Here is our Christmas vacation in no particular order. We went to Utah and enjoyed lots and lots of snow. It was fun taking the boys tubing. And yes, that is Mason in pink pants....obviously borrowed!
Mason threw a fit about putting the mittens on, but gave in once he touched the cold snow!
We went to Temple Square on Christmas Eve to see the beautiful temple and all the lights. It was so flippn' cold that Mason, who usually hates wearing gloves & hats, didn't complain one bit when we bundled him up. We lasted about 15 minutes and then couldn't take it anymore.
The boys absolutely loved all the attention they got from Aunt Emmie, Uncle T, and especially their cousins Lily and Bella. They could not get enough of them and it certainly gave Joe and I a break to have them entertain the boys! One of Samuel's favorite thing to do was tackle the girls...and he got pretty good too! Lily also introduced Samuel to the Barbie world.
One of Samuel's favorite places is Chuck-e-Cheese, so we thought it would only be fitting to have his birthday party there. It was so nice to have Joe's family to be there and celebrate his birthday with us. It really made the occasion that much more special. If you ask Samuel today what he did at his b-day party he'll say "Chucky Cheese came out!"
I can't believe my little Samuel is 3 years old! I know every parent says that, but honestly, where has the time gone? I took him to primary for the first time and was in tears. I pulled the primary president aside and asked if he could stay in nursery for another year, b/c surely he's too little to start primary? I mean, if he were born 2 hours later, he would've been a 2007 baby. She was kind but firm and I ended up leaving in tears. People were asking me if I was ok and it was so embarassing to admit why I was crying...b/c I'm pathetic!! I'm going to be a wreck when he starts kindergarten! Anyways, the party was an absolute success and Samuel still talks about to this day. His favorite gift was the Superman type action figures. He takes them everywhere! 
According to our boys, Santa visited us twice this year...at our home in Texas and Grandma and Papa's home in Utah. Since Santa gave the boys great gifts in Texas already, their main gifts in Utah were from Joe's family. However, we wanted the boys to have lots to open on Christmas morning since that's their favorite part. So there were lots of laughs as everyone realized that all the "presents" from Santa were just wrapped up old books and toys we found around the house. The boys could care less, just as long as they were opening something, and it didn't cost us a dime to have a 2nd Christmas! *One of their gifts from Aunt Emmie were these Burger and Fries shirts. They love to wear them and I've gotten so many compliments on them. Thanks Em for these cute shirts!
Here are some of the gifts the boys scored while at our home. We had our own little Christmas right before we left for Utah. Mason loves trains and cars so he was feeling good about his car transporter. Samuel was estatic get a little drum set. We had to hide the cymbal after 10 minutes...I figured that might happen! Oh, and if we ever tell Samuel to smile for the camera, this is what happens. 
My parents came to visit for Thanksgiving and we had such a great time. We dragged them everywhere...from tree lightings and light parades to the polar express train ride. Note Samuel's "smile" face for the camera!
And thanks to my dad, we had Christmas lights up on our house for the first time. It looked absolutely amazing. Unfortunately the final picture won't download, so you'll have to take my word for it. There were lot's of lights and lots of color. The boys loved it! The real effort however, was in taking it all down! Which I did almost entirely on my own. I wanted to add more lights to more trees, but I'm rethinking that one after being poked in the eye with a branch. 
Anyways, lots of good times over the Christmas break. We had so many friends in Utah that we wanted to visit while we were there, but the four of us had the pleasure of being sick our entire trip. Even I, who hardly ever gets sick, slept half our vacation away. My immune system was compromised from the chemo so I got hit pretty hard. But it was still fun and we still got to do so many fun things. We can't wait until our next trip!
