Christmas Eve 2010

So on Christmas Eve we always get together with Curt's side of the family and do our certain traditions with each other. First we have dinner which is usually pizza or something easy since the next day usually includes a big lunch or dinner. Then we do white elephants. This is Curt's dad giving us, for the first time, the background of why it's called a white elephant. I guess it came from back in like India or somewhere that they used elephants that a white elephant was considered royal (or something like that). So if someone gave you a white elephant it was of no use to you because you couldn't make it work for you. So it cost you more to keep the white elephant because you had to feed it and take care of it but it could give nothing back to you in the way of earning you money or working for you. So that's where the term "white elephant" came from. I thought that was interesting. I never knew that before nor did I ever think about where the term came from.

Another tradition is to do the Nativity. Curt's mom has all the costumes for the kids to dress up in and Grandpa usually reads the Christmas Story from Luke and the kids come marching in when it's their turn. Shelby was Mary, Kaylee was the angel, Carson was a wise man and Austin was the donkey but he refused to wear the hat that has a donkey on it. So that's as good as it got for him.

After that came Carson's favorite part...opening up the traditional PJs from Grandma and Grandpa. His were Buzz Lightyear ones.

Of course Shelby's favorite part of her pajamas was the shirt which says, "All that matters is me," and she'll admit that that's true.

Kaylee liked hers because they were pink and girlie, just like her!

Unfortunately, Grandma had already given me Austin's unbeknownst to her so he didn't have a present to open but he was unaware of that fact since he's only 2 and really didn't know what was going on. But when we got home that night we put him in his PJs from Grandma and just like everyone else he was able to open his presents the next morning in his Christmas PJs.

Manti, St. George and Zion's Trip

Well this weekend we decided to gather up our courage and take a road trip with all of the kids. We were invited to go with Curt's brother and his wife, Jeff and Holly, and their kids to go to the Manti temple and the St. George temple. So we started out early Friday morning and needless to say it was a very eventful trip. We got to the Manti temple and decided that Jeff and Holly would do some sealings first and then we would switch halfway through the session.

Well I went to go get Austin's food to feed him before we went in the temple and a lady, who I swear had been on one of those "stupid women drivers" videos tried to pull into the angled spot right next to me while driving the the wrong way. So she was trying to reposition her car to get into the parking spot and had me pinned in my car and on her final attempt (and I'm guessing that this is why it was her final attempt) she hit my car door! I looked at her and said, "YOU HIT MY CAR!" I was so shocked and she didn't even look like she knew it had happened. She just had a normal expression on her face and didn't even say sorry. She pulled back out and then continued down the street to find another parking spot. I got out to see what damage she had done and there was a scuff but it rubbed right off. Thank goodness we were at the temple or I would walked over to her and yelled things that I know I shouldn't...that's how stupid I thought she was. But no damage done.

Well we went in and did our sealings with Jeff who had to stay while Holly went out with the kids. We asked if there was anything fun to see in the temple and they showed us the spiral staircase that leads up to some more sealing rooms and the assembly room which is only used about once a year and they have to have the 1st Presidency's approval to use it. I thought that was really interesting. They told us that the spiral staircase is only one of five left in the world that is free standing without concrete and steel to help support it. It was really neat to see. They also told us about the stone archway that is by the women's dressing room that they used to drive the carriages and cars through before they added on to the temple. It was really neat to see and reminded me of how maybe something that would be in Solomon's temple.

So...after we did our temple work we went out and had a picnic on this hill at the temple which the kids thoroughly enjoyed running down and playing on. We did find out some useful information...they send out the temple security if you have food on the temple grounds. Apparently you're not supposed to eat on temple grounds. The guy was really nice though and said that if we hurried and finished, which we were almost done, that it would be fine. Then he got on his walkie-talkie and told the something like, "It's all secure!" (Just kidding...I don't know exactly what he said but that's what my mind imagined!)

He's a tired boy! Look at those eyes.

Well after some picture taking moments we got back in the car and started the long drive to St. George. On our way there we got a HUGE rock chip in the driver's side of the windshield. I couldn't believe how big it was. Thank goodness there was a Technaglass down in St. George because we didn't have to pay to have it fixed. Whew. Well when we got to St. George the whole family (even Austin) commented on how HOT it was down there and it was already passed 6:00pm. Well we got checked in and Jeff and Holly headed to the temple to do a session while we watched the kids.

The next morning we got up early and did a session. The temple was so pretty. They told us that here in the waiting room when you first enter there is a picture of Wilford Woodruff and the Founding Fathers of our country and that he had a vision one night while in the temple that they wanted him to do their temple work right away and so since the St. George temple was the first operating temple in Utah all the Founding Fathers' work was done there. It gave me chills to read that and it was such a pretty painting. I loved that story.

After the temple we went and got out windshield fixed and then headed back to get changed and head off to Zion's National Park. On our way there our Service Engine Soon light came on. We thought, "Oh great....now what?" But we made it there just fine and had so much fun hiking around. Our first hike was to Weeping Rock and the kids loved being rained on with the exception of Austin. He hated getting wet.

Thanks Troy and Brandy for letting us borrow the backpack...It saved us!

All the cousins together!

We rode up to the Temple of Sinawava where we parted ways with Jeff and Holly. They had had enough hiking and we wanted to do some more. Here is where you can hike up to the Narrows entrance. We were surprised by how used to people the squirrels are. If you have the movie UP! this was so much fun for us because every time we saw one we would say, just like the dogs in the movie, "SQUIRREL!" We had a blast with that. We saw so many. The kids had played in the river and on the way back down we decided to count how many squirrels we saw and the grand total was 11! After that we rode back down to meet Jeff and Holly and we just barely caught them as they were going to head back to the hotel. We decided to hang out a little bit longer and hike one more trail.

"SQUIRREL!"

Entrance to the Narrows

We did the Emerald Pools trail and met a lady that told us when we saw a lizard that lizards do push-ups to help regulate their body temperature. She said she lived in Arizona and was shocked the first time she saw it but said that it's true. Our kids were excited because we told them that they could teach Grandma Moon and Grandma and Grandpa Nye something that we learned on our trip. The kids had fun....that is in between the complaints of, "My feet hurt," "Are we done yet," and, "How much longer?"

We decided to go back and get our car and drive through the man made tunnel that goes up to the Canyon Overlook trail. By this time Austin had fallen asleep and so I stayed in the car with him while the others hiked this trail. Austin didn't stay asleep very long so we were outside waiting for them when they got back, but Curt said that it was kind of scary to take kids on this one. Shelby said it was neat though because you could see the people and they looked like little ants. Curt took some pictures and when I saw some of them I'm glad I didn't go or I would have been a mess worrying that one of my children would have fallen off the edge. Scary! We then left to head home then to get in some swimming, put Austin to bed and we all agreed that it was a fun day.

I am down there with the cars. You can't quite see me but I am there.

On Sunday after Sacrament we headed back and got packed up and then went to see a few sights in St. George. We saw Brigham Young's Winter Home which is something I learned since I didn't know he lived in St. George at all. I just thought he was always up in Salt Lake. It was so neat to see some of the things they had back then and to think that they lived here WITHOUT air conditioning. It makes me appreciate them. We also learned how they might have come up with the name St. George. There are two theories but the one I liked was that George A. Smith started to grow potatoes and that's what the saints basically lived on for awhile. They were told to only eat the insides or the white part and not eat the peels, but then everybody started getting sick and some even died. Well as we now know the peel is what has the vitamins and nutrients in it so George told them to start eating the peels along with the white part and everybody started getting better. So they started calling him George A. Smith, the Potato Saint and then shortened it to St. George and thus we have the name. I thought that was kind of cool...another tidbit of info that we learned.

The sitting room in Brigham's bedroom.

I love old stoves. Isn't this one beautiful?

This is the office where they believe the standarization of the temple ordinances took place.

Then we headed to the Tabernacle and this is where Lorenzo Snow gave the sermon about if the saints would pay their tithing during a drought that the windows of heaven would be opened and the saints would be blessed with rain for their crops and that's what happened. It was really a miracle.

After that we went to the cemetary and searched out the grave site for Curt's great, great, great grandfather John Nye who died in 1868. It was neat for the kids to see this and get a little glimpse into their heritage. From there we made one last trip to the temple so the kids could look around.

After that we went to the cemetary and searched out the grave site for Curt's great, great, great grandfather John Nye who died in 1868. It was neat for the kids to see this and get a little glimpse into their heritage. From there we made one last trip to the temple so the kids could look around.

Then it was time to head home. It was a little over a four hour drive and the kids did really well for how long we were in the car. Even Austin did okay. He took a two and a half hour nap while on our way home which was the best he had done in the car. He just doesn't sleep well unless he's in a bed, especially HIS bed. Needless to say he was really happy to have his bed when we got home. One night Jeff commented that he had never seen a baby with bloodshot eyes and it was true. Austin was so tired that his eyes were bloodshot. It was sad and funny at the same time...poor baby! But we made it home and and had a great time. Thanks Jeff and Holly for all the fun!

Happy Anniversary!

Well this past Thursday was our 13th anniversary. Thanks Jeff and Holly for watching the kids for us while we grabbed a quick bite to eat (Carl's Jr.) and caught the new Transformers flick. It was very good and action-packed but definitely NOT for the kiddos in our opinion. We also conned Curt's mom and dad into watching all the kids for us on Friday afternoon while we took our new 4-wheeler up to Mantua and tried it out. Curt and his family had 4-wheelers growing up but this is my first experience with one so needless to say I was a little chicken on it and there were some parts where I had to get off and make Curt drive because I was too scared (the big, HUGE mud puddles and the trails with ruts in them so big that we would have tipped over if I were driving!) Anyway, here are some pictures of us on the trail that we found going toward Avon and Pineview. We were the only ones on it and it was SO PRETTY. There were wild flowers all over the place. If only the pictures did it justice!

This is Pineview in the background!

Father's Day 2009

Here are a couple of pictures that I took on Father's Day. Curt is lounging in bed which is what he should be doing...it's FATHER'S DAY!!! The kids and I got up and made him breakfast in bed, strawberry and banana pancakes with eggs and sausage and then we opened presents. We got him some two-way radios (or walkie-talkies), a picture of all the kids for him to take to work and a HUGE bag of peanut M&Ms (his favorites!) I just snapped a few pictures. Unfortunately Kaylee and Carson were out playing in a different room by then so they're not in them. We love you Daddy!

Austin's New Look

On Father's Day we explored a new look for Austin and we cracked up. What do you think? Good or bad?