Party for your right to drive!

Skyler's Birthday cake pretty much sums it up. Sixteen . . . Ahhh. Those were the days. Actually, I think I'd rather be 31. ;) Much less hormonal imbalance and teenage angst.

So, to celebrate this momentous occasion,

We Partied

We Pizza'd

We indulged

We Spoiled

And we competed. In our second annual Air Hockey tournament.

And Kent and Kenzie took home first place!

Winners!

Then, sadly, we watched our Broncos stink it up against the Patriots.

But, hey, you win some, you lose some, right?!

Happy Birthday to my very favorite son!

Lazy Elk

Kent was off during the week between Christmas and New Year. We spent most of the week looking for a car for Skyler (more to come on that!), but decided to make a quick trip up to Hardward Ranch. If you've never been, it is a protected wildlife sanctuary outside Logan. They take you on a horse drawn sleigh out amongst the elk (reindeer to the kids!). We were joined by Grandma and Grandpa Judson, and Cody and Hunter. With the lack of snow this year, most of the elk hadn't come down from the mountains to eat, so it was a bit sparse. Fortunately, there are still quite a few lazy elk who come on down for the easy meal, so it wasn't a total bust. And as you can see by the squinty eyes, the sun was shining brightly, and we had GREAT weather!

Christmas 2011

Initially I wrote a loong Christmas post, describing all the fun activities which surrounded our Christmas. However, after battling with blogger for the past two hours (we are NOT friends!), I have decided to let the pictures do (most of) the talking! The quick version - I worked Christmas Eve, 7pm to 7 am, which isn't as bad as it sounds, as it still allows me to get most of the day with my family. Even if I am a bit sleep deprived. We had visits with both sides of the family on Christmas Eve and Christmas, and it was wonderful. Taylee is still asking for "Santa come see Taylee more!"

Cool new Utes shirt! Then they announced the logo change the next week. Believe that has now been reversed?

Initially Taylee was overwhelmed by all of this . . .

But once she got the hang of it, presents were pretty cool!

It took her 20 minutes to open each present, so it took a loong time. She finished opening her last gifts on the 26th. I hope she continues to savor the experience as she gets older. Somehow, I doubt it. :0)

Me and Nana are potheads!

Poppie got this new "back" massager from nana. She honestly didn't understand why we were all cracking up when he opened it. If you don't get - find someone with a dirtier mind than yours, and ask them.

Pretty girl all dressed up to visit Grandma and Grandpa Judson's.

Pretty Boy (teehee!) all dressed up to visit Grandma and Grandpa Judson's.

Then she insisted on wearing her new Christmas PJs OVER her outfit for the rest of the evening.

A new toaster! Every woman's dream gift! Don't worry - she actually requested it.

This is how Kent spent most of the day . . .

Taylee cooked up a storm in her new kitchen. She's been cooking for 2 weeks straight now!

Von Miller jersey. Yaah Boy!!

Santa was creative with his stocking stuffers this year . . .

My mom and I force Kent to read by buying him LOTS of books for Christmas. Lucky guy!

Taylee is now a proud Camelbak owner. I think she's even learned how to drink from it!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Which doesn't belong?

My mom and I went shoe shopping with Taylee this week. She decided she wanted some new shoes so she tried to put her shoes up for sale! I'm not sure the ladies looking at these killer heels are gonna go for a size 5 sneaker . . . If you are wondering, a Christmas post will be coming . . . Eventually. :)

We took Taylee to meet Santa on Friday. She has been talking nonstop about Santa, and what she wants Santa to bring her. "More Weebles!" and "More Babies!" Of course, as expected, she was totally unwilling to talk to Santa. I was shocked! Since she wasn't willing to go solo with the big man in red, we had to turn it into a family event. Kent tried to destroy the set, and we all had a good laugh. I guess it wasn't designed for four adults and a child! Still glad we did it! Merry Christmas!

Elfy Photo Shoot

Trying to get a cute photo of Taylee in her "elf" outfit . . .

And yes, that is indeed a Broncos themed Christmas Tree!

Hay Lights!

The Burger Stop in Layton offers hay rides through the Christmas lights display in Layton park every December for just $2. Last Saturday we braved the cold and took a ride. Poor Taylee's nose was running like a faucet, and I felt like a terrible mother for taking her out in the cold weather, but she was pleased as punch to go see the lights. We are planning to go walk through them before the season is over because she LOVES Christmas lights this year!

Family Pictures 2011

Finally got our fall/winter photos done.

Better late than never!

Tif Right Back!

Lately Taylee has been enamored with calling me Tif. I think she got it from Skyler because he calls me Tif. When she can't get my attention calling me mommy, she stops and says "TIF!" And it works! Today in the car we were working on names of her relations -

Me: What's daddy's name?

Taylee: Ket! (Kent!)

Me: What's Nana's name?

Taylee: Dev! (Deb!)

Me: What's mommy's name?

Taylee: Tif Right Back!

Huh?!

Well blow me down!

Although I am sure that everyone has seen lots of pictures of the destruction caused by last week's windstorm, I am going to post a few pix of my parents yard. This blog serves as my personal journal, and this is (sadly), something to remember.