CHRISTMAS!!

Okay so I have been putting this off due to the fact how much pictures I wanted to download and the fun stories, but finally I buckled down and did. So here it is Christmas at the Allen's household!

So after the day on the slopes (prior post) we came home grabbed up the goodie plates and headed out to deliver. I love this part of the holidays and seeing how happy it makes people, this year we had to cut back on the people we delivered to which was sad for me :( Then we got home and my wonderful husband helped pitch in and get the house clean for me ( anyone who knows me knows that's all I need to be happy!) Then silly me sat us all down and tried explaining to Leta about the Christmas story in the Bible and how we where going to read about Jesus. All she cared was the present she already spotted for Christmas Eve so I let her open it and then preceded to read the Christmas story and The night before Christmas which I don't think she heard a word of any of it. But that's what traditions are for right :) Eventually it will sink in and she will be the one reading it! Anyhow then it was on to Grandpa and Grandma Allen's for games and fun, but first we made sure to leave goodies out for Santa.

We where worried about Leta waking up and hitting the presents without us since she has a habit of waking up and playing before I hear her. So we set the alarm an hour or two before she was to wake and brought her in between us. Once awake and ready I set Jayme out in the living room with the camcorder and waited with Leta. Santa brought a mini power quad and my mom and I got Woody and Buzz stuffed dolls, all of which I was expecting a huge response from. Instead she was so focused on daddy and the camera that she didn't even see the stash and once we got her attention on it she was so thrilled she just sat with a goofy grin looking at it all. I got a picture of her when she got brave enough to reach out and touch the bike her face says it all :)

The funny thing was in the excitement I forgot about her stocking and she was cruising on her bike then stops and says "MOM, Elmo!!!" pointing at her stocking boy was she excited. (That's what is with the picture of her pointing)

After a slow process of opening her presents and such we where finally ready for round two at Grandma and Grandpa Allen's. She was over the moon for new dollies and a bunch of baby furniture but the play guns stole the show and she spent the day shooting "Deer and ducks and skunks, Mom!

And the best part of course was the Christmas dinner, YUMMY!

Well that about covers it, I have a bunch of cute short videos, but can't get them to download :(

Swag bucks!

You will notice on top right a link to Swag Bucks, if you click on it and register you will start off with a automatic 30 points.
What is it? It is just a search engine that gives you points for searching and if you wish there are surveys that can be done for points. The points then can be redeemed for gift cards/cash to ...Amazon, paypal the Swag Store ect.
I was unsure until I my MIL tried and has redeemed hers in several times and proved to me the simple way to make points with no work involved :) She prefers to cash hers in at 450 points for a five doller gift card to Amazon. And it goes quick we have been on around a week and are already sitting on 350 points! And when you sign under my link I earn points through you as well so it works even better the more you have sign under you. Either way its easy and best of all no cost with rewards at the end!!

Hitting the slopes!

I am so grateful for a husband who knows when I need a break! On Christmas Eve I had a "list" I wanted to accomplish before Christmas. Mainly clean the house and get the goody plates delivered. Jayme knowing I needed to chill and actually have a family day loaded up the car with ice fishing gear and we headed out. Lucky for me the road was closed and he didn't want to take the long way so we found ourselves in Brian Head and decided to check out the tubing hill.

One look at it and I said no way are we going in less I can be with Leta. Long story short they don't allow double passengers and don't have any set age limits, it is left to the parents discretion on whether there child can safely participate. Obviously I stood my ground and said NO Jayme on the other hand declared " What are Dad's for? To raise tough confident children!" So there I stood helplessly next to my child praying she would make it down alive and emotionally intact at the bottom. Okay, so maybe I am a bit over dramatic in the telling of it. But seriously I was scared silly for her. And as you can imagine she breezed through it without tears or injuries and we enjoyed two hours of uninterrupted family time.

So a lesson to all of you sometimes Dad's do know when to push mom aside and help his kid(s) spread there wings :)

Grandmas house!!

After canceling our Elk hunt we decided to make the best of it and head up to my Dad's and (Step)Mom's for a early Christmas fun. We kept it a little lower keyed than some visits, but still fit in a lot of fun. Some things we did where help with projects around the house, caught a movie, saw my (half) Sisters concert , Jayme my (Step)Mom and I went the Handel's Messiah concert and we also made our own Christmas.
We all drew names and then hit the stores it was so fun. On "Christmas Day" we had a candle light dinner and then opened presents and had a good laugh at some of the creativity behind the gifts.

To help bring a Christmas spirit we decided to whip up some icing and make Gingerbread houses except we used Grahm Crackers and despite some hitches in getting everything set up we ended up with some pretty genius creations. A zombie bunker and castle where amid the traditional houses...you have to know my family to not think where insane :)

And of course we took a trip to Albion to Visit Grandma Allen. And enjoyed a visit with her despite the horrific tantrum Leta threw at bedtime.
And we where lucky to make it home without much delay despite the horrible weather.

As you know me by know this post is crowded with pictures :)

.:.Storybook Parade and a visit to St. Nick himself.:.

Leta's first year to Santa was a breeze slapped her adorable Santa dress on and plopped her in his arms, easy peazy. The next year we stumbled across a Santa while in Vegas and she nervously sat through a photo, but when I took her to get it in her Christmas outfit it resulted in me holding her screaming next to Santa. So this year I turned to my favorite parenting tactic to insure a good photo...bribery! And no judging me you would be lying to yourself and everyone else if you deny not falling on the beautiful art of bribery at least once in your "Parenting Journey" ;) So I told her if she sat next to him and took a picture she not only would get a candy cane, but anything she wanted for Christmas, which I new was a safe bribe to resort to since all she wants is Toy Story paraphernalia. So we arrive and another little girl was taking her turn so we used that as a chance to show her how safe he was and when it came her turn she bravely sat there and gave me a cute smile while whispering the whole time "Toy Story, Toy Story" over and over!

Then it was on to the parade, and let me tell you it takes an insane person to sit in the cold to watch a parade for the sake of a few minutes of fun for a child and yet there we sat snapping videos and pictures of all the cute expressions Leta made at the site of some of her favorite characters. Insane? Yep!

*Santa picture will be added later it needs to be scanned :)

Christmas Tree Hunting..And a concert!

Every year I say I am done with the mess and hassle of obtaining a real tree. And yet every year I find myself knee deep in snow scouting out the perfect tree. There is just something about driving around for hours and wading through the snow to inspect all the trees that make it that much more rewarding than pulling out a dusty box and erecting one :)

Leta has been so much fun this year finally getting the concept of what this is all about! She wouldn't have any part in decorating the tree though. In her words "It's poky, MOM!" so she was the ring leader pointing out the perfect spot for the ornaments. Which we turned out didn't have enough for the huge tree I picked out so it's a little on the bare side :)

That night after getting our tree we hurried and got ready for a very special date night. Courtesy of Jayme's brother we got tickets to the Okridge boys concert!! I know, I know we are old fashioned with our music, but come on it's the Oakridge boys how AWESOME is that :) So we met up with his brothers and their dates and Jayme's parents and enjoyed the best concert I have ever been to...Thank you again Guys!