine driving along on the freeway and then suddenly smacking into a random SLED blowing by. So dangerous yet a little bit funny at the same time.

 Landon took a tumble, bruised his check and had to go back into the car. He calmed down as soon as I said we would stop and get some hot cocoa on the way home.

 It was a FUN and FREEZING day!

Christmas!

This year we went on down to UT to spend Christmas with the Starnes clan. What fun! We had such a great time seeing everyone...staying up late, playing hard, and eating tons!

On Thursday we all went up to Heber City and rode on the Polar Express! The kids and cousins had matching jammies with their names on them. We had fun singing carols, eating cookies and hot cocoa, and visiting Santa and Mrs. Clause at the North Pole!

The craziest thing happened while we were waiting to get on the train. We looked over and my dear friend MARCY was standing there with her entire family as well! We were on the same train! What are the odds of that??

On Christmas Eve, we went down to Provo to visit Uncle Clay because he is a firefighter and he didn't get the day off. The kids LOVED seeing where Uncle Clay worked..especially all of the equipment and trucks. We missed Clay during Christmas Eve but are SO proud of him and the sacrifices he makes to help protect others!  

Later that night we had a huge FEAST! Prime rib, twice baked potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls, and more! YUM!

And then we got the kids all dressed up for the nativity. Grandma Lee Lee has a bunch of authentic attire from Jerusalem. It is always so sweet (and hilarious) seeing the kids act out the birth of Christ.

Baby Maci played both baby Jesus (who kept trying to crawl out of the manger) and the little angel. She pretty much stole the show! ☺

In the morning it was PRESENT time!!

We had an absolutely WONDERFUL Christmas! I am so grateful for this time of year where we can think about the birth of the Savior. I am also so grateful for my family...and for the FUN and special memories we make together!! Merry Christmas!

Shake your groove thang!

Not only did Landon have the time of his life dancing at his Uncle's wedding reception, but he WAS the entertainment of the night! I had NO idea this kid had such sweet moves!

UGLY Sweater Party!!!

This weekend we headed over to Boise for James and Sierra's wedding reception. More to come on that soon! While we were there our Boise friends decided to throw another UGLY SWEATER party! YeeHaw!

The Haskells hosted the seriously HILARIOUS night. Yummy food, fun games, and great friends. It was such a blast. It was so refreshing and fun to see everyone!

The first game we played was a little something I made up. I've been laughing about this game for DAYS...hoping it would go over as well as I had imagined. I started by having everyone break up into teams. Each team was given 8 balloons and a pair of nylons. The first team to blow up their balloons, stuff them into the legs of the nylons and shove the nylons over their head and yell RUDOLF was the winner! It was AB-SOL-UTELY hilarious. If you need a quick family game for the holidays I would recommend this for a great laugh!!

 We also played the "Price is Right" with some extremely strange and RANDOM Christmas gift ideas. For those DIFFICULT people to shop for on your Christmas list. I won't list the items here....we'll just leave those suggestions for those who were at the party. hehe.

We also had a white elephant gift exchange. Gotta love the white elephant gifts.......a foot measuring thing (like from Payless), a red beard, some big red undies, a worm that lights up, and who wouldn't want a nice frame or mug with a picture of Nate and I with green whipped cream all over our faces from a St. Patty's/Birthday party we went to last year? Sweet.

I love you friends! Thanks for a side-splitting and memorable night!