Out of Towners day everything else

see Out of Towners day 1 here

Really, the rest of the events of our week out of town kind of glommed together in my mind with no particular timing or order so I’ll just tell you some stuff we did in the order they might have happened… maybe?  

We went to Provo Towne Center for some last minute gifts and the kids got to try out the hurricane simulator. HA! So much for the faux-hawk. (he asks for them all the time-his hair was WAY too long for it this day- I ended up cutting it before church on Christmas Sunday so he wouldn't look like a shaggy dog)

 excited with anticipation......

VIDEO COMING SOON! (as soon as it uploads to youtube)

 rattled and de-faux-hawked ha ha- nice acting, Matthew.

We visited the Salt Lake Temple with my family to see all the Christmas lights. 

It was CHILLY!  See my nose? frozen!

Here's cute Megan who is growing up WAY too fast...

And here’s uuuuhhhh I'm pretty sure that’s Matthew… 

Speaking of that kid, after asking him repeatedly to get his gear back on he decided that he didn't need his jacket, hat, scarf and gloves post potty pit stop in the visitor's center and was left with a short sleeved t-shirt and jeans when we went back outside....  I was already really frustrated from butting heads with Megan about taking her shot and so I just held his stuff and said,

“ok, fine, we’ll see how long you last out there.”

5 minutes.

 Of course everyone who saw him during that time thought we were bad parents… oh well. ;)

Then we stopped in at the Lion House Bakery in the JSMB for hot chocolate and mixed nuts (which actually consisted of many cups of spilled hot chocolate, a few burned tongues, and the realization that we had failed to adequately communicate with our Salt Lake friends when we’d be there and so didn’t get to fraternize like the old days- SORRY LORI!! Apparently WE were the mixed nuts)  and then we posed for pictures in front of the tree in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. 

 Megan and her poses.. jeesh... I can't tell you how excited I am for her to be a teenager.... uhhhh yeah....  I should've known. She's been doing that sassy leg thing from the very beginning....

here she is at age three:

HA!

Of course we had to get one of just us... awwwww.

 The next morning the kids went sledding with the dads

Uncle Rob is such a good sport

William cracks me up- he is all boy- a very busy boy, just like Matt was..uhhh...is.

Meg and Eve

 Matt told me later that he almost died when Rob took him down an icy staircase on the inner tube.... My heart about exploded when he told me that... if any of you remember Aaron's incident sledding down an icy staircase 5 years ago, you understand why.  ROB! 

We had an awesome Christmas dinner of  YESSS!  Mexican food! ay ay ay! I'm going to miss that when we leave...  And of course I have no picture- we were busy eating, yo.  I made that amazing punch that everyone's pinned on pinterest- It's the second time I've made it and they're not kidding, it is REALLY amazing. 

However, I WAS the photographer for our traditional Christmas Eve Live Crèche and reading of Christ’s birth in the bible.  Megan was super excited to be an angel.  Matthew is the shepherd in the front with the staff and Aaron is the wise man in the very back sitting on the couch.  Katie invited her friends from Portugal to join us for Christmas Eve- Louie and Maria and their baby- I wonder what they thought. lol.  I was kind of sad to not be in this picture with the entire family, but when I posted it up here I saw a reflection of myself holding 2 cameras in the big mirror :) yay! I'm not an outcast after all! 

Christmas Day:

YAY!

We have a tradition that everyone congregates in someone's room until everyone is awake- yeaaahhh we pretty much wake everyone up since we have no patience.... 

they're not excited....

We go to the top of the stairs (in Gilbert we went to the bottom of the stairs) and get in line youngest to oldest and then dad (now named grandpa) goes to check to make sure Santa came. Then he comes back and brags about all the stuff Santa brought (without ruining the surprise) and makes the kids all anxious and crazy with excitement and then gives them the ready, set, go-ahead to race down the stairs and discover the joy that is the Christmas Morning Frenzy. lol 

RUUUUUUUN!!!!!

The kids each got their stocking filled, one small gift from Santa and one gift from each other (they're wearing our gifts to them- Christmas PJs that they unwrap every Christmas Eve)  We prepared them for the minimal gifting since we are going to be getting rid of everything we own in the next few months and didn't see the need to spend $ on what would become future Goodwill fodder.  Besides, they got gifts under the tree from aunts and uncles (my brothers and sisters) and grandparents, too.  They knew that their real Christmas present was a trip to Utah to see family that loves them (and they even tell people so when they're asked :)

Some of my favorite gifts:

 ...since I can't take all my books with me...

 I love this picture of our little family

 yes, you're seeing homemade chocolate-covered cinnamon bears. yurm. These didn't make it back to Arizona... well, not undigested, anyway...

 and caramel-chocolate covered pretzels. to die for.  ok, not literally, but they're dang good.  And other home-made-with-love treats.

We had a great drive home (much better than the drive up [see out of towners day 1])  and a very Merry Christmas with my wonderful family.  I hope you did, too.  But not with MY family, you crazies.