Christmas in Salt Lake City

This year on the Monday before Christmas we went up to Salt Lake City to attend the Sing-Along at the Energy Solutions Arena. An orchestra provided the accompaniment and we got to sing lots of our favorite Christmas songs. Jon Schmidt was also there to play a few songs (his Love Story/Viva la Vida song was amazing!) and even Santa made a special appearance, much to Bryan's delight. We got free hot dogs and drinks and free tickets to upcoming Jazz games (David's real incentive for going). It was a little crazy getting there, but we all had a lot of fun. Even Mali and Buelo sang along! Of course, we couldn't visit Downtown without seeing the lights at Temple Square. We had free parking just a few blocks away so it worked out great. The lights were gorgeous! It was freezing, though, and all of the visitors centers were closed, so we didn't stay long. We'd split up and gone with David's family but ran into my family just as we were leaving, so we were able to get pictures with everyone. Since Matt's fall had kept us from seeing the lights the previous week, I'm glad we had another opportunity to go. Christmas just wouldn't have been complete without visiting the temple!

Ouch!!!

The night before Nate and Allison's wedding, we were at Heather's house getting ready to go see the lights on Temple Square. Matt was running around the car outside with his hands in his pockets when he tripped on the curb and fell head-first onto the sidewalk! Since his hands were in his pockets, he didn't have anything to break his fall. He had the biggest goose egg I'd ever seen! It was pretty sickening, but somehow I just went into mom mode and cleaned it up without freaking out. And thankfully, Grandpa was there to hold Matt and keep an ice pack on his head for a good amount of time. Matt was back to his old self before long, but he sure didn't look good! Even after the ice the bump was huge!

Then the next day he was at a store with Javi and, once again, had his hands in his pockets and fell, hitting his head in the same spot! It swelled up even more. This first pic is of him that night at the wedding reception. You can't see the swelling very much, but it was still pretty gross!The following day we were at a luncheon for Maily's blessing and somehow Matt whacked his forehead on the table - poor kid. It got even bigger! This picture was taken a day later when we'd decided to put medicine and bandage it up a bit.
The next day (Tuesday) his eyes really started to get black and blue. I guess all the fluid and junk from his forehead began to move downward...Here he is a couple of days later on Christmas Eve...On Christmas morning...And the day after Christmas... His eyes got so swollen and dark! We were embarrassed to take him places because people looked at us badly. :( We even kept him home from church on Sunday, not because he felt bad but because he looked so scary!
Now he's doing better. He still looks like a little football player with black stripes under his eyes, but he's not swollen anymore and the marks on his forehead are pretty much gone. We never did take him to the doctor because he never showed signs of a concussion or anything. He's remained his crazy, wild self throughout the week! We're just a lot more cautious when we go out anywhere and constantly remind him to keep his hands out of his pockets! Dad thinks we should sew them shut, but I'm just encouraging him to wear mittens instead. We could be in for a long winter, though. Poor baby!

Nathan and Allison's Wedding

I can't believe my baby brother is a married man! He and Allison met in June, quickly fell in love, and got engaged one month after their first date! They were married December 19 in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. Allison's wonderful and we're all really excited that she's a part of the family. She fits in well, and it's fun to have another sister! Nate and Allison were so fun to watch on their wedding day - I've never seen a couple so obviously in love! They had a luncheon at the Northhampton house, and of course if wouldn't be a Toone event if there wasn't singing! Nate wrote his own words to Josh Groban's "You Lift Me Up" and had Allison in tears as he sang it to her. He'd done a similar thing when he proposed, so it was especially meaningful to her. The reception was at the Somewhere Inn Time reception center and it was wonderful! There weren't a lot of people but I loved having our family all together - David's family was there as well! It was one of those times where I wished I could freeze time and keep things the way they were forever. Everyone was so happy! I loved it. Since I knew that wasn't possible, I did the next best thing and took a bunch of pictures!Bree, Heather, and I sang a song that Bree wrote about searching for the right one and knowing when it's right. :) (This is not the cutest picture, unfortunately.) And of course there was lots of dancing! The kids were the ones that danced the most. Our friends the Davidsons were there, so Bryan and Matt had cute girls to dance with. :) Although I thought my dance partner looked pretty cute, too... Here's Matt showing off his token dance trick. :) He had fun despite the nasty bump on his head! I'll have to do a different post about that another time... Hooray for the happy couple!

Just gotta love him!

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Matt has food in his mouth in this picture. He usually does! David and I have decided that we need to get a lock for our pantry door because Matt will not stay out! The other day David was making something at the stove and after he'd been standing there for a good five minutes or so, he noticed the pantry door slowly opening. Matt peeked out from behind the door, saw David still standing there, and slowly shut it again, shutting himself inside! That means he was just hanging out in there that whole time, waiting for David to leave so he could make his escape. Little stinker! Lots of times I'll find his toys on bottom pantry shelf where he leaves them to free his hands for whatever it is he can find. He uses the 5-gallon buckets I store on the floor to climb up and reach the things on the higher shelves. Several times I've walked in and found him just standing and hanging on two or three shelves up! His favorite things to swipe are raisins, marshmallows, and chocolate chips. I've got to start keeping the sweet things somewhere else.... But he also goes for the bread and wheat crackers and other healthier things in there as well - this morning it was uncooked macaroni - so I guess moving things around isn't going to solve the pillaging problem. He usually takes his food and hides behind the recliner to eat it where I can't see him. I find crumbs and wrappers there all the time. I'd probably get a lot more upset about it all if it weren't so amusing to me! At least when I can't find him I know where to look. :) But we'll most likely go ahead with our plan to lock the door, just so there's enough food left for the rest of us!

Crazy Christmas bow

I had Ari wear one of her Christmas dresses this last Sunday and I think the bow was a little much. Years from now I'll probably look back and wonder why I ever put such big things on her little head, but it's just so cute and festive - I couldn't resist!

Grandma's Christmas Party

This last weekend we attended Grandma Willes' annual Grandkids Christmas party. I've been going since I started at BYU many years ago, and now my kids get to go as well. Grandma spends weeks making candies and baking big Christmas cookies - a boy or girl and a Christmas tree for every grandkid and now great-grandkids. We get to decorate them however we'd like. Ari, being too little to enjoy the cookie decorating, just sported her Santa hat and let a bunch of people hold her. She wouldn't smile for anything, though! Very unlike her. :)
Matt spent most of his time stuffing the candy in his mouth, as you can tell from the chocolate drool! He did manage to end up with some on his cookie, though, and he was quite proud of his decorating job.Bryan's main goal was to see how much candy he could pile onto his cookies! This picture just shows his cookie in the beginning stages of decorating... (Notice the chocolate on his mouth, too!)And once the kids were done I took my turn decorating as well. This year I went for the prom dress look with my girl. I especially loved the lavender icing my aunt had brought for us to use. :) Fun times!

Heaven

As I was nursing Ari tonight I looked over at Bryan as he snuggled into his sleeping bag on her floor (he insists on sleeping next to her crib these days) and told him he was cute. He responded that only tiny kids are cute, and he's big - 5! I told him he's still cute at five, and will be even when he's older, too. When he asked if he'd still be cute at a hundred, and then a kazillion, I told him he'd probably be dead by then and in heaven. Then he asked if we're dead when we're in heaven, and I told him that we'll be alive in heaven, but in a different way. He asked if heaven is on earth, and I said no, and so he asked if it's in outer space, and I said, kind of. He asked which planet it's on, and I told him it's not on any planet we know. He asked if there's water and grass, and what kind of food is in heaven. I told him there's probably really yummy foods, and he said he hopes there are yummy desserts. Then he asked if we'll be angels, and I said yes, in a way. When he asked if we'll wear white, I told him probably, but I wasn't sure because I've never been there. I quickly corrected myself and reminded him that we used to live in heaven, but we just don't remember what it's like. He said he's excited to live in heaven again, but he hopes it's not until he's 100. Then he asked what I thought people would give him for his birthday in heaven, and said it probably wouldn't be guns because guns are for bad guys. :)

The whole time we were talking I kept thinking how special it is that I have this sweet boy to teach about wonderful things like heaven and life after death. What a blessing it is to know why we're here and where we're going, and to be able to answer some of his innocent questions. Even if I don't have all the answers, I know enough to assure him that we're here for a purpose and we have a loving Father in Heaven who's anxiously awaiting our return to our heavenly home, whether it's five years from now or a hundred. (Though I hope it's closer to a hundred!)

Scrunchy smile

Ari's started doing the funniest scrunchy smile! She scrunches up her nose and shows off her gums and snorts! She does it a lot when she's eating, which is when she seems to get especially excited. And she's becoming a good little eater! Her favorites so far include sweet potatoes, applesauce, and even green beans! I just laugh all the time feeding her. Hopefully her enthusiasm continues, snorts and all. :)