Christmas in Vernal!!

So before we left on our Christmas vacation to Vernal :) I celebrated my 25th birthday! Kyle made me breakfast and then I got to spend the day with my adorable kids and wonderful husband who picked up some Chick-fil-A for lunch! That evening we went over to Uncle Billy's home for a delicious steak dinner and cake and ice cream!

Rylan sat on my lap as everyone sang Happy Birthday...he was so funny with the biggest smile on his face and clapping the entire time. I think he thought they were singing to him.




The next day we left with my Mom to Vernal, Utah. We stayed with my sister Chrissy and her fun family...


After dinner we all opened up our new pajamas (a Christmas Eve tradition for all of us). Here's "Grammy" with all of the grandchildren in the house.


Rylan, Addilyn, and I sporting our new pajamas. If you're wondering why my smile is a little scary, this was the third take and holding both children at the same time isn't light. :)


After opening up our pajamas, my Mom put together a few games to play from the "Minute to Win It" TV show. We all had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. I even took part in one of the games.

One game for example is to tie a tissue box filled with small ornaments around your waist and jump up and down, wiggle, or whatever as fast as you can to get the ornaments to fall out. Who ever gets the most out in one minute wins! After everyone had a turn, Rylan wanted to try. He was super cute moving his feet around really fast and he even tried to jump some too. He didn't get any ornaments to fall out, but I was super proud of him for doing exactly what he saw everyone else do.


Trying to Jump




Another game they played was to be the first person to blow their ornament into the designated square and to keep it there.


Addilyn enjoyed the show to a bottle...Here she is with Daddy on the couch...


Rylan loved playing on the stairs...favorite seat in the house.


After playing a few more games, all the kids got ready for Santa to visit. They put some yummy cookies on a pan to cook and somehow Rylan grabbed one off before it got into the oven... sneaky little guy (he takes after his Mommy).




After they were cooked, they put some cookies on a plate and made some strawberry milk for Santa. They even decided to put out some carrots for Santa's reindeer. I don't think Rylan gets who we're putting the snacks out for because here he is eating again...


Lucky Addilyn was the last kid in bed :) She was so cute and cuddly in her new pj's!


Chrissy's super cute Christmas tree they cut down themselves!


In the morning Rylan woke up to all the kids excited from there gifts left by Santa. When he came downstairs, he new exactly what was his and walked straight over to his new Little People Wheelies Toy..


Rylan was a pro at opening presents this year! He knew there was something inside so it was self motivating (whether he cared for what was inside or not).


I love the following picture...I'm not sure who was more excited Rylan or Daddy?


Rylan pushed this shopping cart everywhere and still does even now that we're home. It's cute to see what he finds to fill the basket with. Thank you Nana & Papa Nielsen!


Addilyn got a Toy Castle. She absolutely loves this! Her legs automatically go straight to standing every time I put her in it and she just smiles and smiles! I guess it's nice for her to see the world in a different view.


I also have to add that Rylan loves it as well. He'll walk around her pushing the buttons and all. It's a good thing too. Addilyn is entertained by it since she can't quite reach nor understand how to get the different things to make noises yet.


Later Christmas day we went sledding. We bundled Rylan up pretty good. The snow had basically turned to ice though. Rylan wasn't the biggest fan of the loud crushing rumbling noise as I pulled him on the sled (Not to mention it was nap time too). It was a good start though. You can see that he's not too sure by the look on his face.


Kyle enjoyed playing the piano at Chrissy's house. He even learned how to play a new song.


We had a wonderful time in Vernal for Christmas! Chrissy's family made it feel like we were right at home. Sadly, we didn't get any pictures with them... but we also got to visit with my brother Timmy and his fun family! My Mom was great company to have as well! She always makes things so fun! I feel so very blessed to have been able to spend this holiday season with so much family!

Now it's time to reflect on this past year and all that has happened as well as celebrate the start of a new year! I love this time of year to start fresh, organize, and set new goals! We're excited to see what this year has in store for us! Bring it on! :) I love my husband for working so hard everyday so that I'm able spend all day with my two energetic and adorable kids. Life is good!

Rylan!

A few days ago I came across a couple of photos of Rylan when he was about 15 months old (so about 2 months ago). I never posted any of them so I thought... it's never too late, right? I love this little man! He's growing up too fast!!

Sweet and innocent?!


Trying to fit into Addilyn's seat.


Playing "So Big!"


The best seat in the house.


Say "Cheese" :)

November & December Updates!

Here we are five days away until Christmas and I thought I'd better hurry and post about our Thanksgiving! We spent it near Big Cottonwood Canyon where our Uncle Billy lives. My brother and sister along with all of their cute kiddos from Vernal came out. We even got to have a few cousins over too that are out here for school. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is getting to spend literally all day with family (cooking, eating, lounging, playing games, etc.) We had a great time!

Rylan getting festive with the holiday!


Uncle Billy cooked the turkey on the grill which was delicious!! Look at that beauty!


Daddy and Addilyn waiting for dinner!


This year Thanksgiving was in town and we didn't really have to travel for it. Because of this, I got to help out a lot with making all the side dishes and desserts. I told my Mom I'd make a cute dessert for the kids to enjoy so when I found these cute "turkey cookies" I thought perfect! Oreos with a mini Resees cup and some candy corn sticking out...how difficult could it be? Yeah.... whatever! This was totally not my thing apparently. I had the hardest time making them. Luckily my knight and shining husband came to the rescue and offered to help. He did such an amazing job, I completely turned the entire project over to him. I of course helped by unwrapping the candy and handing him the pieces. :) Here's an example of the difference in talent.


My turkey is on the left! As you can see Kyle's turkey (on the right hand side of the picture) was basically perfect so he made every single one of them! He did an awesome job! I never knew he had such a talent for decorating with food! :)

Khloe enjoying a yummy "Turkey Cookie" for dessert!


Now on to December! At the beginning of the month we went to an activity at my Mom's work. It was her Dickens' of a Christmas celebration! This is her below decked out in her old fashioned Christmas carol outfit. Super cute! She's the Recreation Director (I think that's what it's called) at an assisted living home here in the Salt Lake Valley. Meaning she basically plans all of the activities for the facility. She does an awesome job! She's super creative and seriously thinks of every detail! Love the outfit!



They had live music, tons of yummy food, a magician, carriage rides, and Santa Clause! Rylan was fascinated by this man playing the trombone. He literally just stood there without moving for the entire song!


This is the first year that Rylan met Santa Clause. Our first take was at our ward Christmas party. He didn't take it too well. He cried and tried to get down.....



He was okay with standing near Santa, but didn't want anything to do with sitting on his lap. Lucky Rylan though got to meet Santa for a second time at the Dickens' of a Christmas party at my Mom's work. When he saw Santa he starred for a bit and then walked over. Sweet Santa Clause shook Rylan's hand and then picked him up! I thought that was going to be the end of it for sure, but he didn't cry! He just sat there and starred at him....



Rylan has seen Santa a few other times as well and whenever he see's him now he points and smiles. I think it's sweet how Addilyn is just chillin' in Santa's lap in both pictures. I'm sure next year her reaction will be much different! :)

This past weekend I went to Vernal to watch my sister Christy's kids while she and her husband took off to Colorado. I got to play "Mommy" to a total of six children (my two children included). Growing up I always said that I wanted six children some day so it was fun to see if I could really handle it. Christy's kids were super good so they made it easy on me! Rylan loved all of his cousins to play with (Finally someone other than just Mommy!) and he also enjoyed all the new toys!

This is Rylan on the piano (Sorry Chrissy, I hope this was okay...I couldn't pull him away from it). He played it with such thought. Rather than banging the keys like you would think a child of his age would, he gently pressed the keys like he was really playing a song. Check out the concentration on his face!


Cousin Kooper loved pushing Rylan around in this miniature doll stroller. Rylan loved it too. He almost fell asleep a few times!


The weather was really nice so we got to play outside a bunch. There was so much room to run and play compared to our apartment! Rylan loved it!


Cousin Kaylee holding Addilyn!


Addilyn is four months old now! She smiles a ton and loves the sound of her voice! She'll just sit there and babble to herself making all sorts of noises.


She has the cutest expressions as well!


This was taken in the middle of one of her "stories" she was telling me. (If you can imagine her babbling and yelling with her mouth wide open.)


She can hold her head up really well while on her belly and she sits up with support now too! I can't believe how quickly she is growing! She's getting really strong in her legs. Here she is standing up...with support of course.


Rylan's still super curious about everything around him! He's progressed from emptying out drawers and cupboards to now emptying out closets....I found him in the front closet after coming back from laying Addilyn down. The pile on the floor are things that were neatly hung or put away in the closet.



He emptied out the entire cabinet of pots and pans at Uncle Jeff's house. It's amazing how things like this will entertain him longer then his own toys :)


Most recent....Chrissy drove us back to the city after our visit to Vernal and stayed a few days! We played, shopped, and had a lot of fun! We went to the Fun Center here in West Jordan where they had a huge jungle gym play area, bouncers galore, a skating ring, and much more! Rylan was unstoppable. He was all over the place and had the best time! I'll post those pictures later, but for a sneak peak....

Check out the look on his face! He loved crawling and climbing all over!

We are off to Vernal, Utah this year with my Mom to visit my brother and sister for Christmas! We are super excited to spend it with lots of family again! So for now... Merry Christmas!!