December 2012

Another month has flown by so fast. We actually had a busy month but nothing out of the ordinary and I admit that I did not take pictures until our Christmas events started. So, on December 19, RJ's preschool kicked off our festivities with their annual Christmas Program. Ms. Onda K always has the program in the Ririe School gym, so it is very hard to get good pictures. Here is the only one of RJ I got that I liked. He is with his teacher and some classmates.

One day after his program, we celebrated our Family Christmas in Idaho before we left on our travels. Fair or not, I refuse to haul presents from one state to the next.  So, when we travel, RJ gets 2 or 3 Christmases.  Here is a picture of RJ in front of our tree in Idaho. I am choosing not to bore everyone with the 100s of shots of the cute boy opening his presents.

On December 21, we left Idaho to begin our travel to Wyoming and Colorado.  Our original plan was to spend Christmas in Cheyenne with Dale's parents but that got changed.  Please, don't get me started on the communication issues within this family.  I love them..but AHHH!!!! Obviously, none of them are blog readers.  Anyway, we stayed in Cheyenne through Church on Sunday, December 23.  While we were there, RJ got to help his Grandmother Carol decorate little gingerbread men.  He had a BLAST!

We arrived in Colorado to gorgeous sunny 38 degree weather.  By the time we left it was a sunny gorgeous 18 degree weather.  A couple times a day while at my grandma's house, RJ and I would make the trek out to the corral to break the ice for the horses.  RJ really got into it.  He LOVED helping.  To my great and wonderful surprise, we also awoke on Christmas morning to SNOW!!!!! I am a Colorado girl.  We used to have snow ALL the time for Christmas, but I honestly can not remember the last "white" Christmas that I lived in Colorado for.  Sooo...I was super excited.  Even though it was only about an inch, I ran out to the grass and proceeded to make a snow angel.

Below here, is a picture of RJ in Colorado in front of my grandma's little Christmas tree.  We had a blast opening presents. Again, I am not going to bore with the 100s of pictures of the present opening process....We have all been there.  Santa brought RJ a new train, Sir Handel, from Thomas the Train.  He was a little excited to play with it.  Also at my grandma's, RJ would sit on my grandmother's lap every night for a story.  Despite her many health issues and his size, they both LOVED this ritual.  I am so blessed to have a wonderful grandma who deeply loves and cares for her great-grandson.  My aunt works for the state patrol, so she asked one of the Troopers to come over and let RJ have a "tour" of the brand new patrol cars.  RJ was shy but he loved it.  Personally, I know the Dodge Chargers are great cars for speed etc, but I thought that the CSP's new paint design was kind of boring.  But it was fun to see the car with RJ.

On Thursday, December 27, we headed back to Cheyenne.  We found more presents to open.  We took RJ to the mall so he could ride this little train.  He LOVED it.  I was disappointed that the mall took out the train that they had last year, but I was very grateful that they still had some type of train or else RJ would have been so sad.

We headed back to Idaho on Saturday the 29th and the process of putting everything away started.  Along with that process, of course, comes the lucky job of assembling all the new things for the little boy.  One of his Santa presents was this wall mounted Hot Wheels Track.  He still likes trains better, but he really does like this track too.  Dale and I now get to hear the wonderful sound of "thunk" as the cars fly off the end of the track and collide with RJ's bedroom door. :) 

I love December and all that comes with it.  I got to celebrate my 29th birthday as well.  I LOVE my birthday.  I LOVE Christmas and the Spirit of giving and sharing that accompanies the holidays.  I love my Savior.  I am grateful for His birth and for His life and ministry on the Earth that teaches me the correct way to live.  I am grateful for His LOVE that is unconditional to each of us.  I hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Year's celebration.