Highlights of 2012...

Another year is almost over so I figured I would do some highlights of 2012.

January- Connor began to crawl. It's amazing what they can accomplish in just one year.

February- I spent a weekend with my mom and some family friends at Time Out For Women. It was one of the most uplifting weekends and I loved every minute of it.  I can't wait to go this up coming year.  We also were able to book an anniversary trip to Cancun.

March- We celebrated Connor's first Birthday and added a new cousin, Sienna, to the Rich side.

April- Me and the kids spent a week in San Diego with my parents.  We had so much fun but sure missed Daddy-O.  I celebrated my 24 Birthday while Nic celebrated his 27.

May- Nic and I played on a Spring Softball league with friends. We were able to have a girls weekend in Salt Lake. And Cameron proposed to Cecelia.

June- Was the kick off to summer! We went camping at Bear Lake, swam, played in the irrigation, fished, went to the drive-in movies, played at the splash pad, went to seven-peaks with our pass of all passes.  We went camping with the extended Montgomery Family down in Bryce Canyon and also added another cousin, Carson to the Rich side.

July- Was possibly one of the funnest months of the year.  Nic and I spent a week in Cancun celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary.  The time that we got to spend alone together was needed and very enjoyable.  I wish we could go back.  We saw lots of firework shows with family and also enjoyed the Pioneer Days rodeo together.

August- We spent a week in Park City.  Payton always talks about our Hotel and how she wants to swim there again.  August was the beginning of our Gnome wars as well.  We were also able to go with the Rich family to Lagoon.

September- We were able to walk through the Brigham City Temple for the Open House and then later watch the dedication.  Cameron and Cecelia were finally married in the Bountiful Temple.

October- We enjoyed all of the Fall festivities, jumping in the leaves, going down to Thanksgiving Point to Cornbellies, Witches Night Out at Gardner Village, and using the train to go through the neighborhoods for trick or treating.

November- Was the election.  I'm a little worried about our government. We had a girls weekend in Park City with memories I will never forget.  We went to Disney on Ice and celebrated Payton's 4th Birthday.

December- Was full of old traditions along with some new.  Chester the Elf was a huge hit to our family.  I am very pleased with the year of 2012.  These are just a few of the fun things we were able to do. People complain about blogs being fake and compare it to it's own world.  But I disagree.  I try to stay positive because that's what I like to keep my mind focused on.  We are a normal family with every day struggles.  We had hard times with sleepless nights, we shed tears for loved ones, we had sickness and on going health problems, we struggled financially, we lost our temper, we over reacted to different situations.  But the most important thing is that we grew stronger as a family, we grew stronger as a couple because of everything we have been through.  I love this quote, "Today's test is tomorrow's testimony."  That's what I am going to keep in mind everyday for the next year. As I strengthen my testimony I will strengthen everything that is most important in my life.

Some More Snow Fun...

 Last night Carley called us up and wanted to come over and sled in the field. We all bundled up and braved the cold and had a lot of fun sledding and four wheeling.  Payton was a huge fan of the snowmobile and loved going off the jumps.  She would actually raise her hands in the air and squeal. 

We finished off our night with some hot chocolate and a movie by the fire!

Let's do it again soon!

SNOW!!!

 Finally the state with the "greatest snow on Earth" got some snow! It's been a long time since we have had a storm that brought this much snow, but I'm glad it finally came.  The kids have been having fun too.  Yesterday we went over to my parents house and went sledding down their hill which the kids loved.  So today we went again, but, it wasn't as enjoyable this time for the kids.  Connor completely face planted it in the snow right at the very beginning which made him grumpy the whole time we were there.  Payton had fun for about a half hour then got snow in her glove and decided she was done. Still it was fun and Aunt Morgan joined in the fun with us too.

 My sexy man scraping off the snow on his truck.  I married one awesome guy.  After a long day of work yesterday he went right over to the church and shoveled all the walks then came home and did our long driveway, and both of my aunts.  The plow and the blower are out of commission so he did it all by shovel a couple of hours later and it was time to do it all over again Ü.  He is the hardest worker and I am very grateful for him.

Christmas Festivities...

 Last Monday night we went to a live nativity for FHE and sang Christmas hymns and reflected on the birth of our Savior. It was such a cool night to see the community all come together like that.

 We had some fun this December with our elf Chester...

 This year our Christmas Eve party was held at our house.  We had a smaller turnout this year which was ok because I was worried about how we would all fit.  But we did with room to spare!

 Connor came out as Joseph in the Nativity that the great grandkids put on.  Isn't he the cutest!

 Payton was the angel.  Such a beautiful angel!

 After getting the house back in order we opened up our Christmas Eve jammies and read a Christmas story then called it a night so that Santa could work his magic.

 Christmas morning was so much fun the kids were thrilled with everything which makes everything so much fun.

 All Payton wanted for Christmas was a bell.  When she came down and saw all of her things she said, "It's everything I wanted, except Santa forgot my bell."  She was very pleased when she found it in her stocking.

 Connor made us laugh with all of his "oooohhhhs" and "candy".

 We had a wonderful Christmas as a family with our families.  We are so blessed and love each and everyone of them!

My favorite gift this year (If I can say that) was the one from Maddie.  We had someone giving us the 12 Days of Christmas and we had no idea who it was.  When we opened up Maddies gift there was a card that read.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,

My true love gave to me

12 drummers drumming.

That is so noisy

To be around

Just take a picture

So there is no sound

Oh but your camera was stolen

And that was no fun.

Here's a solution.

I got you a new one!

So we have our sweet camera again! Be prepared for more posts and pictures again!

Some of the Annuals...

 Friday night we had our annual "Ugly Sweater Party" with some of our friends.  There were quite a few who couldn't make it but we had a lot of fun with those who were there. I love this tradition and I hope we can keep it going.

 Saturday night we went to Salt Lake for our annual Kurt Bestor Concert.  Things were a bit stressful in Salt Lake due to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert, the Jazz Game, the Ballet, and the Kurt Bestor Concert.  We ate dinner at the Lion House then quickly walked through some of the lights while making our way to the concert.  Kurt did an amazing job as usual but this year was just a bit more special.  We were all in tears as he performed one of my favorite songs, "Prayer of the Children".  This time it had a bit more meaning because of the events that happened with the shooting at the elementary.

 Sunday we had our annual Christmas party at Camie and Chad's house.  We had a visit from Kermit the Frog who told the story of The Night Before Christmas then we exchanged gifts and played some games.  I love this time of year because of the time that we get to spend with our families.