Wishing I was home for the Holidays

Christmas for the family was a little different this year. Jan and I did not end up going home to Idaho for Christmas. I was a little sad. I love a "White Christmas". Jan got to enjoy one without traveling. :) You know the saying, "there's no place like home"... that pretty much sums up how I feel about Christmas. You try to make the best of it, but it's still not the same. If I only had those red shoes!!! :) I'm really grateful that Jon lives so close to mom. This year the Boyle's (Kristen's family) invited the parents over to their home on Christmas Eve. They played games, ate, and the little kids acted out the Nativity. I know the parents really appreciated the invite. Jon and Kristen had the parents over on Christmas. Here are some pictures the parents sent.

Christmas with the Anderson's

Since I didn't get to go home for Christmas... I spent it at my cousin's (Jon) home. It was a lot of fun! We ate, played games, opened gifts, played more games, and ate some more delicious food. We also helped Jon celebrate his 38th Birthday. Thanks again!

Later that week we got to spend time with Joe and his family at Aunt Joann's.

I love being around little children at Christmas. They are so fun to watch! They totally make Christmas. And Joey was no exception... he was so dang cute opening all his gifts. I loved watching him interact with everyone, especially his "Uncle Jon". It was so adorable! Jon is going to be a wonderful dad! Can't wait to meet the new little one later in May. :) I think my favorite time was when he opened the tractors from April and Jon. Joey was so excited. I think he said, "OHHH WOWWWWW"! It was wonderful being able to spend some time with Joe and his family. Wish they lived a little closer.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Arizona!

Wish we could have been home to celebrate... unfortunately it didn't work out that way this year. It was probably a blessing... traveling would have been a mess with all the snow.

Thank-you for all the gifts! Sophie and I were spoiled. We want you to know how much we love and appreciate all that you do for us. We hope that your Holiday is Merry and Bright! Come visit us! We would love to have you!

I think Sophie did extremely well. Thank you for thinking of her! :)

Snow in Seattle

Yes- It snowed the other day in Seattle. It is amazing how everything shuts down. I think the girls were excited about school. Here's what they did with ALL their extra time.

Josie made this by herself. Great job!

Hallie having fun in the snow.

And since it was extremely cold..... and they were "freezing"... they got to open a gift early.

The girls in their new coats.

Outback for the office.

THE BEST BOSS EVER!

Last night we had our office party at Outback. It was delicious!!! We had appetizers, salad, our main course ( I had my usual... I love the Ribeye), and finally dessert. I was so full....but couldn't pass on anything... I had to sample it all. And It was tasty! We exchanged gifts and enjoyed each others company.

Thanks again Cory and Libby!

Pictures of the gang.

This is what we gave Libby.

I thought it was so cute. I love the saying!

I'm so glad that Cory has a sense of humor! :)

Thanks again. It was a fun night!

Cute Girls

The Knudsen Girls

Here is my little sister's girls Christmas pictures. Aren't they adorable?!?

Hiltons in Hawaii

The first of December, Jan and Brad went to the "Big Island". They had a wonderful time! Infact, they are planning their next trip. (Maybe I can go next time) Grandma and Grandpa got to stay with the girls. They had a lot of fun together. The girls kept them busy. They went shopping, played games, did homework, ran them to and from activities, and put up one of the Christmas trees.

The girl's tree. They are in the new pj's that grandma bought them.

Grandpa & the girls. (Good picture mom... they still have their heads. :) )

Mom and Darla

The Cooks, good friends of the parents, came for a short visit while they were in Seattle.

The Braces are coming off...

I can't tell you how Happy I'm going to be. It seems like it has taken forever. But the day is finally approaching that I will no longer be a "metal mouth".

Christmas Tree

Here's a picture of my Christmas tree. It's not the best picture, but at least you can see it. :) I also finished my outside lights. They look good. I think I've done all the decorating I'm doing this year. I know Sophie will be happy. You can tell by the picture below how thrilled she was the other night.

Sophie with a happy face... NOT!!!

Hallie's Special Day

Hallie's Baptism

We are so excited and proud of Hallie's decision to be baptized and confirmed a member of the church. She is now officially the newest member in our immediate family. :) Congrats Hallie!!! She looked so beautiful in the dress Aunt Kerry got for her. :) The program was very nice. It was mainly our family since Hallie was the only one that got baptized that day... so it was extra special to have everyone there. Hallie drew the picture on the program, Aunt Kristen gave the opening prayer, Aunt Kerry gave one of the talks, Uncle Jon & Grandpa were the witnesses. Grandma was supposed to play the piano but at the last minute she lucked out and didn't have to play. I told her that she could give my talk if she was feeling left out. :) It didn't happen....

Hallie Marissa Hilton

Brad did a great job! Hallie is definitely "Daddy's girl". It's so fun to watch and be part of these special occasions. I can't believe how fast they all grow up. Thanks again for the invite!

Hallie was blessed that so many friend, neighbors, & family came to support her. She also received some really neat gifts. I think she made out extremely well. :)

A few pictures of the family

Hallie opening the gift Aunt Kerry gave her.

Thanksgiving at the Hilton's

My family (with the exclusion of Mindy) all went to my sister's (Jan) home in Washington this year for Thanksgiving. We had so much fun! My parents flew in early Tuesday morning, I flew in Tuesday night and then took the shuttle up to Everett. It was the longest ride ever! I didn't get there until around midnight. Jan and Mom came and got me from there. Jon and his family left after his work and drove all night long. I think they arrived around 8:00 in the morning on Wednesday. Needless to say I think we were all exhausted before our vacation began. :) The girls were so excited to be together with their cousins.

Wednesday: We relaxed and took things pretty easy. The kids played outside most of the day.

Kristen, the boys, and I went for a walk down to Jan's boat dock. (Maybe I should have said Brad's dock.) It was foggy and we couldn't see much of the lake. If you look close enough you can see the ducks in the background.

Josie gave me my very own concert. I was sad that I didn't make it for her concert on Tuesday night. She has become quite the pianist. I'm so proud of her! I hope that she will continue. It was fun just to relax and share each others company. We wrapped the night up with Uncle Jon's favorite.... Teriyaki. You can't go to Seattle and not have any. :) It was tasty!



We also played Guitar Hero.... It's amazing how good the little kids are. They definitely put me to shame. I was booed off a couple of times. :( We made a couple of trips to Costco. Uncle Jon's new favorite place.

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Mom and Riley got up early to fix the turkey.

The Lake was beautiful today.....

Here's the craft the kids did while dinner was cooking. They were so funny to watch.





Mom scoping out all the sales.

I can't believe how fast Thanksgiving came this year. The older I get the faster time seems of passing by. I have been blessed with so many things.

A Few Things I'm Thankful For:

1. My Family- I truly have been blessed with the best family. Love you all!!!

2. My friends- I have some amazing friends who keep me happy.

3. My job-I have the best boss ever! I'm so thankful that for all that he does for me. Especially for my paycheck... so I can pay my mortgage. :)

4. My dog- Someone (ok... something) that loves me unconditionally and is excited to see me each day.

5. My health- I've been fortunate to be healthy and each year I get older I realize how important that is.

6. Gospel- I'm so thankful for the gospel and the knowledge that if we live righteously and follow Heavenly Father's plan that we will be able to live with him again.

7. The modern day work conveniences- I know that I have touched on this before but, I'm so thankful for this one. I would not have been able to move so far away from home if not for this. :)

Dinner was delicious! Jan did an outstanding job! We started with appetizers. Then we had turkey with all the fixings (mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, corn, sweet potatoes, rolls, fruit salad, and cranberries).

Friday: The girls went shopping. We really didn't go too many places, but we definitely made some major damage in our checkbooks. :) I think we broke our record book... we were out shopping only for a couple of hrs. The kids were very excited about one purchase.

ROCKBAND

Uncle Brad putting it together. Notice he does read directions.

The rest of the day we had leftovers, which is my favorite part of Thanksgiving.

We played RockBand, & watched movies.

One of our traditions has been to go to the movies on Thanksgiving. I must say that I love the modern day world we live in. Brad ordered a couple of movies and the kids got to lay on Aunt Jan's bed and watch them..... NICE!

Saturday: Saturday was Hallie's Baptism. That morning we got ready for that. Took a "few" pictures.... which everyone was so happy to take! NOT!!! I'm going to post this separate. After Hallie's baptism we had some of her friends come over for lunch. That night we mainly packed.

We all had to play Rock Band one final time before the weekend was over. We stayed up until around 11:30pm. I know it doesn't sound that bad BUT if you have to be up the next morning at 2:30am... it's a little insane.

One last final picture of all the kids and Aunt Kerry before it was off to bed. The next morning came way to early for all of us.

The boys getting in the truck for their trip back home.

McKay was so sad. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay with Aunt Jan!

Thanks again Jan & Brad for the fun, food, and good times. We appreciated your hospitality.