Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas is HERE!

Christmas is not really here, but here are a few things that make it seem like it started already.

1. Jon and I opened our presents from the Raymond side tonight. We love all of our gifts! We just wish we could be with you all this season.

2. We got all of the wrapping done, even stocking stuffers.

3. We packed up the plastic bins for transporting gifts and delivered them to David and Aimee.

4. We packed up our clothes and laid out our clothes for traveling tomorrow.

5. We packed carry-on bags including a great book to read if the flights are delayed because of the weather.

6. We reviewed the Christmas rules and agreed to help one another follow them.

7. We set up the light timer and fish food releaser so that the house and fish will be safe.

8. We wrote a blog post about Christmas to entertain our family and friends. Hehe.

We love you all. Since it is late, I must add Jon's words of Christmas Wisdom, "Merry Christmas to all! And to all, a good night!"

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Christmas is almost HERE!

Okay, so I am a total slacker at the blogging thing, but I say with school, driving to Provo, and work, I am a busy girl who deserves some time with her husband. Slacking aside though, I thought I should post some pictures of the Christmas decorations and things here in Bountiful for my family spread across the states.

Since Christmas this year is in California, Jon and I are enjoying the snow here in Utah while we have it. I am sure come mid-February we will be so sick and tired of the snow, but for now, it is beautiful! Here are a couple shots that Jon took a few days before Thanksgiving when we hosted my sister Beth, her kids, Miranda, Maddie, and Matthew, and their adorable dog Japser, the quietest dog I have ever met.

The snow was coming down and it looked so pretty.


We love our cute little house, the snow makes it even cosier.


Beth and the kids anxiously awaiting the start of Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great excuse to use our wedding china and the beautiful silverware and crystal from Dar. We even had the candlesticks from Aunt Ida on the table.


Jon and I were so ready to eat by the time we sat down. Everything was delicious!


Jon's beautiful turkey. It's white in the middle because we took my dad's advice and put bacon on the top of it to seal in the moisture. Maddie liked the bacon.

Now, making this the longest post on the face of the planet, I will add pictures of the Christmas decor we have put up in preparation for the holidays. I finished all of the gift wrapping today and we only have one more gift to pick up tonight. Then just shopping for one another. Ugh, Jon is hard to shop for. The only thing I missed was our cute jingle bell wreath on the door. It's similar to this one, but in normal Christmas colors.


This is our little fiber-optic tree that sits on the right side of the entertainment center. It makes me happy because my Snow Babies finally get to be on display by this tree. They are too "wintery" to keep out year round.

Here is our large fake tree. We decided not to go for a real tree because Jon already had these two, and we ALWAYS had a fake one growing up. I think my sister Sarah was allergic. Next to the tree is our cute advent calendar that I got at Tai Pan Trading thanks to a giftcard from the Masons. We got most of our decorations there actually.


The entertainment center turned out cute in my opinion. The Believe blocks are a premium gift from Deseret Book this week with purchases over $30. The stockings and candy canes came from Tai Pan and the Willow Tree was a four month anniversary gift.
Jon and I have decided that we will get letter blocks for every holiday and these are our sparkly Merry Christmas blocks. Also, more of my Snow Babies.
The last Christmas decoration makes me smile the most. It is the dancing bear that lived at Dar's house all of my childhood. We figured Christmas was a good time to put him out for everyone to enjoy. Also, the lampshade is a little festive. You'll notice it has Moose cutouts. This stays up year-round though, because I left Jon pick out the lampshade. It's fun.

Feel free to leave a comment. Jon and I are trying to come up with our own Christmas traditions and I'd love to know what yours are.

Merry Christmas to all!