We were up North for a SUPER long time this Christmas season (10 days). It was good to be with family, but by about day 5 the kids just weren't sleeping that well anymore and they were ready to come back to their own beds. It's hard when they're off they're schedules, but we all ended up having a great Christmas.

We went up on Friday the 18th for the Booth Christmas Party and then on the 20th was the Low Party (my mom's side). The Rees (Jace's mom's side) and the Vernon parties weren't until Christmas Eve/Christmas so we had some days to burn before those, but we decided to just stay up North for the whole 10 days because it would be cheaper than driving home and back up again.

While we were up there some highlights were: me getting together with some high school friends, Jace going to Avatar...the best part was it wasn't with me!...Jace's Annual Alumni Tournament, Aliyah and me going on a date to see "The Princess and the Frog", taking a trip to the dentist, going to a Ute Basketball game and eating at HIRE'S after, and playing in the snow.

We had a wonderful Holiday and hope you all did too.

Enjoy the MANY pictures...if you want. :)


Booth Family Christmas Party
After we eat we always do a "program" in which we take turns singing, dancing, playing instruments, etc. The kids sang this year with a little persuasion from Grandpa. They sang Jingle Bells and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Amy even joined in with playing the sax with my dad. This year my Grandpa was in a bad mood and yelled at poor Ashley for "wasting time." What a moment. As we've gotten older the cousins have become closer which is really great.



I didn't get very many pictures of Aliyah at the dentist because she was taken to the back where mean grandma put sealance on her teeth. It was a traumatic experience for her, but I think she'll be thankful when she doesn't have cavities. :)


Dinner at El Matador with my High School Friends


A lot of the Rees side was out of town for Christmas Eve so it ended up just being Jace's family and one of his uncle's family. Just small and quaint, but it was a chance to talk and catch up. The party was a big hit once Jackie got the Play Dough for the kids. They LOVED that!

Christmas Morning with the Vernon's
The kids were completely spoiled by Jace's parents. But I guess that's what grandparent's are for. Brynn, Steele, and Quinci got a karaoke machine and Aliyah couldn't get enough. Xander was pretty good at breathing into the microphone, but it wasn't until Jace put on Enchanted that Aliyah went to town. Brynn sang for anyone she could find and was especially good at Jingle Bells.

Breakfast and Sledding at LaVaun's


After we opened presents at Jace's parent's we went to "Grandma Peacocks" house and ate breakfast and opened presents. LaVaun is such a sweetheart and got all the great-grandkids sleds. My kids have never been sledding so it was quite the experience. Aliyah LOVED sledding and couldn't get enough. Xander was excited until his sled tipped a bit and his hand landed in the snow. That was the end of sledding for Xander. It was too cold for him.


Sledding at the Vernon's

After we got back from Grandma Peacocks we went back to the Vernon's and got better snow attire. We don't own any snow gear so we had to scrounge anything we could find. After we got Xander all dressed I was working on finding stuff for Aliyah but he was back inside before I was done. Jace said he was freaking out because he was too cold so he came back, which worked out because then Aliyah had some boots and a hat to use. She was outside for about an hour...in the FREEZING cold. She loved every second, and who could blame her? She had an awesome deal. She rode down the hill and Jace would come down and pick her up and take her back to the top. There was no work involved for her. :)



We went to my parent's around 4. Nat and Ryan were driving up that day so they didn't arrive til 6. We had a great dinner and then we opened presents where the kids were spoiled even more! Xander's favorite present was definitely Thomas the Train. Aliyah got a camera that she was pretty thrilled with. It was a good night to spend together and we're glad everyone was there.


North Summit Alumni Basketball Tournament

Jace played a LOT of games. Luckily Brynn and Steele were there to play with the kids the first game, and then Bryce came for the rest. He was too busy playing on his phone to care about Aliyah and Xander most of the time, but they didn't care. They liked to watch what he was doing. He wouldn't even glance away to smile for the camera. :)

SANTA CAME!!!

This was what we came home to. Santa knew we would eventually make it home, so he just left our stuff here.

We went to the temple for family night for 2 reasons.

1. The Nativity was up and I wanted the kids to see it.
2. They have a new exhibit called "Reflections of Christ" that I wanted to see.

The exhibit was absolutely incredible. It has about 30 pictures of Christs life from start to finish. I had Xander and I was telling him about the pictures. His favorite pictures were the ones with the soldiers in them. I tried to explain that those soldiers weren't being nice to Jesus, but I think he still thought they were cool. Must've been the outfits.

After, we looked at those we went out into the main foyer where the Christus Statue is and Jace and Aliyah were already there. The sister missionaries were making Jesus talk for Aliyah and Xander couldn't be left out. One sister even let Xander turn it on. I loved how the kids just stared at Him in wonder and looked at his "owies" and were truly saddened. I often wonder if they can still remember things about heaven.




Aliyah was so excited about the lights that she had to sit on this little wall and have me take her picture. She's hardly happy about it. :)


After, we ate out at Tony's BBQ in St. George. First time there, I must say it was good, not as good as Texas Roadhouse though. But it worked. Aliyah stole my salad from me and pretty much dipped the tiny carrots in the ranch until the whole thing was covered in about an inch of dressing and then she would eat it. Funny girl.

Every Christmas you put up your Christmas decor and get in the festive Christmas Spirit. I LOVE this time of year. In fact, it's my most favorite holiday.

SO, to get in the holiday spirit a little more, me and 3 other girls planned an UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PARTY. I think it turned out to be a big hit.

When we got there we ate a FANTASTIC potluck. There was SO much food it was ridiculous...but delicious. After, all the couples got their pictures with an awesome snowflake background.


Please enjoy the hideousness of the sweaters. :)



We then did our white elephant exchange. We drew numbers to see what order we got to choose a present. When it was your turn you could either pick a present no one had seen, or steal from someone else.
Paige and his toilet seat...provided by yours truly.

Star Trek...there were actually nice presents there.

Kim got an AWESOME lamp that I know is in her front window as we speak. :)

I think this picture is so hilarious because Shan is such a big guy and his sweater...and his gift are so little.

Kellie got a fish, but it got stolen from her, so she ended up with some scrapbooking stuff, also provided by the Vernon's.

Matt got an emergency kit that Kim and Jason found on the side of the freeway. BUT everything in it is still wrapped up and ready to be used. Jace ended up with that in the end.

Amanda got some trail mix

Now, I personally think Justine got the most awesome gift. It was so hilarious when out of the bag came a picture of us giving the thumbs up. Jace looked at me and I looked at him. We had NO idea where this came from...and then the Arrington's fessed up. It was pretty funny though.

Poor Bob and RaLynne (pictured below). A girl that came to our party suffered a stroke a year ago and had no feeling in her left leg for a while. Well, she is totally fine now and Bob and RaLynne suffered for that. :) Bob got the cane, and RaLynne...

Got a Royal Throne. Apparently, it's never been used, but you never know...

Dwayne got a hair wrap for all his luscious locks

And Whitney got the best prize with HUGE black panties. Wahoo!

That was only part of it, I didn't get everyone, but there were some pretty good gifts such as "padded" slippers (made out of pads) and lift tickets to Brian Head.

Some friends...

Julie and Mike. Mike is in Iraq right now serving our country.


Amy, me, and Kim

Whitney, Julie, and Angie

Melissa, Ryan, Dwayne, and Justine


Then we played an awesome game...
Every couple was a team and we a roll of pennies.
2 peoples names were drawn out of a cup and they went head to head in a competition. The catagories were: Feats of Strength, Test your Knowledge, Food Fiasco, and Test your Skill. (I think those are right) Anyway, you, as a team, decide who you think will win and place your bet. If your person wins, you take out double what you put in.

So, here are some of the competitions:

Jace vs. Dwayne
Food Fiasco
Sit at opposite ends of a table and see who can get a giant marshmallow into the other persons cup first
Winner: Dwayne

Matt vs. Justine
Feats of Strength
Put on an entire bag of clothing and put it back in the bag the fastest.
Winner: Justine

Shan vs. Anne
Test your Skill
Lay on the ground and while someone is tapping on your forhead name as many candy bars as you can
Winner: Anne

Amanda vs. RaLynne
Food Fiasco
See who can down 5 shots of Martinelli's the fastest
Winner: Amanda

Melissa vs. Steve
Food Fiasco
See who can eat 5 saltines and whistle first
Winner: Melissa

Jeremy vs. Travis
Feats of Strength
See who can go down the stairs and back up the fastest, but you have to 1 step at a time
Winner: Travis
poor Jeremy tripped on the way back up, but I think Travis won because of his awesome pants. :)

Paige vs. Jason
Feats of Strength
See who can make the most out of 3 puts
Winner: Paige


Julie vs. Amy
Test your Knowledge
Identify 5 peoples feet when they are hiding behind a blanket
Winner: Julie

All in all a wonderful evening full of laughing, talking, and just getting to know each other better.

I hope it becomes a tradition.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. :)

I BAWLED when I saw this, so I just thought I'd share since He is the Reason for the Season.

Enjoy.




If the movie doesn't work just click here.

When we visited family for Thanksgiving we had Jace's sister take some family pictures of us. She did a GREAT job...she's especially good with the editing. :)

I stole some off her photography blog. For any who are interested it's {jenjohnsonphotography.blogspot.com}

These were taken in Coalville and there was snow on the ground. My kids don't know what that is...and I wish I didn't. Not such a fan because I HATE being cold. But actually, the day wasn't as cold as I had anticipated.

So here are some of our pics:

Jace was waiting to get a kiss...it took some coaching, but finally she did it...don't know if it looked good though.





THANKS SO MUCH JEN!

Does anyone even remember what these are?


I had completely forgotten about casette tapes until my Mother-in-law just gave the kids a bunch of books from when Jace was little and they came with these tapes. 2 cases of them.

Well, yesterday Jace and I were taking some time to watch Las Vegas (we LOVE that show) and the kids were entertaining themselves in Xander's room.

Xander came running out and said, "Mama, Aliyah has your tape." Well, I actually thought it was my scotch tape that I couldn't find and I thought, 'O great, she's been putting tape everywhere.' So I walked back to Xander's room to find...


Yah, she "decorated" the chair with the tapes. And she thought she did a good job too. You can't be mad when she was trying to make me happy.

O - and 5 minutes later when I went to change Xander and couldn't find the wipes...guess where they were...

Crazy Aliyah. :)

see, she does have my scotch tape too.

Friday we had our ward Christmas party. The kids had a GREAT time because SANTA CAME!!!
I prepped them all day on what we do when we see Santa.

"We sit on his lap and tell him that we've been very good this year and ask him for a present."

Then I asked Xander what he was going to ask Santa for. Without any hesitation he replied, "Balls!" (As if the kid doesn't have enough balls. Jace said he was going to wrap up some of the balls he already owned and give them to him. Haha Jace...I know you're cheap, but that's just mean.)

So, then I asked Aliyah what she was going to ask Santa for.
She said "a present."
I said, "Yes, we ask Santa for a present, but what do you want Santa to bring you? What kind of present?"
She said, "Oooh. I want a pretty princess dress and a crown and slippers!"

So girly...I love it.

So, here we have Aliyah in line to see Santa with all her friends. Aren't they all so cute? :)


Xander actually butted in front of a few people. I guess it was too much to ask him to stay in line. When I put him on Santa's lap he was really confused as to why he was there. So I had to prompt him on what he wanted and then he went off on the different balls he wanted.
"I need a soccer ball, yah. And a football, run, run." It was cute.

I love this one of X talking to Santa.


Aliyah was another story. She was very apprehensive and wasn't quite sure why this guy was such a big deal. She was at the front of the line and I asked her if she wanted to see Santa - He gave treats to all the kids who he talked to - because if she wanted a treat that was the only way she would get one. She kept telling the kid behind her to go. After a few kids going in front of her I told her she only got one more chance. She hesitated, so I took her and put her on his lap. She was so scared, poor thing. I hurried and snapped a shot and then had her tell him what she wanted "princess dress, crown and slippers" (repeated super fast) and she jumped down and ran to me.

Don't worry, I don't think I traumatized her. But, looking at this picture just barely she told me Santa scared her. :( Hopefully she'll forget when she gets her presents.