Jeff's Birthday

Jeff's actual birthday (December 23rd) festivities included:
Opening gifts....

Jaxon had to try out Jeff's birthday present...something tells me he's going to have a future in gaming....

Dinner at Tepanyaki's with Jeff's parents....

When the chef started the big fire at the table, Claire had the best reaction...half the restaurant was laughing....

Doing well with chopsticks and loving the noodles...

Jaxon was fascinated the entire meal and loved having a chef cook at our table...

Finished the night with cake, candles, and singing.   Hope you had a Happy Birthday Honey!!  Welcome to the 29 club!  We love you!!

New Family Pics

Since my brother moved to Texas and my parents to Arizona, it's been over a year and a half since we've all been together. Family pictures were a must while we had the chance....who knows when the next time will be.  They will be obsolete in five months since my sister-in-law and I are both expecting and due within a week of each other, but I thought they turned out great.

Birthday Weekend!

Every year for Jeff's birthday, we spend a night downtown in Salt Lake.  It's become a tradition that I look forward to months before.  The last few years we have stayed at the Hyatt next to the Gateway.  Since we mainly go to movies and shop, it works great.  We went the weekend before Christmas.  The kids stayed with Jeff's sister and had fun with their cousins.  

We binged on movies and went to three in two days.  The movies we saw were: 

127 Hours--story of the guy who had to cut off his own arm in order to save himself...very inspirational and moving...I left the movie wondering how many people including myself would be able to do that...I'm not sure that I could....

Unstoppable...based on a true story as well....a runaway train that can't be stopped...it was highly entertaining and fast moving, but not as good as the other two movies we saw.

The Fighter....based on a true story of two brothers who are boxers...one is a meth addict and it follows their relationship....also inspiring...made me hope that my kids never get involved with drugs...

On Saturday night, we went to Iggy's for a party with some of the other Jazzbots.  It was an interesting dinner....meeting people and talking with people who you wouldn't normally....we watched the Jazz game as we ate and enjoyed talking sports (I enjoyed listening and realized for how much I like sports, how little I really know.)  

The next day we went to the Melting Pot...it's a favorite of ours that we save for special occasions.  The cheddar cheese fondue appetizer is amazing...

Our main course...steak, chicken, lobster, ravioli, and duck...we dipped into a yummy broth and then dipped again into the best dipping sauces...

Our dessert cooking....pretty nice when the hardest decision we had to make all weekend was what fondue dessert we wanted....we chose S'mores....milk chocolate with marshmallow creme and graham crackers broken up.....

Here's what we dipped...the only bad thing about the meal is how full you are by the time you get to your dessert...wish it were first since it was my favorite course.  

It was a well deserved and much needed break between Jeff's busy work and school schedule and working on our basement in the little spare time Jeff has.  It went too quickly, but was thoroughly enjoyed by both of us!  I loved spending time with Jeff...it was a perfect weekend. 

Christmas is Coming...

Over the weekend, we had our ward Christmas party.  Jeff had to work, but I decided to take the kids anyway.  Claire and Jaxon had already visited Santa at the mall so they were excited to see him again.  Jaxon asked me why he had to tell Santa twice what he wanted...good question...just to make sure he gets you what you want was my response.  He also asked if there are two Santa's...I was completely unprepared for that one...but luckily the only difference noted was the beard...and it's a good thing Jaxon doesn't realize how long it would take to grow a beard that long.  The ward party was a lot of fun...we had a yummy dinner and a cute nativity done by the primary kids.  We sang songs till Santa arrived.  Last year, we were in the back of the line and ended up waiting over 45 minutes to see Santa.  Claire fell asleep before we got to see him.  This year, I was determined we would be more towards the front.  We snuck out a little early to get in line and ended up being the fifth family in line.  When we were the next one's up, Claire started to cry and told me she didn't want to sit on Santa's lap.  I wasn't going to force her, but I should have included the phrase..this is your only chance.  As soon as Jaxon was done and we went to get our stuff, Claire started to cry saying she wanted to sit on Santa's lap.  Being the sucker that i am, we ended up going to the back of the line and waiting 30 minutes so she could sit on Santa's lap.  She did sit on his lap, but tried to stay as far from him as possible and just kept repeating that she wanted a pet stroller.  She got her candy cane and was one happy, but tired girl.

For FHE this week, we made a gingerbread house.  We helped a little but the kids did all the decorating.  Jaxon told me the next morning that he couldn't stop looking at the house because it was so cute.  They were pretty proud of it.  

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

I am a huge fan of Shutterfly so I was excited when I saw on my friend's blog that you can get free Christmas cards by doing a blog post about them.  My first experience with Shutterfly was about three years ago.  We made a book for my Grandparents of all their great-grandkids.  It turned out adorable....it is something they still have displayed for all to see today.  The next year for Christmas we did a CD for my parents of their grandkids.  Again, it was a huge hit and something they still enjoy.  I have been looking at their Christmas cards for the last few months...picking out my favorites.  Here are a few of my them.  It was hard to just pick three...they have so many great options in their 2010 collection.  I love the cards with the letter of your last name.   Here's the link to view the Christmas cards they are offering...  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards .  

They have so much more than just Christmas cards...right now I am a huge fan of canvas prints.  I need to get some of my kids and they have great options and great prices on them...click here to view them http://www.shutterfly.com/home-decor/canvas-wall-art.   I should have included them on my wish list this year!


The other product that I love from Shutterfly is their Christmas party invites.  We do a Christmas party every year for our friends from high school.  I've looked at a lot of invites and Shutterfly has the best ones...I love them.  View them here....http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations.  They have a lot of variety and there's a card for any theme you would want.  


I have started books for my kids through Shutterfly and am excited to complete them.  They really have so many great options.  Plus, they do cool things like giving you free Christmas cards!  Thanks Shutterfly...you're great!! 

Enjoying the Jazz...

Jeff and I took the kids to a Jazz game this week.  The Jazz won...always more fun when your team wins.  Claire wasn't super interested in the game but she enjoyed looking for the Jazz Bear and coloring.  Jaxon is starting to understand more about what's going on. He checked the scoreboard frequently to make sure our team was winning.  They loved getting popcorn and cotton candy(thus the blue mouths) at half time.

On a Jazz side note, Jeff tried out to become a Jazzbot (an official blogger for the Utah Jazz) and he got it...he is now a Jazzbot!  He writes a post about something of his choice once a week on the Jazz.  I'm really glad he gets to do something he enjoys so much.  His articles are always interesting and entertaining to read...I'll post the link below so if any fellow Jazz fans ever want to read his posts...

http://www.utahjazz360.com/jtrim/