Utah Utes Gymnastics

Only 2 weeks away....the Utah Utes, or better known as the Red Rocks start their season again #1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Merry Christmas to me!

Christmas Day

What time did your household get up this morning?
Josh slept until almost 10 am. I finally went in to nudge him to get the morning started.

Then it was on to presents from Santa...the dress up chest being the biggest hit. The rest of us were well taken care of as well. We are all so blessed to have each other and not want for much.

After we got through presents, we had the traditional blueberry muffins and sliced bananas in a bowl of orange juice thanks to the Hughes line. My family stayed at my house, all of us in our pj's for the remainder of the day enjoying each other's company and playing games. Josh & I left for a few hours in the evening to see my BFF's family and spend some time with them and then it was back to my house. Everyone was right were I left them. We had a wonderful Christmas and I am very grateful for my family and friends. We missed you Amy & Lee!

Let the traditions begin...

Christmas Eve is a fun and tradition filled evening. This year, I was lucky enough to share in my BFF's family traditions as well. Michelle & I started our evening at her parent home for dinner, good company, and presents. We had a great time.

After we finished at the Monsen home, we came back to my house. This year, I had my whole family out to my house for our traditional seafood dinner, consisting of crab, shrimp, and of course clam chowder. I have been having this meal since I was born thanks to my dad's side of the family. It is something we all look forward to. After a wonderful meal, thanks dad, we open Christmas pj's, sibling gifts, and a Josh was lucky enough to open a few more. Then we play games into the wee hours.

We were all having so much fun playing games, Josh was not even going to think about sleeping. He tried to keep his eyes open as long as us 'big kids'. After a phone call from Santa himself, and droppy eyes, Josh finally hit the pillow and crashed...well he at least pretended to!

The rest of us finally decided we were too tired to be awake any longer as well and turned out the lights around 2 am. Did I mention everyone was sleeping at my house?!!

Parties, Parties, & more Parties

December 22nd was a busy day at my household. There were lots of family and friend parties to attend to as Christmas day draws near. We started with the Reese's family party. All of my extended family got together from my dad's side for a Christmas brunch. We had a great time being together for the first time in a number of years. My cousin put together a Reese family dvd with pictures of all of us as kids, and our parents as kids. It was an amazing show and we were all in tears by the end seeing clips of my grandpa who none of us grandkids knew. What an amazing reminder of the importance of family and loving each other through think and thin.

Then it was off to the Hughes family Christmas party. Again, an old tradition resurfaced for us. We met at my uncle's ward to put on display our family talents. It was fun to relish in all the ways our family has been blessed. Because so many of us first cousins are much older with kids of our own, we fininshed with a reinactment of Christ's birth. All the kids dress in costume and we read the Christ's story from the bible. Memories! The adults this time around also performed some Christmas carols with chimes for the kids. We can be a bit unrulely, but we love each other!

The final party for my night was with some friends who I love. We had dinner, watched some BYU football (well some of us did), and celebrated a birthday. Nothing like getting everything done in one shot!

I am very blessed to have an amazing family and friends. Love you all!

Zoo Lights

If you can brave the cold, I strongly suggest the Zoo Lights as a holiday activity. It was an amazing and fun display of holiday lights.Josh & I were lucky to be joined by grandma Reese, aunt Tess & uncle Rich and their kids. We also ran into Josh's friend Ellison and her family. We ended the night with some hot chocolate to warm us up, & of course a quick countdown to how much longer until Kris Kringle (Josh's new favorite name for Santa) arrives.

Movie Review

Early this week, Josh, my BFF, & myself went to see Alvin & the Chipmunks. Josh giggled through the whole movie, which made the poor acting and cheesy story worth sitting through for us 'grown-ups'. Josh sweet laugh brightens my heart, so I would sit through it again, just to hear him!

a new favorite activity

Josh has a new favorite sport....ice skating. All he has wanted to do since his first trip to the ice is go back.


He as very excited to be able to teach Michelle how to ice skate, being the expert he is after his first time out. They had a few spills, but we had a blast!

Gingerbread & Goodies

I love the Christmas holiday. There are so many fun activities I get to enjoy with my little guy. Tonight we put together a gingerbread train and decorated it with lots of yummy frosting and candy.

A Holiday Tradition

I am very lucky to have life long friendships with my girls from High School. Our holiday party tradition started our freshman year, 1993, and has continued every year since. Sarah, Tarynn, Rachel, Jenny, & Nikki were able to attend this year at my home. We missed you Boyden & Buzz! Every get together consists of reminising the numerous memories we share, and yummy food. Tonight was no exception. I am certain this tradition will continue well into our later years.

20 days and counting

20 days and counting until the man in red arrives. Today Josh wrote out his first letter to Santa, this being the first Christmas he can write, and we also went for a visit. Josh's shyness kept us from the traditional picture, but I was able to get a pic outside Santa's house in Sugarhouse.

WEDNESDAY ICE SKATERS

Josh wanted to go ice skating today for our Wednesday activity. He had never been, but picked it up very quickly. We had a blast at the Galavan ice rink...and thank goodness for warm snowpants; falling down isn't so bad with them on!

Josh started to get the hang of it...

We had a blast. It is fun spending time with Josh and today was no exception.

Congrats Josh!

Josh got his first report card today and he got excellent remarks from his teacher Mrs. Spiegal. He is working hard as a kindergartner!

the biggest loser

So the race is on at the Reese household. Starting today, my parents, my brothers, my sister, and myself have begun our own "biggest loser" competetion. We have until the last day of Feburary to see who can lose the biggest BMI percentage...we had to keep it fair :-) Start the metoblism engines, because it is on. The winner will not only be healthier, but $100 richer as well. I hope this is a good start to a long Reese life.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Happy holidays & lets ring in the an even better New Year! Thanks Lindz for creating the cutest holiday card around!

Game Night at the Reese's

Saturday night and nothing to do...so I headed to my padres with my BFF for some games and yummy treats. We played into the wee hours of the night and ended with my new favorite game, Ticket to Ride - a fun, quick, game for up to 5. We had a great time hanging with the family and kicked some butt too! Can't beat good, loving company, treats & games.

Cheesecake and Lunch

With the winter flakes coming down in full force, yesterday seemed like a good day to venture to the Cheesecake Factory. We had lunch with my BFF's brother & sister-in-law, and their beautiful boy Landon. The cheesecake was delicious!

Billy Joel ROCKS!

Can't beat a Billy Joel concert. Last night I went with my BFF, my brother, and his girlfriend to the Billy Joel concert at was once the Delta Center. That man can ROCK & has a sense of humor too. We had a blast!

Playtime...Have to Love Wednesdays!

Josh and I decided to play at home and take advantage of a warm house on such a cold day!

We started with some legos....
Then some goofing around.... (josh's favorite pose lately)
Next we moved into a Christmas craft project, painting a santa decoration...

The final product turned out well. Josh loves to do arts & crafts. We finished up the afternoon with some snuggling under blankets and reading a story, and of course the showing of the Polar Express, a classic Christmas movie. We love our Wednesday time together!