Christmas Shenanigans!

Christmas this year was wonderful! Like, seriously, wonderful.

Christmas Eve we headed up to Cedar City after Dan got off work. Aurora thought it would be a fun idea to start opening my gift from Dan on our way to Cedar... which was funny because she has had no interest in wrapping paper until that holiday drive! haha

When we pulled into town, our first stop was at our friend, Brandon Terry's parents house to give him, his wife, Krystel, and their kids a Christmas gift. We ended up staying there for about an hour chatting with not only our friends, but their family as well. We love The Terry's!

Then it was on to my parents' house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and program. Every year, we gather around the table and feast on a delicious meal of teriyaki chicken, rice pilaf, rolls, and salads. My mom is the best cook. For real. And then we make our way in to the living room for a program centered on Christ's birth.

The program this year was beautiful. My dad and Grandpa Smith took turns reading scripture and stories of Christ's birth and we would pause occasionally to sing Christmas hymns while Becca played the piano. For me, it just wouldn't be Christmas without that tradition. The feeling of the spirit is strong as we gather together as a family to remember Christ is the reason for the season.

At the conclusion of the program, we exchanged our sibling gifts and then mom gave each of us a quilt she had made with the help of my sisters, Steph and Erin. Everyone's quilts were absolutely gorgeous but ours was the best! King size, huge, and fantastic! (Dan hauls it around and raves about it to just about everyone-- it's that cool!)

This year we gave my mom a fun game called 'Spot It!' and we gave my dad a pocket knife that he could do whittling with. They both loved their gifts, which made us happy because, honestly, it's better to give than to receive.

For sibling gifts, we drew out Becca and Steph. Alex drew my name and Steph drew Dan's name. Dan got socks, of course, and LOVED them (that boy has an obsession with socks. No joke.) and Alex gave me a jar of 'Mugging'; it's a cake mix that you make in a mug in the microwave. It's the bomb! And I may or may not have used up most of it already... haha

After everyone left, we went over to spend the night at Dan's parents' house. We spent some time chatting and preparing for the morning when we arrived and then it was off to bed to await the arrival of gifts from Santa the next morning.

Christmas morning we awoke to a gorgeous winter wonderland of snow and a room of beautifully wrapped gifts! We had a good time going around the room and watching everyone's joy as they opened up gifts from parents, brothers, sisters, and spouses.

Dan really outdid himself this year and spoiled me completely rotten, giving me a REALLY nice camera that I've been wanting for years! A Canon EOS Rebel T5 with a bunch of lenses and attachments. He's basically the best and I haven't stopped playing with it! I'm in love!

This year I gave him a bunch of new Puma socks, a new shirt, and a whole set of new garments. haha I'm basically a horrible gift giver and I give practical gifts every year but he said he loved them anyway.

As for Aurora, we got her some fun new toys and then both her grandparents spoiled her! She got lots of new stuff to play with and she loves it all... and so do all her little friends who have been over to play!

Dan's family is always so good to us! They always seem to know exactly what we've been wanting.

Probably the sweetest thing they got us was a big remote control car for Dan. I guess that when Dan was younger, the only thing he asked for for Christmas one year was a big remote control car. His mom said she wasn't able to get him that because she didn't have the money and she always wished she could've got it for him. So this year, she finally did!

After gift opening, Dan's sister, Christina, used her gel nails set she got for Christmas to do some cute gel nails on me then we played games and ate yummy food. It's fun to just be able to relax and spend some time enjoying the company of everyone on Christmas. I love spending time with Dan's parents and siblings!

Later that afternoon, Aurora and I sped over to my family's house again to get there in time to see my sister video call us from her mission in Louisiana! That was the best to be able to talk with her AND see her! She looked and sounded so good. I sure miss that lady but I know that she is where she needs to be. If you want to hear about her video call check out her mission blog HERE.

Then I showed my camera to everyone and took some pictures and we received even more gifts from my family! I told you we were spoiled this year!

The major thing we took away this Christmas was the feeling of love. We are so SO loved by so many people. And we are SO blessed to have the families that we do. We love them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Bountiful Bountiful

This past weekend was a lot of fun.

Dan, Aurora, and I traveled up to Bountiful, Utah, on Friday so we'd be there for the annual Barclay family Christmas party on Sunday at my grandma's house. I was really glad we were able to go this year since we didn't make it up last year!

On Friday, we had dinner with my grandma and my sister, Becca, and her hubby, Alex, then Dan and I played cards while eating lunchables and jerky. And we even had a chance to chit-chat with my cousin, Heather! It was great to catch up with her.

Saturday brought a visit from our good friend, Laura, and her little man, Kaden. They moved to Layton a few months ago so we all really enjoy our rare little meetups!

After visiting a bit with them, Dan helped my grandma organize her garage so that she could fit two cars in there. Grandma was super appreciative! I tried to help... kind of... but let's just say that Dan has the REAL eye for quality placement in a garage sooo... I mostly watched. But the view was great! *wink*wink*

Saturday night was when my parents, Steph, Grace, and Erin finally arrived so after a quick dinner with Dan and Aurora at KFC, we met up with them to visit Temple Square and see the lights.

You guys. The lights at Temple Square never cease to amaze me and leave me awe struck. The temple is beautiful and with the added lights, the Christmas feeling is abundant.

We spent a small amount of time taking pictures and it was fun and wonderful to be able to just laugh with the family and hold hands with my handsome husband while basking in the spirit of Christmas on Temple Square. Huge shout out to my Grandma Barclay for watching Aurora and Grace so we could go!

When we got back from downtown, we pulled up in front of my grandma's house to find our cousin, Melissa, had driven up to see us from Provo! It was THE BEST to see her! We all packed into my grandma's kitchen and ate food all while there was about 10 different conversations happening amongst everyone. It was loud and completely wonderful.

Sunday morning, we got all dressed up and headed down the street to attend sacrament at my grandma's ward. They were doing their Christmas program so we had the opportunity to sing quite a few Christmas songs and listen to stories reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas. The service was beautiful.

When we returned from church, we helped my grandma with last minute finishes to the dinner then Becca and Alex took us over to see their little apartment not far from my grandma's house. The view from their window was gorgeous! So after I snapped a few pictures, we headed back.

At 5pm, the rest of the family had arrived to start the party. Probably my favorite part of the party is getting to catch up with my cousins, aunt, and uncles, because this is the only time of year we really see them. We all live in different areas of the state so when we get together again, we really cherish it. And boy, do I have a wonderful family! This year, there were quite a few little second cousins Aurora's age and she had a blast getting to know them. It was fun to see them all interact with one another just like we did as kids.

Dan had the opportunity of being "Lucky the Elf" for the party and got to have everyone sit on his lap while he handed out presents for Santa. He has done this a few times now and he always does a great job helping my family get into the spirit of it all. We sing songs and he provides laughs as he asks everyone if they've been good this year and what they want for Christmas.

Aurora sat with my parents as we waited for her to sit on "Lucky's" lap and the whole time, she was so interested in "Lucky"; couldn't take her eyes off of him. But as her name was called and my mom placed her on "Lucky's" lap, the look of terror came to her face and she screamed and screamed. haha Little did she know... "Lucky" is her favorite man.

When the party ended, we thanked my grandma and said goodbye to everyone and then we packed in the car to make the five hour journey home.

What a great weekend.

But honestly, my favorite part of the trip was the 10 hours I spent in the car with my Dan. Aurora slept most of the way (thankfully) so Dan and I had lots of time to just talk, laugh, and sing together. Times like those remind me that I'm in love with my very best friend. And I'd say, I'm perfectly fine with that!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I've pretty much been obsessed with blogging lately... but not on this blog. Curses. haha

Really though, I'm sorry I've been such a slacker. I've been focusing more of my efforts on updating and playing around with the blog I've made for my sister, Collette, who just left on an LDS mission.

I'm just loving the look of her blog and I'm loving hearing from her or from my parents who hear from her... yeah, hopefully she writes to ME soon and in the mean time I'll try to breathe and remember that she is a busy busy lady in service to the Lord. (If you want to check her blog, feel free to do so! She's pretty much awesome. ----> Called to Serve: Louisiana Edition)

I'm thinking of changing the look of THIS blog soon. I've had it like this for awhile and I'm just sort of feeling a need for change. Ya know? Ahh, but what to change it to? That is the real question. Oh, I'll be thinking. No worries. In the mean time...

Lately we've been Christmas-ing it up around here! Or at least I have. And I've been forcing it on my small family. They love it. I think.

I mentioned to Dan at the beginning of December that I wanted to watch old Christmas movies so he bought me a DVD set of some classics. Basically, Aurora and I have been watching them on repeat now for the last week and a half. It's been great!

Also, I've been sipping on loads of hot cocoa. I think my favorite mix I've made so far is a cup of Stephen's white hot chocolate with added pumpkin spice seasoning. Yuuuuum.

Oh! And we put up our Christmas tree! It's so lovely! We had a good time listening to Christmas tunes and setting it all up together. AND Dan knows that I've been big on making memories and traditions this year so after it was all set up, we piled in the car and went to get eggnog and donuts. Then we watched a movie together after putting our little one to sleep. I have the best husband.

Speaking of having the best husband... that guy has been overly excited for weeks about this present he's getting me! I'm over here feeling excited about it (whatever it is) BUT also feeling a little bit like my gift for him is just not going to be as good as whatever he got me. Even though I'm sure he is going to love the small things I got him... haha I'm sure you all know the feeling.

Oh well. It just feels good to give! And it really is the thought that counts. Right? We have been gathering gifts for family and friends for quite some time now and we are definitely getting anxious to give! There is something about making someone else happy, that makes you happy. And that is better than any gift we could receive ourselves.

I just love the feeling that the Christmas season brings to everyone. I'm sure that I'm turning into that person who could play Christmas music all year round.

... Oh don't worry. I won't though.

OR WILL I?? hahaha just kidding. But really. Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!

Setting something on fire = Free donuts!

First can we just say, I'm addicted to food. I love it. I just do. AND it looooooves me and clings tightly to me... in the form of fat. I'm just going to embrace it SO as I sit here typing away, I'm busy eating the bag full of chocolate chips from Christmas. I think one of my new years resolutions should've involved the word "exercise". Too bad it didn't.

Aaanyway, Dan and I both learned new skills involving our Christmas presents this past week! His chanter came in the mail and so began the lessons of learning the bagpipes from my dad (my grandpa would've been proud). It was great! Dan learned the scale and practices all the time. It's really cute and he actually plays pretty good! It's fun that my dad is able to pass on that Barclay family heritage to my husband.

As for me, I finally got the chance to put my new sewing machine to work with the help of my mom when we spent an entire day together sewing cute baby bibs. It was so fun to learn from my talented mom and to see the finished products I had made "all by myself". I really am proud of how they turned out! I even hand-sewed a couple things! The bibs came from a packet I bought and it's full of many more patterns so we have plans to do more. I'm excited! I like sewing.

In other news, I started student teaching for 2nd grade yesterday and so far it's been wonderful! Enoch is such a great school! I really have such a great mentor teacher AND all the other teachers and aides I've met so far are so awesome. I know this is going to be a good experience... ESPECIALLY since the kids are just about the cutest and "fun-est" (I know. Not a word. Whatevs.) kids I've met. They really do say and do some of the funniest things!

Example #1: 

Mr. H - "What are some of the things we could maybe have learned from books we've read in this class?"

Student - "Oh! That if we set something on fire, we'll get free donuts!" (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson)

Example #2:

Student - "No man knows!"

Me - "Knows what?"

Student - "When he will come!"

Me - "When who will come?"

Student - "The second coming!"

Example #3:

Student - "I want to have a friend made completely of cheese! I just LOVE cheese!"

Example #4:

The teacher is reading Fablehaven by Brandon Mull for the read-aloud and it mentions gollum. As soon as it's mentioned about half the class starts saying "My precious!" in creepy little voices like that smeagol guy from Lord of the Rings  

Example #5:

In math, one of the answers to the problem we worked on was '5 children' so one student asked, "Can we put 'kids' or do we have to put 'children'?" In response to that, another said, "Wait! I thought kids were baby goats!" And sounding very appalled, another says, "You can't put 'kids', we're not baby goats!" (Note to self: Never refer to them as "kids".)

P.S. Dan FINALLY fixed the brakes on Jimmy! AND the heater! I feel like I'm driving a new car! I'ts the best. I'm so lucky to have a husband who knows about cars and can fix mine! Yay!

Christmas!

Christmas this year was good. It was really good.

We spent time with both our families and had lots of fun.

Christmas eve day we made cookies and seven layer salad for Christmas eve dinner at my parents' before heading over to Dan's parents' house. At their house we helped them make food and finish wrapping presents then we all gathered in the living room to open gifts. Dan's mom and dad got me a sewing machine and Dan got a light-up trace board for his new love of portrait drawing (we were both really excited)! We then said our goodbyes and headed over to my family's house.

At my family's house we ate some amazing dinner! My mom made teriyaki chicken, rice pilaf, and a cherry salad. Becca brought rolls and Dan and I brought seven layer salad and cookies. After dinner, we read the story of Christ's birth using candy bar names. It's become a family tradition to do this. The story is interjected with candy bar names like "Mary and Joseph traveled the 'Rocky Road' to Bethlehem" and when you hear the name of a candy bar (Rocky Road for example) you grab it off the table. After this, we had my grandpa open his present and he went home.

The rest of us played a couple minute-to-win-it games and then my mom, Dan, and I played with my sewing machine. Mom made us corn bags for Christmas so I helped her finish sewing a couple.

Dan, Becca, and I spent the night so we all got "rudely" awakened on Christmas morning by Erin a little before 7am. We opened gifts (Santa came to Dan and I this year (yay!) and Dan got a model car and I got a Best Bites Cook Book that I'd been wanting then my mom and dad gave Dan bagpipe lessons and I got some stuff for our house) and then Steph came over and we all had breakfast and played a little Just Dance 4 before everyone fell asleep for a mid-morning nap.

At 2pm, Dan and I left so the he could go to work and I could go over to his family's house so we could go see Les Mis. Dan's Grandma and Grandpa Rigby got all of us tickets to go for Christmas. The movie was AMAZING! I loved it!

That night, Dan got off work around 8pm and we went out to his Grandpa and Grandma Johnson's to play some cards with his Aunts and Uncles. We played Pounce and Dan and I kicked butt! haha

12 Days

As I said before, Dan and I felt the love this season. First cookies left on our doorstep and then a whole twelve days of gifts. We looked forward to the surprise that would be left on our doorstep every night leading to Christmas and we've decided that we want to do it for someone next year!

We did, however, finally find out who had done the twelve days of Christmas for us on Christmas Eve when we were at my parents and they handed us the last one (popcorn) and gave us a popcorn maker haha But even thought we found out who it was, it was still so fun to get! 

It was such a cute idea, too! All food storage things. So here it is, in case anyone wants to copy for next year. Enjoy! (We sure did!)

Day #1: Pears

"Now in day number one, a 

fruit we will share

The verse gives you a hint; oh

yes, it's a PEAR.

With stored fruits a-plenty

you definitely could

Serve something daily that is 

really good."

Day #2: Chocolate Chips

"Day 2, turtledoves -- forget

birds and think treat

With these good 

CHOCOLATE CHIPS you can

make something sweet.

Think past cookies to muffins

and breads you can make.

But also for breakfast add

chips to pancakes."

Day #3: Chicken Soup

"Three French hens are just

chickens, so look what we

brought

Some fixins' for dinner --

CHICKEN SOUP for your pot.

Add some veggies or fruit and 

some bread for you tummy

Now you've created a spread

that is yummy."

Day #4: Notepads

"Four calling birds -- good at 

keeping in touch

With names plus addresses, 

phone numbers, and such

So you'll want NOTEPADS 

as well for writing all these 

things down

If an emergency causes you

to hurriedly leave town."

Day #5: Pineapple Rings

"Only five golden rings? There

really are more 

Of these PINEAPPLE RINGS

to add to your store

Eat them plain or in salads -- 

there's so many ways

Start writing them down to 

plan your meal days."

Day #6: Oatmeal

"Six geese a-layin' -- we're 

back to those birds!

Try taking their eggs and their 

cries will be heard

So now what's for breakfast?

Not to worry or fear;

Try this OATMEAL -- it'll 

warm you into next year."

Day #7: Water

"Seven swans they were 

swimming in water so clear

They remind us that yes, we

store WATER my dear

For 2 weeks the recommended 

minimum you store

Is a gallon per person per day

(though you may want more)."

Day #8: Milk

"Eight maids a-milking, fresh 

milk it's no doubt

But it won't store for long if 

the power is out

To make eating more fun, this 

variety of MILK

Can be made into sauces that 

are smooth as silk!"

Day #9: Sugar

"Nine ladies are dancing out 

on the street

Each carrying SUGAR to 

make something sweet!

Cakes, cookies, or pies you

don't need a reason,

With sugar in store, you're

ready any season."

Day #10: Wheat and Flour

"Ten lords a-leaping, now 

that's quite a feat

We have brought you this 

grain, and yes, it is WHEAT.

With this versatile grain 

there's so much you can

make,

And with it ground into FLOUR

you'll be able to bake."

Day #11: Bubbles

"Eleven pipers were piping -- a 

wonderful sight

'Cause these pipes don't 

make music; they blow

bubbles so light

So make sure that you plan 

several fun things to do 

To help relieve stress, here 

are BUBBLES for you."

Day #12: Salt and Popcorn

"Twelve drummers drumming; 

I wish they would halt.

But they're bringing a staple 

you need: it is SALT!

You never need much, just a 

little to savor

Especially on POPCORN; it 

enhances the flavor."

Something New

Ever since my Grandma Smith passed away, my family has changed our Christmas traditions just a little. Instead of getting everyone (Smith's, Dennett's, Henrie's, and Barclay's) together for Christmas eve at my grandparents' house, we all meet at his house on my grandma's birthday (December 22nd), which is also my cousin, Alex's, and we eat food and have cake and ice cream. We sing "Happy Birthday" to Alex and chat then we all head to the cemetery to visit my grandma's grave. My grandpa usually puts out poinsettias or something (this year we put up a mini Christmas tree) and then we sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and go home. My grandpa comes to my parents' house for Christmas eve festivities now but this is a fun tradition to kind of remember my grandma at this time of year as well. We always did a big dinner, nativity, and musical numbers at her house every year for Christmas eve and my grandma always made sure everything was put together so beautifully. We all miss her dearly, especially my grandpa, so it's a nice way to remember her and celebrate our family.

Christmas Vacation

Sorry for being so blog-inactive for the last week. In all honesty, I'm not THAT sorry though because I've been partying with the family, friends, and, of course, Dan. Our week has been filled FULL with travel this past week but, boy, has it been fun!

**Disclaimer: Brace yourselves, this is gonna be a long one.

Last friday night, Dan and I started our "vacation" right with date night. We had a gift certificate to Winger's and free tickets to a play at the university from my parents so we just had to! We invited Seth and Laura Allred to dinner with us. It was fun chatting with them and it was actually our first time being able to get all four of us together! Usually, Laura and I will do girl's nights or Dan and Seth will do guy's nights but someone usually ends up having to work whenever we think about doing a double date. It was nice to finally be able to get together! After dinner, we parted ways and Dan and I went to the Randall Jones Theater to watch A Christmas Carol on the Air. It was such a funny play! We loved it! (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

Saturday, Becca picked us up and we followed the rest of the fam (minus Steph) to Salt Lake for a family filled weekend. We stopped along the way to visit Lisa, Nick, and Alex (Hey, Lisa!) and then we all headed north. Dan and I were going to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert at the conference center that night and had a few hours to kill so we (us and Becca) decided to check out the new City Creek Center across from Temple Square before heading over there. Soooo we called up Melissa and told her to follow us there and the four of us (after parking issues and navigating our way through the busy shoppers) spent some time shopping in H&M. Dan and I both got sexy winter coats for WAY cheap and Melissa and Becca found a round shirt haha

Becca and Melissa continued to shop while Dan and I made our way over to the conference center to meet up with Dan's grandparents and his cousin, Spencer, for the concert. Dan's Uncle Bruce is in the MoTab Choir so it was fun hearing him sing AND listening to them sing live in the conference center was awesome! They sounded so good. I would definitely love to see it next year too! After the concert, we met up with my family + Meliss on Temple Square to take pics and look at the lights before heading to my Grandma Barclay's for the night. It was beautiful!

Sunday morning, it was snowing a bit but Becca was awesome enough to do a photo shoot for Dan and me. We needed new pictures of us desperately since our last "formal" shots were from our engagement photos. I'm so happy with the way they turned out!

After taking pictures, we went to church with my grandma and then helped her get ready for the rest of the Barclay's to come over for our family Christmas party. We had yummy prime rib, "funeral" potatoes, salads, soda, veggies, ...the works! It was great. "Lucky the Elf" (aka Dan) even came to help Santa deliver some presents haha It was so fun to see the family. Next year, hopefully everyone can make it!

Monday morning, we all packed up to go home. We stopped by the Asian Market on the way home and Dan and I bought our very own sushi roller and sea weed so we can make our own sushi! Yum! We didn't stop long though cause Becca had to be back to work (she started a new job as a CNA at the same place my mom works), Dan wanted to go mudding *eye roll from me*, and Mom, Dad, Erin, and Cole wanted time to check out the new Scheel's (like Cabella's) before they had to be back for Collette's choir concert (which Dan and I also sang in that night because we are alumni... boo ya!).

Tuesday, Dan and I slept in until noon and then borrowed Becca's car to drive to St. George to stay for a couple days (we decided to do a trip instead of Christmas presents this year). When we arrived, we went to the Sunset Megaplex to see The Hobbit (for free even though I no longer work there haha) and then we went to dinner with Shaun and Kara + Kara's friends, Chelsea and Wes at Sakura's. It was so yummy! After games, Dan and I went to Shaun and Kara's new place to play games. We laughed our butts off and drank WAY too much soda! haha I love hanging out with them.

Also, they told us some exciting news! They have started the adoption process to adopt a baby! They said that if all goes well, they could have a baby within 6 months so Kara was joking that she's "technically" 3 months pregnant! haha I'm way excited for them (Kara had cancer when she was 15 and because of the chemo, she can't get pregnant so it's exciting they are able to adopt).

Wednesday morning, we slept in again (yeeeeeeeesssss!) and then went to Kneader's Bakery for lunch before going to get massages at Message Envy. It was both of our first times getting massages and it felt SO good! BUT definitely take their advice when they say to drink tons of water afterwards because I didn't and the next day I was SO sore. My back felt so bruised (luckily, Dan rubbed my back with Icy-hot and that helped a bit). Anyway,  after massages we went shopping for sheets for our bed and to see if we could find presents for our families. We found sheets but nothing we wanted to get for presents so we went to dinner at Bucca Di Beppo for some Italian instead. It was fun because it's a "family style" restaurant so everything is served in either small (feeds 2) or large (feeds 5+). Basically, you pick a few items to share. It was yummy! We decided it'd be a fun place to come with our families.

After dinner, we vegged out at our hotel room watching Cheaper By The Dozen on TV while we waited for Shaun and Kara to come over and swim/hot tub. We finally decided to brave the cold and run to the swimming pool around 10pm and they got there shortly after. I haven't been swimming in SO long so it was fun to get in the water again + the hot tub felt amazing. We then ran back to our hotel room to change and we chatted and ate junk food with Shaun and Kara before they headed back home.

The next morning we woke up and packed so we could check out of our room and Dan's mom called to tell us that Dan's dad, Steve, had to go back into the doctor and asked if Dan could help deliver some packages from his courier business (the one Dan used to run). The week before, Steve had a suspicious mole cut out of his leg. I guess it'd been there for about three years but had just recently been growing in size and the doctors wanted to check it for skin cancer. Needless to say, after they ran some tests they found that it was a rapid growing cancer. Dan was more than willing to help out with deliveries, as were all the rest of the boys, so their dad could get the medical help he needs to kick this cancer in the butt. They are going to test more of his skin to see if it's spread anywhere else. Hopefully it hasn't and they got it all! He's being really optimistic about it but be sure to keep him in your prayers!

In other news, I met with my mentor teacher from Enoch Elementary today. I'm excited to work in his class but it's starting to hit me how near the end actually is! AHHHH!!!

Well, that was my very long, busy, and fun week in a nutshell. If you're still reading OR you read any of it, I commend you! haha This was mostly for me. It is, afterall, my blog. Love you friends!

Aren't you excited for Christmas!?!? 

3 days left!