1st Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

So my friend Lauren is a party planning queen. I'm not sure if she ever is not in the midst of planning some kind of party. And of course, she is excellent at it. Goes all out. She started an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party that I'm assuming (and hoping) is a yearly tradition, because she had a winner that got a trophy that is to be brought back next year....so...... 

Anyway, it was lots of fun. Tons of yummy food with a mustache theme, a photo booth area and then a musical reading of Christ's birth (by her son who was practicing for church the next day, but still. It was nice). We goofed off and ate yummy food, and took silly pictures and then sat around and talked for hours. It's been SO fun to have Christmas Parties to go to. It makes the season so much more fun than it already is. And honestly, that's hard to do. 

Becky of course made her and Hyrum's sweaters. Or at least decorated them.

If there had been a "best couple" award, they would have won it.

The hubby's weren't super into picture taking, so me and Becky decided to be goofy together.

Unibrow....

Or mustache....you decide.

Some fun decorations. Of course her house was all decked out.

Lisa and Adam Hall

Mustache mugs with yummy hot cocoa.

Lisa won for the "ugliest" Christmas Sweater. 

She got a trophy with a sweater cozy on it. Pretty cute!

Dallin reading the story of the birth of Christ.

All the girls. Or at least most of them....that know each other anyway.

Super fun group. Note my sweater twin, Anna. 

Cherie and Mike. This lady is a super awesome bootcamp instructor. Love her. 

Lauren (the party planner), Becky and me.

Annual quest for the vest

Every year friends from our ward hold a white elephant gift exchange. I think it's been going on for five years now. We haven't gotten to go every year, but it's always fun when we do.

Everyone brings a gift to exchange. In the mix is an ugly red Christmas vest. If you are "lucky" enough to get it, you "get" to wear it to church on Sunday. This year Josh Miles got it. I can't say he looked too thrilled about it, but I'm sure we will see him sporting it on Sunday.

As for me and Paul? He ended up with two Elvis mugs and hot cocoa (with a packaged date of 2009) and I got a box of chocolates (that thankfully are new). Originally I had a nice little heating pad with hand warmer but that got taken from me. Oh well. I guess that's the name of the game. At least I didn't get the vest.

It was a super fun night of eating, chatting and laughing it up with friends.

Paul's Birthday

Paul took the day off from work so we could celebrate all day! It was lots of fun. The three older kids had school so we headed out with Carter in the morning for a little shopping and lunch at Rubio's (one of Paul's favorite places to eat). I had to pick up Brandon at noon, so I sent Paul off to go see a movie and then to spend some time at the comic book shop. After school Ashlyn had piano lessons, but we got home just a few minutes after Paul finished up his little outing, so it worked out perfectly. I made dinner while Paul helped the girls with their homework and then we had a yummy dinner of Enchiladas (another of Paul's favorites). 

Then we decided to mash FHE and his Bday celebration together and decorated a Gingerbread house and train, had carrot cake (well cupcakes) and opened a few gifts. 

Happy 35th Birthday to my favorite man! I love him and am so glad he's mine!

Lunch at Rubio's. I'm so lucky we like the same places. This was like a treat for me too! 

And, I think I need to brush Carter's hair a bit more often.  

Decorating the house and train. I thought it'd be easier to decorate first and then assemble. Ashlyn and Leah were really getting into this year. Ashlyn especially. She wanted it just like the picture. We did our best. I think it turned out pretty well.

I cheated this year and bought cupcakes for Paul. I usually make a Texas Sheet cake for him since that's his favorite. But Carrot cake is a close second, so he didn't seem to mind.

Paul got some cash from his parents (He's still trying to decide what to get with it). My parents sent him an ITunes GC (a gift he never gets tired of), and then I got him some cologne and the kids got him some other little odds and ends; New drawing pencils, his favorite candy. Stuff like that. 

I think it was a pretty good day. I hope he thinks so too!

One of my favorite things

Carter's newest, most endearing thing is to tell me he loves me too after I say it to him. I'm not gonna lie....I LOVE IT! Tonight after we got home from the temple (him and Paul didn't get to come cuz Paul is getting over a cold) I came in and said hi and that I loved him. He goes "I love you too. I missed you". Then he gave me a big hug and kiss. Can a barely 2 year old get any cuter than that? Seriously, I love it when all my kids say that to me. But when it comes from your littlest one, in a cute little "I'm still learning to talk voice" than it's the best!!!

Temple Christmas lights

Tonight we did our yearly trip to the temple to see the Christmas lights. We always meet up with our Encino friends and its always a fun time. Our kids don't see each other too often, but they luckily get reacquainted quickly and end up good buddies in no time. Leah connected really quickly this year with Jackie's little girl, Kelsey. They are only 6 months apart and both love gymnastics. So that was a no brainier friendship for sure.

Brooke brought some yummy hot chocolate for everyone. We had marshmallows to go with it, and blonde brownies made by Brad. Quite impressive.

The kids walked (ok kind of ran some too) around. I try hard to remind them to be reverent but it's just so hard when fun friends are around. They weren't too bad. By the end, it had started to rain but it almost seemed fitting as it quite often rains on us.

It was still a fun evening and one Christmas tradition I truly look forward to every year.

Does it surprise anyone that Brandon would not wear pants OR real shoes OR a jacket. Lucky for him it wasn't too cold, although at some point I wouldn't be too terribly upset if he froze his booty off. Is that terrible of me? Then he might actually learn to dress appropriately for the weather. Sheesh!

Oh well....I got choose my battles. People always ask me if he gets sick a lot though. It's kind of embarrassing. But no he doesn't actually. He's a pretty healthy guy (knock on wood). So at least being in swim shorts year round doesn't affect him too much.

My favorite line of the night was when Tyler says to us Moms, as a bunch of the younger kids are running around playing, "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on the little kids". So fitting for that sweet little guy.

Paul's Birthday weekend has begun

Okay, so the kids area at Magic Mountain probably isn't the first place Paul wanted to spend his birthday weekend, but with four little kids, your options aren't that extensive. 

The morning started out with a Primary Service Project that Paul took the kids to. I stayed home with Carter and did some cleaning (does this sound familiar to anyone? Note a few weeks ago and the Rise of the Guardians Screening. LOL. Oh well. It felt good to get some stuff done.) Anyway, after naps we decided to make full use of our Magic Mountain Passes that are going to expire at the end of the month. It was a bit rainy on the way over and we almost didn't go, but then it cleared up right over the park, so we figured it was meant to be. The kids had a super fun time running around and going on the kiddie rides. And I was reminded how ghetto that place really is. But kids don't really notice things like that. I'm not sure we're gonna renew our passes next year. Gotta think of another place to get passes to. Maybe Universal Studios. We haven't had passes there for a long time. 

You can't really see it, but Ashlyn and Carter are sitting next to Leah. It's so fun to see Carter getting older and being able to do things his siblings can. 

Anyway, after Magic Mountain we headed over to Chili's for a family dinner. We don't go out to dinner TOO often with all the kids, cuz let's face it, it's not that easy. But we had a gift card (thank you American Express reward points), so we figured why not. It ended up not being too bad. Worse thing was that Brandon doesn't know how to speak at a whisper....or even a regular voice. So we were constantly reminding him to talk softer. 

He may STILL be eating baby food, but at least he feeds it to himself now. And he's pretty good at not getting too messy with it anymore. 

Tomorrow is Paul's big day. THIRTY FIVE! Wow....we are getting up there. I'm not too far behind him. We're gonna just do a simple party at home with the kids. Then Paul and I have plans to go to a nice dinner together later in the month.