a little Christmas

Food, presents, snow, family, food, more presents, car rides, sharing, showing off, Wii, more food, Christmas good times!

(This is one for the books: each kid in our family got three gifts, one of them being the Wii for the entire family. We saved this for last and as they were the only gifts remaining under the tree, we asked the kids if they wanted to open the last presents or have breakfast and come back later. They all answered: "Breakfast!" I think it was a longer breakfast for me than it was for them.)

Christmas Eve at the Macfarlanes!

SNOW

Can you believe this is my front door? Please notice that there are THREE steps, please come on in!

Needless to say, I have found my alternative to jogging for exercise when it snows: SHOVELING! Man, that is hard work!

Anna's trip to AZ

I was able to go to AZ for about 24 hours to see my sisters and their fams! I flew down Tuesday night and was whisked away from the airport by my three lovely sisters and off to Tempe to eat at Spinato's, which, by the way, was DELICIOUS! After some noshing, cup tapping, gift exchanging, we sallied on toward Tempe Marketplace for a potential movie (which we didn't see) and some shopping. Everything was closing, so we made it over to Sonic for some "dessert" and to crack ourselves up. See video below!


We ended relatively early and I went up to Amy's guest room and read Jane Eyre for a couple of hours! (Lovely book, I highly recommend it.) The next morning, I woke up just as the Kroff kids were leaving for school and was able to spend much desired-time with little Ty, my newest nephew! He is so huggable and sweet, I was so grateful for that time together with him. Then Amy and I chatted until she had to go to Gib's school. So I borrowed her bike and rode over to my favorite friend since high school--Marci! Surprise! My other friends came over, too, to say hello and have lunch!

Then I was off again to Amy's for more chatting and to borrow her car to see the Henries. I couldn't believe it, but it had been since March that I had seen most of my darling Henries! Wynnie and Gigi have grown so much and are hilarious playmates. And before I knew it, my 24 hours was over. I regret not being able to see Amanda's new house, grabbing some oranges, nor taking a quick jaunt over to Trader Joe's. But for 24 hours, I was pleased and grateful for the opportunity. Good times!

OM-NI-TURE

The Annual Omniture Christmas party was all the reason we needed to book a hotel room and have some adult alone time for 24 hours! We dropped our things off at the Little America and ran over to the Gateway to do a little Christmas shopping. We even ate a little soup and appetizer at the Dodo (with hot chocolate, of course). Back to the hotel room for party prep and over to the Grand America for the dinner, entertainment, awards and company hoopla! Neither of us won Rock, Paper, Scissors, but Sommer got close!

Alan and I took off a tad early and quickly changed into our warm street clothes. We took to downtown and ran around in the cold, snowy streets, grabbing a little pizza, more hot chocolate, and a ride on Trax. The snow was coming down in huge, fluffy flakes as we made it back to the hotel and defrosted by the fire.

The next morning we slept in, leisurely got dressed, and headed down to the buffet--which was INCREDIBLE and cozy, as usual. We mosied on over to Alan's parents and picked up the kids, hoping the next time would come sooner than 364 days!

Maggie turns SEVEN

Our firstborn and only lady, Margaret Joy, turned seven years old last week. We had ebelskeevers for breakfast, took her out for lunch with Gammie to Kneaders, went to see Santa at the Orem Mall with Daddy and then to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. Whew!


And then a couple of days later, she had a friend and cousin PAJAMA party at our house. We made slipper socks, played musical pillows, ate pizza and popcorn, played charades, the ever-present cake and ice cream, more musical pillows, presents galore, fun for all!

Happy Seventh, Magumptious!

ah, family

I'll post all of the weekend happenings later (like Maggie's awesome pajama party and Alan and my night AWAY for the big company party and snow-filled romance). I know you are antsy with anticipation...!

I did want to say that I think my sister Amy is a wonderful photographer. I still don't look like Ms. Jolie-Pitt (Amy's not a magician), but these pictures are priceless. My little Canon point and shoot takes ridiculous pictures next to Amy's skilled hand (and great camera and lenses). Thanks again, Aim!

Margaret Joy's Seventh

Dear Maggie,

You are such a brave girl. As I think back on your sixth year, I am impressed with your amenable and adaptable attitude. You changed schools, church classes, homes, neighborhoods, friends, and states with a cheerful and optimistic spirit. You've learned how to read in your sixth year--this growth was huge. When you were five, you knew how to read some words, but now you breeze through books.

Marge, as a six-year-old, you became sillier and goofier than ever. The most surprising part of this development is how it has progressed into a public personality for you. You are silly in the grocery store, goofy around your friends, funny in school. Remember that this was the year you told jokes for your class talent show. "Why did the bike fall over? Because it was TWO tired!" And you have the best laugh! You find fun and humor all over the place, and your infectious laugh gets everyone to chuckle along with you.

Even though you can be silly, you are a great student. Every parent/teacher conference is incredibly short, because all your teachers have to say is that you are wonderful, delightful, helpful, and kind. I am so glad that you are kind. That is something I hope you always remember to be. It is wonderful to be revered, smart, charming, affable, etc. But nothing is as important as it is to be kind. Always be kind to everyone, (yes, everyone) Maggie Joy!

Marge la Farge, you are so clever and witty. You gave Ashton his best nickname yet: Mr. Sizzles! A few months ago, you even picked up on Daddy's name rhyming (which I always thought was funny, but he said that nobody else would ever think that his name rhymed. And then--unprovoked, I might add--you noticed it, too! Haha!).

You love celebrations and holidays. And getting cozy to watch movies. And making cookies. You also love all the girly things like make-up, jewelry, dolls, shiny things, painting your nails, etc. You love your family, every single person. You always talk about your cousins like they are your favorite friends--always cherish these relationships. You are luckier than you may ever know to have these family ties.

You've lost seven teeth in your sixth year and it has changed your sweet baby face into a growing big girl's face. I love to see your growth (even though I frequently tell you to stop growing). I know you are going to become even more beautiful, mostly because I see it in your sweet and tender soul. You were an absolute joy as a six-year-old, Mags! I cannot wait to see what this seventh year brings. Happy Birthday! I love you immensely!

Love,
Mommy

Models Macfarlanes

Maggie and I went to check out Nonnie (Alan's mom, Kathy) model at the mall. She was smokin' as she showed off three separate outfits: evening wear, and two pajama sets. Kathy knows how to work a crowd: she got the most claps and audience love.


Such model behavior creates mimicry. Apparently, Maggie now wants to be a fashion model when she grows up!

SL temple lights

Last Saturday night, our family went to the Salt Lake City temple to see the lights and get into some Christmas cheer... along with half of the SL valley! It was crazy busy, insanely crowded, and beautifully peaceful.


We had a chance to see the group "AccaBELLa" perform and the first song jump-started my Christmas spirit! (After that it got a bit cheesy, but entertaining. Imagine six "older" ladies singing "Santa Baby" with feather boas, walking into the crowd and "flirting" with teenage boys, while the pubescent BOYS tried to ignore the 40-yr-old WOMEN who were attempting to sit on their laps!! That was priceless and oh-so-awkward!)

that's me, not one of the 40-yr-old singing ladies
(although I am sure you might have been confused from this photo)

Good times! Cold nights! Bring on Christmas!