Christmas Day

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I can't belive Christmas has already come and gone. It was such a fun day! This week has just been so much fun. The girls woke up about 7:30 and Chlo came running into our room asking if she could go open her presents. I told her Carlee needed to be awake and Dad needed to put in his contacts. Once that was done I made them wait in the hall while I got the camera out and ready. I remember when I was a kid and my parents made me wait for dumb stuff like that. It drove me crazy, I just wanted to go check stuff out. Now that I'm a mom I can totally see why they did it. Making them wait those few extra minutes actually made it super fun :) The girls were so great and loved what they got. Chlo actually made the comment that she must have been super good this year because she got everything she wanted. It was fun to see how their eyes lit up as they looked around the room. This year I got Dave a double hoop basketball shooting game. It was a heck of a project to put together but he's LOVED it. He's actually been "working out" quite a bit the last few days. I'm SO glad he likes it, I was worried but in vain. He had a great time with it and fortunatly with Pa Nelson's help we were able to finish putting it together for competitions later that day. As if the girls weren't spoiled enough Grandma and Grandpa Nelson came over about 10 and spoiled the girls more than they could have imagined. They got a huge doll house, a shopping cart, and Chlo got a bike. They were so generous and we loved being able to spend some time with them on Christmas day! Marsha also helped me make the Christmas ham. Thanks Marsh!

Once they took off I started putting together the cart and doll house. HOLY COW!!! I thought putting together Dave's game was hard... not even close! That doll house had a million pieces and most of them were double sided. This meant that I had to not only pay attention to which piece went where but which side went which way. I think there were about 200 screws and bolts and I'm guessing I did each one at least twice... It has been one of the girls favorite gifts though, so it was worth it. About one that afternoon the Jackman's came over for Christmas lunch. Of coarse the boys headed straight upstairs to try out the hoop with Dave, Heather and Dad slept and Mom and Julie helped me get lunch ready. My mom made my girls these adorable, hand done, quilted sleeping bag with matching pillow. The girls loved them! Actually, later that night they watched Highschool Musical 2 while laying in them. Dinner turned out okay, I think I cooked the ham a little long so it was a bit dry, but everything else was okay. My dad Loved the jello! I made Aunt Charlene's Knox blocks (a Brough family tradition). They all thought it was funny to see how stiff they were. I made two batches and most of them were gone! About 15 minutes before they had to leave to get Dave and Julie to the airport on time, Julie got a phone call saying their flight was late which meant they'd probably miss their connecting flight in Phoenix... Oh the travel fun huh?? I still have no idea if they made it home okay last night. While they were on the phone with the airlines we had Dad Jackman try out Dave's new "white elephant gift" from the Brough party last week. It was a riot! Most of us were laughing to tears! Thanks Jared! I think we all had a great Christmas, Dave is still enjoying his new GI Joe figurines and is loving setting them all up for battles! Go Dave :) This will be a great Christmas which I'm sure we'll all remember! Thanks everyone! Love you!

Christmas Eve

This year Christmas Eve day was crazy! Dave was an angel and helped me clean the house! He did such a great job I think he's hired :) After cleaning, preping for Christmas Day dinner, wrapping a few presents, and making Christmas cookies we got ready to head over to my parent's house for more festivities. Of coarse that's when the snow started to come! It was almost a straight white out! We were a little hestiant to go, but decided to brave it anyway. Boy are we glad we did! We had such a blast at mom and dad's! The food was fantastic, the family was even better! It was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Jackman there too! It brought back so many memories for me as a kid! Grandpa was armed with his camera and Grandma had her chocolate chip cookies! What could be better??? After dinner we enjoyed a super cute natvitity reproduction. Julie narrated, Carlee and Brian were Mary and Joseph, Chloé was the angel and Dad and Hez were the "sore afraid shepherds". It was such a sweet thing to watch the girls being involved with their extended family. Of coarse after the nativity we had to play some bells! The girls thought this was so great! Chlo was amazing with them and didn't miss a chime! This year mom and dad decided to try something new. We played bingo! Yes, but not just any bingo game, it actually became quite competative and silly. Mom made it so every time you won bingo you got a prize. Now these weren't just any prizes, they were everything from super hero figures (which Dave won and loved) to gift certificates. I think the Home Depot gift certificate and the Target certificate were the favorites. I think everyone had one or the other at least once during the game. SO FUN!! Over all the day was a total success and the snow didn't even really slow us down. :)

Christmas Project with Dad

This Christmas Dave had a great work friend give him this cute little bulldozer to put together and paint. The girls were begging to put it together for a few days, finally Sunday afternoon they pulled it out. They had such a great time and I think it turned out pretty cute! I love watching Dave and the girls spend time together too!

The Lights at Temple Square

Well, we finally did it! We got our girls to Temple Square to see the lights! I've been wanting to do this since Chlo was born! Huh, takes us a while :) Tonight we were able to meet the Jackman family at Temple Square for some light seeing and dinner eating! It was so much fun to spend time with them today. Poor Dave (this would be Julie's Dave) His flight leaving TX was delayed which meant he had to spend the night in Phoenix before he made it here later this afternoon (he was supposed to be here last night...) It was great to have him join with us in the festivities as well. It was super cold and the girls just about froze. I think by the time we got to the car their poor little faces were frozen :) They loved the lights though and ate a super good dinner too! Can't ask for much more than that. We did snap a few pictures and I'll attach some of the better ones... The one of us in front of the temple is actually a typical family picture for us, Dave's eyes are closed and Carlee isn't looking. Oh well, the back drop was amazing as was the company. I'm so gald we're able to spend so much time with family this year. It sure has made the season special for me!

The annual Brough Christmas Party

Yesterday was such an amazing day I just don't know where to start! My girls and I got to spend a huge chunk of the day at Jackman's house with the girls. Julie flew in from TX and so we had the privilege of seeing her. What an angel she is! Mom was great too, she took the girls for me so Julie and I could finish up some shopping. Julie and I had more fun than I've had in a LONG time! It was so great to just shop together and not worry about kids. Right after the shopping, I grabbed my girls and headed over to the Brough party. Oh my goodness! It was So great! I love being able to catch up with all Dave's family. His family is such an amazing group! I always feel so loved and welcomed every time we get together! They are truly celestial people. The party was hosted by Shannon and Jared this year in their new house. Holy cow, it's beautiful!!! They were so nice to let a big group of rowdies into their new home! We also had a very welcomed visitor! Santa came! Dan, Dave's brother, came dressed up as Santa. He did a wonderful job! Just as a side note, both of my girls are beyond terrified of him. When he came in both of them jumped back. The funny thing was Chlo caught on to who it was after he said his first sentence. She looks at me and says, "mom, I won't be scared of that Santa, it's Dan!". What a nut! Carlee still had some serious issues! I even told her it was Uncle Dan and she just couldn't hack it... You'll see in the pictures how excited she was to see him. (By the way, thanks Shan for the great pictures!) Carlee was great to say thank you for her gift and oddley enough she asked where Santa had gone after he'd left... huh, go figure. The annual white elephant exchange was funny this year as well. There were silly Christmas decorations, costumes, salvation army robes, post-it notes, beef sticks and even a remote control powered farting machine (yes, Dave got that one...) It's so great to laugh at all the reactions of those opening gifts. I think the night was a complete success and I was overjoyed when I heard that the Summer Brough party was going to be at our house this next year. YAHOO!!! Bring on the fun!

Carlee turns 3!!

Happy Birthday Carlee! Yesterday was such a great day for our little Carlee. We started off with our family gift exchange. Carlee was so excited to get her long awaited Annabelle doll. (we've had it in our closet for about 2 months now!) She also loved the barbie she got from Chlo and the puzzles she got as well. After enjoying a lunch of purple pancakes, we met Grandma Jackman at the movie theater and saw Alvin and the Chimpmunks. The girls LOVED it! Carlee would dance every time the chipmunks started to sing. I think the girls also enjoyed the two large rootbeer drinks and large popcorn they were able to enjoy, which is the reason I missed the last 5 minutes of the show. (Potty break for Carlee...) After the movie we were able to meet Dave at McDonalds for a healthy dinner of Chicken nuggets and shakes... It was so awesome to come home to a house full of family! Both mine and Dave's family came over to help us celebrate Carlee's birthday! It was awesome! I know Carlee felt so loved and appreciated. I was so touched that so many chose to come over! Carlee and Chlo are still playing with all the new and fun things she was given. I think about every 30 minutes Carlee comes in with something new she wants to try out. All in all it was a fantastic day and I'm so glad Carlee was able to have such a great day to remember!

Dancing the Nutcracker Ballet

Today Chlo had her first dance recital with her new dance group. She did such a great job! She was so excited she was going to be part of the Nutcracker Ballet. She's loved that story for a while now which made this experience for her really special. She was able to be what they called a "party girl". Her costume was beautiful and she looked amazing! She is truly a talented girl! After her performance we gave her a ballerina tree ornament. It was cute watching Grandpa Jackman watch her open it! It was fun to have mom and dad Jackman there to watch Chlo perform! Carlee of coarse couldn't be left out so she stood on her chair and danced with all the groups. It was so funny! I was honestly laughing to tears. I'm sure she was very distracting to others behind us, I just didn't have the heart to tell her to sit down. This morning we had our Ward Christmas party brunch. It was SO SO good! They had Santa come but both girls started crying saying they didn't want to see Santa - so we left... Bummer! Maybe next year :) Tonight Dave and I have his work company party. Huh, so go the holidays! Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Candy, Candy Everywhere!

This past week the girls and I had the opportunity to spend some time with Grandma, Becca and Heather. We had a BLAST!! I think this was Becca's first year at "Jackman candy making". She did a GREAT job! I don't know how many batches of peanut brittle she did, I sure know who I'm going to ask if I want more though! We did burn the first batch of peanut brittle and the English toffee didn't harden... Bummer, but other than that the treats were a success! We made more nut melbas which are definitly a favorite! Of coarse we finished off with a large batch of bratzlies! We had tons of fun making chocolate fly and laughing together! Becca and Heather even learned a dance to perform for us. It was quite entertaining :) They really are pretty good dancers! Before the candy making even started, poor Carlee accidentally spilled a whole glass of lemonade all over Chlo. Poor Chlo had to wear a shirt of Heather's for the rest of the day so we could get her other clothes taken care of. I think she looked pretty cute in the long shirt and she still loved being a big helper! :) Carlee was totally getting into having treats everywhere. When Big B came home for lunch he did a pinkey swear with her making her promise she wouldn't go sneak any more chocolate. All in all it was a fantastic day and we had tons of fun. This has to be one of my favorite days of the year! Merry Christmas!

A Little Taste of Dave

Dave and his buddies at work like to have a little fun. The posted picture is one of those "fun times". I'm glad Dave knows how to work hard, but to play hard too :)

Gingerbread House

So I have to say, once again, that I have the best friends ever. My friend Bohdana Allman totally hooked us up today with the cutest gingerbread house kit, which she made herself!!! The girls had a ball frosting and decorating the house. Oddly enough, Chlo actually didn't go to school today because she has a yucky tummy and feels like she has to throw up... huh, I guess eating frosting and gingerbread help cure that :) Anyway, attached are a few pictures of what we came up with.

Merry Christmas!

Even Carlee was having a great time with the white stuff!

Chloé enjoying a little taste of winter!

IT SNOWED!!!

You know, just when I thought this weekend couldn't get any better, it snowed!!! The girls woke up and immediatly asked if they could go outside. So, after a quick bowl of cereal and some toast we were off! Our back door neighbors have the perfect sledding hill for the girls - they had a blast! After several runs up and down the hill they moved onto the swing set and the trampoline. Carlee thought it was quite silly going down the silde covered in snow. Chlo loved jumping on the tramp with snow going everywhere. We even let our little dog Mitzy outside in the snow for a while. She was quite timid when we first went out but it didn't take her long to love it. She was running and rolling in it. What a nut! All in all it has been a great morning. We are looking forward to staying home today to enjoy some Christmas music, hot chocolate and perhaps some homeade pizza.

Carlee had lots of fun adding things too, we were actually afraid she was going to fall into the tree.

Here's a picture of Dave adding his Spiderman to the tree.

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS

So, tonight we set up the Christmas tree! The girls LOVED it! They had so much fun taking turns putting different items on the tree. Chloé's all time favorite ornament is a Scooby Doo van with a wreath on the front. Carlee loves the bears and the gingerbread men (she liked to break off a body part of each one as she hung the cookie on the tree... you can tell which ones she helped with) Dave got a new decoration this year, a Spiderman hanging upside down. It's actually pretty cool and it goes well with the tree's red theme. Of coarse I have a very fancy red velvet shoe I like to contribute to the tree. I love traditions! We did have a little trama getting the tree moved from the middle of the family room to the actual display spot. As we were dragging our 10 foot tree it tipped and several items fell off. The girls were screaming and running around the room. I'm sure it was quite commical seeing me and Dave hanging on to the tree for dear life. It did end well and the tree is up and all involved are safe :) What a fun start to the holiday season!

Dave and Chlo wanted to find a way to display all the super hero figures we have, this is one of the ideas they came up with this weekend. Both of them had a blast putting it together! Who would have thought Chlo would have liked GI Joe???