Yes, I realize that Christmas was 5 days ago, but this is my first chance that I've had to sit down and blog about it. Christmas was AWESOME this year! Here's a quick recap...

On Christmas Eve, we headed over to my parents' house for the annual family Christmas Eve party. This year we had the WHOLE family there! It was great! We started out with a delicious dinner...that I could actually eat this year (last year, I got the stomach flu on Christmas Eve and couldn't eat a bite of anything). It was so good! Each year, we have ham & a bunch of yummy finger foods...lil' smokies, veggies & dip, party meatballs, crackers & cheeseballs, bean dip, bruschetta, etc. It was delish!

After dinner, it was on to our annual bingo game...


For those of you that don't know, we play bingo on Christmas Eve for little dollar store presents. This is a tradition that my grandma started with us when I was a little girl & we've done it ever since. Some of the presents are really great & others are not so great...like the pregnancy test I got as one of my presents (not funny...I don't want to even THINK about having to use one of those for a LONG time!).

After bingo, we all exchanged presents with each other & opened them. Here's Aiden opening a present from his "Tata" & Dan, with a few "helpers"...


Connor with some of the Star Wars guys he's been asking for....


Connor & Aiden showing off some of their favorite presents from Nana & Poppy. Aiden with his Stormtrooper gun (which he slept with later that night...it was like a scene out of "Christmas Story") & Connor with his very own digital camera (if you know Connor, you know how much he likes to take pictures...now he has his own camera, which means mine is safe from his...how should I say this..."mistakes".)...

All the grandsons (minus Cohen) giving Nana a big hug at the end of the night. Notice Aiden couldn't even put his gun down for 10 seconds to give Nana a hug...

It was a really fun night! We have so many fun family traditions! I love my family to pieces!!!

That night, Santa made a visit to our house (a very late visit...as in 12:30 am). The next morning, Mike & I got up and got ready and then sat around waiting for the boys to wake up. At around 8:30 am, I started to hear a little pitter-patter in their room. I walked in to find Connor trying to wake Aiden up. He was jumping on Aiden's bed saying, "Aiden!!! Wake up!!! It's Christmas morning!!!" As soon as Aiden heard the words "Christmas morning", his eyes flew open & he jumped out of bed.

I was a mean mom & made them wait around the corner for a picture before the commotion began. You can't really see it very well, but Aiden still has his gun in his hand...

Here the boys are checking out their loot from Santa Claus...

After playing with their new toys for a few minutes, Aiden went back to playing with his gun. Why did I buy him all those other presents?!?

Connor with some Star Wars guy named General Grevous that Santa gave him. I don't know much about him, other than that "he's awesome because he can hold 4 lightsabers at one time"...

Coey-Baby with his presents from Santa...a bumbo seat & some little monkey thing that he likes to chew on...

And, here's another picture of my baby with a little dog that Nana & Poppy had given him the night before...

Then it was on to opening presents...

At that point, Nana & Poppy came over to visit. And, then a short time later, Grandma & Grandpa came over with a BIG present for the boys to share. It's this big remote control dinosaur. As you can probably tell, the boys were crazy about it...

Eventually, we talked the boys into getting dressed & heading outside in the winter wonderland for a few Christmas pictures. Just more proof that Mike & I OBVIOUSLY have a talent of producing some beautiful boys...

All I have to say is that Heavenly Father must need some good lookin' missionaries in about 13-19 years! :)

Later that afternoon, we headed back over to my parents house to eat all the leftovers from the night before & hang out. We had a great time watching movies & playing games...and cuddling Cohen...

It was such a fun Christmas! I wish I could freeze my kids just the way the are right now! Unfortunately, that can't be done...as I am reminded of on a daily basis with Cohen. I can't believe how much he grows & changes on a daily basis! He turned five-months-old the day after Christmas! Can you believe it?

Since I've done this every other month, here are some pics of my little bebes at five-months...

I can't believe how big he's getting! He is such a happy, fun little guy!

Anyway, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Now, it's on to the New Year! --Lindsay

Okay, so this year has obviously not been a great one for the economy...unemployment is way up, companies are going out of business left & right, and my 401K should probably now be considered a 101K by this point. So, Mike & I decided to use the economic downturn as the basis for our friends & neighbors' gifts this year. I went into my kitchen, pulled out my kitchenaid, & actually made something (that didn't come out of a box AND didn't require the microwave). Don't laugh...this is actually quite the accomplishment for me! Mike was so shocked that he took a picture of the momentous occasion. It's not exactly an attractive picture of me...but it's probably one of the only pictures of me EVER making something with actual ingredients, so I had to stick it in...

As you can see, I made cookie dough! Yes, quite the feat...sometimes I amaze myself with all my amazing talents! ;) So, you're probably thinking I made everyone cookies, right? Actually, no...this is the point where my "domestic diva" moment came to an end. I took the cookie dough, froze it a little bit & then stuck it in bags with this little note on the front...

If you can't read it, it says, "We thought everyone could use a little extra 'dough' this year". We thought it was kind of fun...especially considering the economy this year. My bro-in-law, David, told me tonight that he thought my note should have said, "I'm a working mom with 3 little boys...bake your own damn cookies!" Why didn't I think of that? That one would have been very appropriate for this year as well! --Lindsay

Okay, so this past week has been jam-packed! Not only did we have events going on almost everyday, but I had a million-and-one last minute things to do to get ready for Christmas. I haven't had a single second to sit down & blog, so now you get a really long catch-up post. Oh, and by the way, your Christmas cards are FINALLY in the mail, as of 2:00 this afternoon! In a perfect world, they would have gone out a week and a half ago...but this is not a perfect world, so they went out today. I guess that makes them "belated Christmas cards"...oh well. Anyway, moving on...

Saturday:

Saturday was my station's annual Angel Tree party. We LOVE this party! It is so fun! The employees of my station get to shop for the remaining Angel Tree kids that haven't been adopted yet & then afterwards, we always have a fun family holiday party. Our family decided to "adopt" a little six-year-old boy named Adrian. The boys had a great time shopping for him. His card said that he liked Spiderman & Hulk, so we got him some of those toys...but Connor felt that "he probably REALLY likes Star Wars too because ALL six-year-olds like Star Wars, but he probably just forgot to write it down". So, we had to get him some Star Wars toys too. I love doing this tradition with my boys every year. They usually HATE shopping & they whine the whole time we are out...but when we do this every year, they totally get into the spirit of things & have a great time doing it. It's such a neat way to teach your kids what's really important at Christmastime.

After we finished shopping for Adrian, we had some extra time so we went to Mike's favorite store in the world...Home Depot...to pick out some stuff for the basement. Look who we found there...

Who knew Santa made stops at Home Depot??? He was really cute with the kids & then gave them mini-tape measures at the end of their visit. How stinkin' cute is that? Much better than the usual candy cane you get at the mall. And, of course, I forgot my camera (what's new?) so one of the employees offered to take a picture of the boys & email it to me. Thanks nice Home Depot lady! :)

After our stop at Home Depot, it was time to head to the party. It was held at Noah's this year. The kids had a blast eating pizza, visiting Santa (again...boy, that man gets around), and going Ice Skating (and by "ice skating", I mean "having Mike pull them around on the ice for about 3 minutes before begging to return to the edge"). It was a really fun day!

Monday:

On Monday, we made our annual trip into downtown to do some eating, shopping & light-gazing (except...the light-gazing part of the evening was vetoed because of the frigid cold temperatures!) We, of course, followed the tradition that's been going on for about a million years and ate at Spaghetti Factory...


Afterwards, we wandered Trolley Square. The boys found Santa's chair & made themselves at home...

And, then they found his sleigh & did the same...

Hopefully, the jolly ol' fella doesn't mind!

The gals even got in on the mini-photo shoot. Dang, we're hot... :)

After all our pictures, we actually started doing a little shopping at some of our favorite stores...PBK, Williams-Sonoma, & of course Brookstone. We got stuck in Brookstone for quite a while (I think this is a yearly tradition as well). Cohen found some friends there...

And, Connor made himself comfortable in one of the massage chairs....

And, Aiden played with this little robot for a good 30 minutes...

It was a fun night! We were sad that we didn't see the lights, but had a good time anyway.

Tuesday:

Tuesday was Mike & my 8th anniversary! Can you believe Mike has put up with me for 8 years? WOW!!! If that doesn't buy him an automatic ticket to the Celestial Kingdom, I don't know what will! :) We didn't do anything fancy-shmancy this year...we started out the evening by going to see "Twilight"...

I know I'm going to offend at least 763 of you by saying this, but it was L-A-M-E!!! Sorry, but it was! I love, love, love the book (well, the last 250 pages of it...the beginning of the book was too slow & sappy for me). I know that the movie can't ever compare to the book, but this one didn't even come close! First of all, in the movie, Edward & Bella meet and are instantly IN LOVE with each other like 2 minutes later. What the crap?!? Second of all, Edward is SOOOOOOOOOOO much hotter in my mind! Was there a lack of good-looking guys at the audition or something? Third, the special effects were AWFUL. Did you see him running with her on his back? Fourth, how cheesy was it that Stephanie Meyer was an extra in her own movie?!? And, last of all, the exciting part was way too short! The whole action part with James lasted all of probably 20 minutes & then the movie was over. Sorry, I know you all hate me now, but I was sorely disappointed. Hopefully, they will put a little more money into "New Moon". Okay, I'll end my rant now before I offend anyone else...

After dinner, Mike & I headed over to Cheesecake Factory for dinner & dessert. Here's our self-portrait from the evening...

Can I just say how much I love this guy? He is my dream man! I have never, in my entire life, met anyone as sweet & loving & caring & supportive & forgiving & happy & funny & optimistic & crazy as Mike is...and he chose to marry ME! What was he thinking??? Don't get me wrong...the boy has his flaws...for example, he is the WORST driver on the planet and yet, he thinks he is the greatest...so he's OBVIOUSLY delusional! But, other than that, Mike is pretty much perfect...and he's hot to boot too! Marrying him was the best decision of my life! Love you Mike!!!

Wednesday:

Wednesday was my nephew Gavin's birthday. Tyler, his little brother, had his birthday 5 days before. So, as you can see, my sister & her husband can't keep their hands off each other during the month of March. (She's going to kill me for saying that, but it was TOTALLY worth it!) Anyway, to celebrate, we headed up to their house for a joint birthday party. It was a fun night! Happy b-day Gavin & Ty!

Thursday:

Last night was my annual Christmas party with my awesome girlfriends! The party was especially great this year because it was the first time in the past 3 years that the party was not held at MY house! I can not tell you how nice it was to just show up & have a great time...instead of cleaning & cooking all day! So, a HUGE thank you to Alicia! You rock!!! It was a great night! We had some delicious food & did our annual gift exchange. Of course, I didn't remember my camera (seriously, do I have selective amnesia?), so there are no pictures...but everything looked so nice & we had a great time! Oh, and a BIG thanks to Ashley for bringing her "rum extract" drink! :) It was my favorite! (All my friends understand why).

Anyway, that was our crazy week in a nutshell! Luckily, life really slows down now. I'm so excited to just get those last few little things done & then sit back and really enjoy Christmas! Only 6 days away! Where has the month gone?!? --Lindsay

We held our annual Enrichment Christmas dinner on Tuesday night. I'm just finally getting around to posting about it though. It's amazing how long a to-do list can become when you totally neglect your life for a good week trying to get ready for an activity like this. Anyway, I just wanted to share with everyone what we did because I think it turned out really well.

My committee & I decided that we wanted the theme of the night to be "The Reason for the Season". We wanted the night to be about remembering Christ during the holiday season, but we didn't just want to do the normal "nativity scene" and send everyone on their way. We wanted to give the girls IDEAS of ways that they could incorporate the Savior into the season through some of their family holiday traditions. (I wish I had taken pictures, but you know me...always with the forgetting...)


We started off the night with dinner at the church. The women were able to just sit & visit with one another while they ate.

After that, we split the women into groups and left the church to go visit several members' homes. About a month ago, I had asked for volunteers of women who would be willing to have a group in their home to tell them about one of their family's Christ-centered Christmas traditions. So, as the ladies went from home to home they learned about different activities that some of our ward members do to remember Christ during the holiday season. We had so many great ideas...holiday service projects, advent calendars that include scriptures & activities to help your kids think about Christ each day, holiday books that are about the Savior, etc. Hopefully, it gave our RS sisters some ideas to take home to use with their families.

After the ladies had visited all the homes, they all ended up back at the church for hot chocolate & cookies as well as a message from our Relief Society president. She gave us a little summary of the night's theme & played the cutest retelling of the Christmas story that I think I've ever heard. It was told by a little girl & it was just too sweet & cute for words. At the end, she handed out Christmas CDs for everyone that included the story that was played, plus some Christmas music about the Savior.

Overall, I think it was a great night! I had so many girls come up and tell me how much they enjoyed it & that it gave them some great ideas.

As for me, I was just glad to have it done! :) Now, it's on to the next activity... a "Chocolate Appreciation Night" that is all about Unity & Friendship...scheduled for February. Should be a BLAST! But, as Scarlett O'Hara would say "I'll think about that tomorrow." Right now I'm still recovering from "Enrichment Overload"! --Lindsay

Here's the Storrs' Family Christmas card for 2008. Remind you of a certain blog header? I liked it so much that I tweaked it into our holiday card for the year. These babies are going in the mail this week, along with our annual newsletter. So, if I don't have your address & you would like to find one in your mailbox in 7-14 days (standard USPS ground mail timeframe during the month of December), leave me a comment with your address, or shoot me an email with it & I'll send one your way! Merry Christmas! --Lindsay

Okay, well apparently Oprah did her "favorite things" show last week...and I totally missed it. But, I decided I would still share a few my favorite things that I've found this year...like I did last year at this time. Because I spent a good majority of 2008 being pregnant, quite a few of them are maternity & baby items. Here they are...

First of all, Bella Bands. Love, love, LOVE them!!! Those of you that know me know what a hard time I have finding jeans that actually fit me. As you can imagine, this problem is EXTREMELY hard when I'm shopping for maternity pants. (Do they think my legs are pregnant or something???) So, when I was introduced to Bella Bands...I fell in love. Bella bands are just a tight fitting band that you wear around your waist...it just looks like you have a tank underneath your shirt...this way, you can wear your non-pregnancy jeans (unbuttoned) through a good majority of your pregnancy & no one can tell they are unbuttoned...plus, the band helps keep your pants up, so you're not always yanking on them! It's awesome! I was able to wear my normal jeans until about week 30 in my pregnancy. At that point, my expanding thighs & butt (YAY!) would not fit into my skinny jeans anymore, so I had to switch to maternity jeans. But, I kept wearing my Bella Bands because they would help hold the maternity pants up. It was so nice not to always have to be yanking them up! I continued to use my Bella Bands even after Cohen was born. I squeezed back into the skinny jeans & just left them unbuttoned with a Bella Band over the top for several months. Anyway, as you can probably tell, I flippin' LOVE them! They were the best things I bought during my pregnancy & I recommend them to pretty much every pregnant girl I meet! I bought mine at Expected (on Fort Union just off I-215)...which is a good segway because...

Expected is the next thing on my favorite things list! I bought sooooooooo many cute maternity outfits here! It is this cute little boutique full of THE CUTEST maternity clothes you have EVER seen in your whole life! You name it, they have it...cute print T's, T's that have funny little pregnancy sayings on them, darling dresses, shirts, suits, etc. And, they even have designer maternity jeans too! YAY! If you're a fan of Citizens of Humanity, Paige, 7, Hudson, etc...this is the place to buy your maternity jeans! Anyway, I love this store...this pregnancy was the only pregnancy where I actually felt CUTE. Believe it or not, I was kind of sad to pack my maternity clothes away! Weird, I know... Oh, and there's one more store that is on my list as well for maternity clothes...

Ann Taylor & Ann Taylor Loft are probably two of my favorite stores on the planet. So, you can imagine my joy when I found out Loft was going to start selling maternity clothes. HALLELUJAH!!! (By the way, don't judge them by the picture I've posted. Most their maternity clothes are MUCH cuter than that thing, but it's the only pic I could find.) It is SOOOOOO hard to find clothes for on-air while I am pregnant! They don't make many maternity suits & if they do, they are usually way bulky & gross. (Are my shoulders supposed to grow while I'm pregnant?) Anyway, I was able to find so many suits, professional shirts & cute dresses at Loft Maternity. The only problem is that the two Loft stores that we have here in SLC don't sell the maternity clothes! What's up with that??? We are the top baby-making state in this nation!!! Anyway, the closest Loft Maternity is in Las Vegas...but, I just ordered all mine online! If you know what size you wear at Ann Taylor or Loft, you just order that same size in maternity & it will fit like a glove...guaranteed!

My next favorite thing is the stroller that we bought right before Cohen was born. It's made by Joovy and is a TRIPLE stroller! That's right...a stroller for THREE children!!! Can't tell, can you? Cohen goes in the front (the tray that is at the front comes out and is replaced with a bar that holds an infant car seat for right now), Aiden sits on the little seat in the back facing backwards, and Connor stands on the little platform thing in the back & leans back against that black elastic thing you see near the top of the handle. It is AWESOME! It is super easy to maneuver...even with all the kids on it...it turns on a dime & is light as a feather! I love that I can push all my kids around & that I don't have to have a HUGE stroller to do it! Plus, it's stinkin' cute! People stop me all the time to ask me where I got it (USA Baby)!

Okay, I know I'm a little behind the times on this one...but I just bought a Swiffer Duster & I absolutely ADORE it! I actually look forward to dusting my house now! I don't know why...but something about it just makes dusting a whole lot of fun! And, yes, I already know how lame it is that I get excited to dust my house!Okay, the next thing on my list is the Pampered Chef smooth-edge can opener. LOVE IT! It actually breaks the seal of your cans to get the lid off, rather than cutting them & leaving a sharp edge behind. I can't tell you how many times I have opened a can of olives, only to have my kids stick their fingers in the can to grab one & cut themselves in the process. With this can opener, I don't have to worry about that anymore...plus, I don't have to worry about digging a dusty lid out of my food. It's awesome!

Okay, this next stuff is the coolest thing on the planet! It's Dr. Katz TheraBreath toothpaste & mouthwash. I am always so self-conscious of my breath, so when I saw this stuff on "Good Things Utah" (yes, I'm a traitor and watch other networks from time-to-time), I knew I had to try it! The dentist was on the show with a breathalyzer thing that measured the sulfur-bacteria (the stuff that causes bad breath) coming out of a person's mouth. He ate an onion and blew into the breathalyzer and the number registered over 1000 (anything over 100 means bad breath), then he swished his mouthwash stuff in his mouth for about 30 seconds & blew again...this time it registered 28. I have to admit, at first I was a little leery...but I decided I would buy the stuff & try it out for myself. At first, it was a little bizarre for me...both the toothpaste & the mouthwash had NO taste to them (no mint, no cinnamon, etc.)...and they got all foamy really fast. Plus, I didn't like the fact that I wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything for 15 minutes afterwards. What's up with that?!? But, I have to tell you that THE STUFF WORKS! I NEVER have bad breath! It rocks! If I eat something at work for Sunday Brunch that has onions or garlic in it, I just swish some mouthwash around for about a minute & then head straight off to church...fresh breath & all. You'd never know I had just had a big bite of onion a half hour earlier! It's awesome! And, my kids REALLY like the toothpaste because it doesn't have a strong taste like many of the other toothpastes out there. Anyway, I just love it!

So, those are my favorite things for 2008! I love, love, love them! Sorry for the infomercial, but I just wanted to share my favorites! --Lindsay

I was tagged by my less-hot sister, Kristin. ;)







8 Favorite Books:

1) Twilight
2) New Moon
3) Eclipse
4) Breaking Dawn
5) Love & Logic
6) Gift from the Sea
7) Making the Most of Your Money (Yes...I already realize I'm bizarre)
8) The Baby Whisperer (A must-read for any new mom...it got Connor over colic & has made my other kids "angel babies")

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:

1) Paid bills
2) Dusted
3) Vacuumed
4) Went to the Grocery Store
5) Made fliers for Enrichment
6) Plucked my eyebrows
7) Picked up about a million and a half toys
8) Ate cookies...lots of them!

8 Things to Look Forward to:

1) Not having to work Christmas Eve, Christmas or New Years Eve! Woo Hoo!
2) Getting my new carpet the week after Christmas
3) My mom's Christmas Eve party
4) Seeing my kids' faces on Christmas morning
5) Shopping for an Angel Tree kid
6) Cohen sleeping through the night every night
7) Spring!!!
8) Summer vacation!!!

8 Things on my Wish List

1) A finished basement
2) A baby girl (although that will most likely NEVER happen)
3) An economic turnaround
4) More clothes & SHOES
5) A small surgical correction to a certain part of my body (I'm sure EVERYONE that knows me knows what I'm talking about) Hee hee!
6) New family room furniture
7) A hybrid commuter car (since Mike & I both have big commutes)
8) Peace on Earth & good will toward men ;)

8 Things I Love About Winter (It originally said Fall but since it's now December, I changed it to Winter):

1) Snow when I don't have to go anywhere
2) Cute scarves & coats
3) The hot chocolate that Mike makes in the evenings
4) Christmas music
5) Turning on the fireplace
6) Cuddling up in a blanket
7) The yummy Candlebreeze scents for the winter season
8) The sound of the heater kicking on

8 People I Tag:

1) LeAnn Betts
2) Amanda Skinner
3) Mary Day
4) Emily Lesher
5) Annaliese Cox
6) Jessica DeMill
7) Jessica Bangerter
8) Danelle Butterfield

Have fun ladies! --Lindsay