Christmas, Mafia and some Snow

So, I did some marathon posting here and blogged about the entire last 7 months (see following gazillion posts). There are many reasons for the lack of posting (other than laziness). #1: We moved the first weekend of November. We upgraded to a 60yrs-newer home and are enjoying the space and warmth. We bought my parents' house that I lived in from 8-18. I actually have been plotting this take over for quite sometime and am pleased that I have pulled it off so well. Now I'm the boss of the house and no one can tell me when to go to bed. Victory! In truth, the timing and location was ideal for us and we couldn't pass on it. My parents built a new house just a few streets south of here, so we are still able to eat their food on a regular basis. #2: We are expecting our second child. Hooray! However, this has made me weary and, coupled with packing and moving and unpacking, has left me unable to summon the energy to press any buttons for the last few months. I am 20 weeks along and we find out whether we're having a Lisa or a Norman next week. Other exciting news is that Megann, my sister-in-law, is expecting and is due a week or so after me. Yay for cousins! #3: Our camera never quite worked the same after the elk hunt, so I haven't taken any pictures for a while. Jason has taken some with his phone, however. Also, we got a new one for Christmas so I can go back into the photo-taking business.

There, an update coupled with excuses, all in one. (Also, I'm not sure what happened to the Halloween pictures. Addie was a ghost, I was a monkey, and Jason was an Easter Egg. I hope to find those photos someday.) Now, on to Christmas!

Our gingerbread house, made with graham crackers and cereal. A whole slew of animal crackers live there harmoniously too, I might add.

We decorated cookies at grandma and grandpa's and spent the next week eating them all.

Beauty.

Between you and me, I think Jason had more than his fair share of cookies.

Santa came to our house a day early because he knew we would be leaving for St. George. What a thoughtful guy! Addie woke us up with concern in her voice because she had seen something in the front room. She ran out and we followed behind her. She ran past everything meant for her and headed for my stocking. She frantically emptied it and then moved on to Jason's. We directed her to her own stocking and I think she was relieved to find good things in at least one stocking. Mine and Jason's had stuff that looked eerily similar to things we already own. Santa brought her an easel, a doll and a doll bed, and some little trinkets and games. We opened presents and she (I'm only talking about her gifts because, let's face it, they are the coolest ones under the tree) got a train set, doll clothes, a game, a book, and some horses. We promptly got to work playing with all her toys. She named her doll Sally.

We had Christmas again at Grandma and grandpa's that night. She opened the other half to her kitchen set, bunny pajamas, books, legos, coloring books, an indoor soccer ball, etc. She got a superhero costume and a fairy costume from a family friend she calls Neea. It was so much fun! J and I were pleased to find some nice new things for our house under the tree. We were all spoiled rotten.

We traveled to St. George for Christmas, where people put more lights on their houses because the weather is better. That's my theory, anyway. I couldn't believe the amount of man hours and electricity put into some of these yards. One house had their lights programmed to flash along with several Christmas songs. A sign in the yard tells you which radio station to tune into and then you sit back and watch the show. If you like it, you can put a donation in the bucket provided. All donations go to the Children's Justice Center. They must have started putting it all up in August.

As is Utley family tradition, we put on a Christmas Nativity Play and filmed it. You can do that when you have a big enough family to play all the parts. Addie was the Angel, and J and I were wise men. I love this tradition because its so fun to go back and watch, especially years later.

We all went to church on Christmas morning. Here are Nana and Addie in their lovely Christmas dresses. Awww, cute. Christmas and the week following was one happy blur of almost constant activity. The boys all got remote controlled helicopters and spent the week crashing them (not on purpose). We played Dance 3, raquetball, and volleyball. We went shooting, played numerous games, saw several movies, and ate very well. We even all got back rubs from a client of Dan's. He spent about 1 and 1/2 days giving all 13 or so of us hour-long back rubs. We visited dear friends and family members and just had an all-around blast.

We also had dental appointments during our week stay. Addie had her first check-up. She did very well, although I'm sure it helps to have Bapa as her dentist. No cavities, and she got a prize and a tooth-brushing timer to boot. What a Merry Christmas, indeed! For New Year's we roasted marshmallows on the back deck over a portable fire pit. Then we played Mafia until midnight. Nothing like bringing in the New Year with murders and lynchings.

It has been a very snow-less winter thus far, and so we were excited to see some snow in our yard last Saturday morning. We ventured out at used up all our snow within a few hours. I gave Addie a good ol' shovel ride just like my dad used to give to me. It ends with the shovel being tipped up and the child being shaken off. That's the best part. J dragged her around the yard and over snow-bumps on a sled.

Jason and Addie made a snowman.

It was supposed to be solid enough to break any school-kids foot who tried to kick it over. Sadly, I saw some kids topple it yesterday. Next time we will enforce it with steel. The snow has pretty much melted by now, but at least we made use of it while we had it.

Oh, and should probably explain that the cookie-eating Jason photo was taken with a Fat Booth app on a cell phone. Not real, no need to be concerned or overly amused. Whew. Guess that takes care of blogging until July.