January 2017

Man I don't feel like anything has really happened in our lives since we rang in the New Year and for the most part I am glad. However, it does make trying to blog slightly harder. Even though nothing big has happened here, there have been plenty of little things to keep are life moving right along.

Jan. 5- Aunt Kitt came back to Colorado and we were the lucky people that got to pick her up on a icy, cold night. It had snowed earlier and the road were not very good and the original plan had been for me to go pick her up by myself; however, I have the best husband ever and even though he hates driving to Denver the thought of me driving to Denver on roads like that night he hates even more. So, he crammed his dinner in and drove the girls and I to pick up our Aunt Kitt. I am so glad he came. One, because of the icy roads, but two because when we drive places we get to spend some remotely uninterrupted time together as a family. The drive was fairly uneventful and we got Kitt and got her in our toasty car, made a bathroom stop, stopped at a reception and came home.

We found Tia her own restaurant at cellphone lot.

It was so great to have Kitt here. Plus, because it got so slushy during the day and then got super cold that night Kitt said she would try working from our house and if she couldn't get stuff done then she would probably go home if the roads were good. So, I got on my best behavior and left her alone all the way until lunch. That is a long time to leave some one so cool tucked upstairs all by themselves, but it was worth it because she decided to stay. WAHOOO!! She still had to work the rest of the day which was a total bummer, but like I said she stayed and played the next day. WAHOOOO!! The next day was Saturday and everyone had off work. So, we had a good breakfast and went sledding. It was pretty great with all the frozen snow. Plus, we got out early enough that we were able to have the hill to ourselves for a bit.

Gaupo, Tia and Aunt Kitt on top on the hill.

Kylee coming up the hill.

After sledding we decided to go get Tia's new glasses (she broke her other pair), then because I have been wanting new boots and we were by places to look I went and looked and ended up buying my very first pair of boots. Honestly I can't believe I have gone almost 10 winters without them. Oh well, Gaupo isn't promising to move me to warmer climates so I should have at least that many more winters to wear them out in. After doing our shopping, we came home and had lunch. Then the girls took a nap while Kitt and I did some grocery shopping. Then sadly it was time to send Kitt home. We love when Aunt Kitt comes and with the crazy winter weather you never quite now how long until the next party. Oh well, glad we got a long one while we could.

Tia taking a walk the Sunday after Kitt left. She did not want to walk on shoveled sidewalks.

Me and my boots headed for a before Church walk.

Jan. 3- (sorry they are all out of order, but oh well) Tia started Preschool. It has not been as awful as I was thinking it would be and I hate to admit it, but it is kind of nice to have about an hour and half twice a week to just do whatever. I say whatever but really that means run errands or work out. But still it is kind of nice and Tia seems to like it. I can never really get out of her what happens at preschool, but she always wants to go to the park after. I don't know. She talks a lot when she gets home from school and it is so fun to hear her jabber. I feel like she is talking a lot although I don't always understand it, so I guess we are maybe in one of those phases where we are talking more and getting more vocabulary and so my understanding dips a little. However, it seems good so we will stick with it at least through the end of the year. I did get information on how to get some grant money for helping us get some OT and other help, so hopefully we can get that because I really feel like she could benefit from some OT and maybe some direct speech therapy. Either way we will see how that turns out, but it wont be for awhile, but at least I know it is an option.

Jan 5. (Pre Aunt Kitt)- SNOW DAY!!

Kylee and Tia in our 'snow castle'

Kylee, Tia, and Me in our snow castle.

Kylee and Tia looking at each other in the tunnel we made.

Kylee coming through the tunnel.

Tia in the tunnel.

Playing in the snow on Aunt Kitt's car.

Jan. 12- My first day with both girls and Gaupo gone. I went running and took a shower. I also managed to blow dry my hair and throw in a couple loads of laundry. I know totally epic right, but it was still kind of weird to go to the Rec Center and have no kids. It make me feel old and actually I am not that old.

Swim Lessons- Both girls are still going to swim lessons. I think they may be getting burned out. I am not sure, so we will do one more session and then see what happens. They are both doing really well, but sometimes you just need a break from constant lessons, but I don't know. Kylee can do her back float she just can keep her tummy up long enough to do it for very long. She can defiantly roll from her back to her front, but still working on that front to back. She loves jumping in to about 3.5 ft of water. She loves to swim and kick and just be in the water. Tia is loving lessons I think, but does'nt really do what she is told. Although, she can swim under water sort of and she is great at jumping in. She can also get rings off the bottom of the pool if it is a little shallower than three ft. She still loves the water and can do things with help, but as with everything she has got to slow down and focus or its going to be awhile. She like to do things real quick and then move on. However, it looks like we have a consistent teacher so hopefully that will help.

Gaupo- Gaupo has started school again and it is definitely not as bad as it could be. He is taking some pretty heavy classes and we were really worried they would be pretty paper heavy, but luckily that is not the case. He has a couple, but for being online Ethics and Digital something or other it could be way worse. Gaupo still enjoys his job and the people he works with. Pokemon Go is still working its magic (actually Gaupo just informed me it is not Pokemon Go that is getting him going it is his work incentive that is getting him going. He really wants an extra vacation day.) in getting him to ride his bike to work if it is nice weather, which we do still have occasionally here. He also got himself a Fitbit with his Christmas money from his Mom and Dad and totally loves the weekly challenges he has with his mom. His mom get like a billion steps a day, but it helps him at least try to move around.

Me- I am doing good. I am not as active as I hoped I would be, and have tons of sugar around to make that habit a really bad idea. I have really enjoyed being able to get in the pool again and at least feel like I have energy to do the things I want to do. I am still watching Trent and Tori. Most days it is really good. I really miss playing with my kids when they are here. I mean I could, but I just get bossy and don't want to play how they play, so it is kind of better if I just let them do there thing. I still love working with the RS. I work with great sisters and we have a great ward. It is always interesting to see how the Lord uses us to do his work. Other than that I am not doing much just kind of living the life of a mom, which is totally awesome. I have great kids who keep my life interesting. I get to watch two other kids who make it that much more crazy. I have a great husband who loves when I handle everything great and when I don't. My life is not what I thought it would, because it is so much better. I wouldn't change it for anything. Just to spolight one of my favorite mom things...the park even in winter. (taken about two weeks ago)

Tia, Tori, and Kylee making a train down the slide.

Our Happy New Year

New Year's Eve Eve (Gaupo worked had his Friday/Saturday switcheroo, so he had to work New Year's Eve) was so great and it all stemmed from a small discussion Gaupo and I had the night before. When we went to bed the night before, I told Gaupo "We have to do something tomorrow we have wasted this entire break. Well, we have need the rest and the chill period, but we are well and this is our last chance to do something with just us before the break is over."

He replied, "You are right what do you want to do?"

I said, "Go ice skating."

That said we woke up the next morning, and got ourselves out of bed. We had breakfast which I think didn't end up being what I wanted it to be, but you know what it was still good and whatever we had made for a great rest of the day. So, we had breakfast and then we went to Roosevelt Park (home of both the ice rink and the most Pokemon Stops). We took the girls bike and they rode them to the playground where we played for awhile. They have a new slide there and it is really tall and twisty so the girls had tons of fun going up and down that. Then when they were finished with that, we continued around the park. When they got to the ice rink they wanted to go right then, but we made then finish the loop and put their bikes in the car and then we went. It was really pretty fun. Kylee did great. She did some with the walker and even tried a bit on her own. I was so proud of her because she tried new things, fell a few times, let me go around and then come back to her, and she didn't even cry it was awesome. Tia on the other hand wasn't that thrilled with it. She had a really hard time staying up, she really couldn't move that fast, and it was hard. However, she tried it and endured it for awhile and then Gaupo took her around the park some more while Kylee and I skated. The weather was so gorgeous that it really was the perfect day for this activity.

Kylee skating with the walker.

Kylee on her own, but with Dad close by just in case.

Gaupo and the girls.

Kylee, Tia and Me.

We left the park around noon and headed back home for lunch and naps. We all napped and it was so great. I woke up first which was great because I was able to get the crab dip started. Crab dip gets better with time, so it is really better if you can make it a day or two in advance. Then after naps, we went on a Pokemon walk around the high school. Then I am not sure what we did (that is why I should blog sooner about these things.) I actually think I made dinner because we decided on Pretzel dogs and I had to get the dough and stuff started, so while I was doing that I think the others watch Curious George. After the dough was made, everyone helped me finish making dinner. Then we enjoyed dinner together and then sent the girls to bed. Then we watch the movie Hoodwinked Too, and went to bed.

Like I said Gaupo had to work New Year's Eve until five, so most of the day was spent just doing our thing. Although I did get some sand toys from our neighbors donate pile, and right before I needed to make dinner for the missionaries, we dashed over to the volleyball sand pits by my house and played in the sand. Then we rushed home to make dinner.This year for New Years Eve night we were by ourselves. We thought about different people we could have over and we even got invited to our friend's New Years bash, but Gaupo had some plans and kind of wanted to do our own things, so I obliged.That said we didn't completely do it alone. We did have the missionaries over for dinner that night. We had pizza rolls, crab dip, seven layer dip, hummus, fresh pinapple, fudge, and brownies and ice cream. If I do say so myself, it was really good food. We had it for a few days after and it was so good I am so glad we had some help eating it, but I am so glad we had leftovers too. It was great to have the missionaries over. Sadly it had to be kind of rushed because they were suppose to be in by six, but Gaupo couldn't get home until about 5:30. However, they enjoyed the food and we enjoyed having them here. It was a great way to kick off New Years Eve.

After they left we cleaned up dinner quickly and then hoped in the car to go look at Christmas lights. It was so fun. We had fun pointing out all the lights to each other, taking the time to slow down and look around, and then just visiting and talking between places. It was so great. To be truthfully honest, Kylee did not want to do this particular activity, but finally consented since we said she could pick the next activity. So, she endured the light (thought she really did enjoy it) and then we came home. So, the next activity was of course Kylee's choice and she wanted to watch Picachu. I know it is kind of crazy how involved our little family is with Pokemon, but you know what the shows really are pretty good and the game gets us out together, so it is not all bad. The only part I don't like is that it is a lot of media (video game and TV). Oh well, you can't win them all. So, anyway we watched an episode of that and then it was Tia's turn for an activity. Tia wanted to play a game. She chose Life on the Farm. It is kind of a long game when you play by the rules, but we adapt it a little, so that our girls can play a whole game. We will teach them the real rules when they can sit a little longer. So we played that game, Find the Treasure (we call it the Ogre game), and Let's Go Fishing. After all those games, it was time for baths and the first ringing in of the New year. We had Powerade and taught the girls about clinking glasses, then cheered it in and sent them to bed at about 8:30. I actually really enjoyed spending some of New Years Eve actually doing New Year's Eve type stuff. It was fun to see how the girls kind of thrived on being part of the celebrations. My kids are growing and it so crazy to me that they can even do that kind of thing, but so fun.

The 'clinking' demo.

The group toast.

Kylee drinking in the New Year.

Tia drinking in her New Year.

After they were tucked into there hallway beds (yes, they still fall asleep at the top of the stairs) it was time for Gaupo and I to eat more food and play more games. However, first we got showered and everything, so that when it was midnight we could ring in the New Year and go to bed. This year we didn't really eat that much more food because we were stuffed from dinner; however, we did indulge in some more fudge and probably some dip. Then we played a couple of games. We played Pandemic, which is actually not too long of a game, but because we had to learn to set it up and how to play it took awhile. It was a really fun game. Pandemic is a cooperative game which means you either all win or you all lose. We have a few of these games now and I think Pandemic is one where you all have to work together because if you don't talk about what you are going to do disease spreads and before you know it you lose. So, it being late at night and having had an eventful day our cooperation was not as great as it should have been and we lost. However, we have learned from that fateful night and have since made much better decisions in the game. Also it has helped us in a lot of our games. Anyway, it finished a little after 11:30, so we watch Hogan Hero's and then we we toasted in the New Year with sparkling grape juice and then went to bed. It really was a great end to 2016.

My Pregnancy Loss

**I tried not to get too detail, but if I did get a little too detailed for you I am sorry.

So, Christmas was great it truly was, but during all the travel, holiday prep, and Christmas was something else. That something else was suppose to be a joyful announcement that after what felt like an eternity (only 6 months of trying) I was finally pregnant. However, I went into the doctor on Dec. 13th for my first prenatal check. I would have been about 8ish weeks. I went in hoping that the reason I was not feeling really tired and stuff was just because I had a lot going on, remember we were sick and that I was being blessed to have the energy I needed. Well, as you probably can now guess that was not the case. The nurse practitioner did an ultrasound and could not find the heartbeat and the baby was measuring really small, but it was there and in the right place. So, she told me she wasn't sure if it was alive or not and that I could get some blood work done to give an idea if I had lost the baby or not, or I could wait a week come back for an ultrasound and then we would know for sure. So, with that news I called Gaupo and told him that the ultrasound had not gone well and I would probably be miscarrying. Then we proceeded to discuss if we should go to AZ or not, because WHAT IF something happened while we were traveling, plus we were already considering not going do to sickness. After our discussion about that and if I should go do the blood work, he recommended I call my mom.

I did call my mom. She was great and supportive. We talked together, cried together, and cried some more, My mom is a brave and strong woman and even though she wanted to see us super bad she knows how scary miscarrying can be thought that it might be best if we stayed home, but I should definitely do the blood work. With that advice and love I drove right to the lab for the first blood draw. I had to wait because they didn't order it in the 25 minutes or so that it took me to drive there, but luckily we got it and did the test and went home. I turned on Curious George for Tia and looked at the cancellation policy for our flights. I could get a voucher for the amount, but we had to use it before February 13th. That was great minus the little fact, we really had no time to travel between now and then. So, I just thought about it and waited for Gaupo to come home so we could really talk about it.

By the time Gaupo got home for lunch, I was bleeding and had a call into the doctor. They called me back and said that it was probably just spotting from the vaginal check, but also gave me a heads up of what to expect if I was starting to miscarry. So, Gaupo and I talked about vacation plans and what to do. We couldn't come up with a for sure answer, so we took a nap and went on with the day. Gaupo had to work late that night, so I think I blogged. To be honest I am not sure what I did except that the next day was the day we were celebrating Tia's birthday, so I made her birthday sign and got the balloons out. Then Gaupo came home I am sure I badgered him about vacation again, but once again couldn't quite get ourselves to cancel it and it came down to the fact that we didn't feel like it would be bad if we went, so we decided to go ahead and go.

We all slept in on Wednesday a little, but managed to wake up and get Gaupo off to work in the nick of time. All morning I kind of thought about what to do, but had pretty much decided to go to AZ. I decided that what I needed more than anything was my family. Even if I had tons of pain and bleeding why would I want to be alone in Colorado. I know that is so selfish because I totally would have ruined the time we had together, but I really couldn't stand the thought of if nothing happened to wait here for it to happen by myself (Guapo, Tia, and Kylee included in the myself). So, Kitt got here Wednesday around lunch and shortly after she got here I told her what was up. I told her about the baby, about being sick, and that we were going to AZ anyway. She acted like a champ. She was shocked, supportive, and great. Anyway, by this time I knew my bleeding was not spotting because it started again and was acting more like a period this time. So, we celebrated Tia's birthday as you know. Then Thursday morning I rushed to the lab for the blood draw while Kitt finished some work and Gaupo watched the kids. Then we went to AZ which is in the other post. It was a great trip. I bled the whole time, but besides being sick with a super sore throat it was normal and great. (tender mercy) I did also receive the call from the lab telling me that my hormone levels had dropped from about 10,000 to 7,000. (They would have gone up with a viable pregnancy.)

We got back from AZ and things were just in vacation mode. I had a follow-up doctor visit on that Thrusday (22nd). I was pretty sure what the doctor was going to say so I didn't make Gaupo go. The doctor did another ultrasound and found the baby but it hadn't grown and still didn't have a heart beat, and so he said he would say that the baby was dead. So, then of course he said I had choice of what I could do. I could have another D&C, take some medicine that made the uterus contract, or just wait and see if my body would do it on its own. I knew for sure that I did not want a D&C, and I had considered taking the medication, but I knew that my body could do this it just needed time. I told the doctor that I would just see if my body could handle it. He said that was fine, but he couldn't tell me when it was going to happen, so it could happen anytime. I was fine with that because other than loving my kids I didn't have any plans. After all that we went home and lived life.

Like I said in the Christmas post we got everything ready for Christmas and had a great Christmas. My bleeding was steady, but nothing heavy and no cramping. That is until Christmas night. That night Gaupo and I played games till a little after nine and then were headed to bed. I told Gaupo that I was pretty sure that I was starting to cramp and that this was the real deal. I was pretty sure it would finish tonight. However, me being me decided to get ready for bed and thought myself well I am sure if it gets bad I will wake up. Well, I didn't wake up and I did indeed finish miscarrying the baby. There was a lot of blood, but I knew that my body had done what it needed to do.

A couple days later I went in for the final ultrasound to make sure everything had cleaned out properly. It had and now all I have to do is wait for the bleeding to stop (I think it is finishing up) and have a negative pregnancy test and then things should all be ready for what we want to do next.

I am so sorry if that is too much information for any of you, but I needed to write it down because one day someone might need to know what happened. My girls might need to know that I did indeed go through some things that were not what I had planned, but its okay. The Lord has a plan and even though I really, really wanted a baby to come home from the hospital with us and live in our home in 9 months and that didn't happen Heavenly Father was in the detail of this experience. I know most people would think that Christmas is such an awful time to lose a baby and its definitely not great, but I don't think there is ever a good time for it. Anyway, this year it happened to be the perfect time because I wasn't alone. I was with my family for a few days and then with the holidays when they were Gaupo was home more from work and I had my kids to myself. We could cuddle up with books, sleep in, eat breakfast late, and just chill with just us. It was perfect it is exactly what I needed to help me though this. I need people, especially my family and they were able to be with me. Also, the Lord know that I am a terrible waiter. Waiting for labor to start with Derek was so annoying, so I feel very blessed that I was not awake for when the cramping got bad and then waiting for it to finish. I feel so blessed that Gaupo was home the next day, so I could take care of things and not have to watch the kids on my own. There are so many things that were just so perfect. The story itself is not, but the fine detail are. Heavenly Father knows me and my family and he is taking care of us.

I don't know the Lord's plan and I hope that sometime in this life I will get to bring another sweet spirit home to live and grow and be a sibling to the sweet girls I already have, but I don't know the timing of all that. I honestly don't know why this one didn't make it and why we have to keep waiting, but I do know that I have learned a lot. I thought Gaupo and I had grown close with Derek and we did, but I think we have grown a little closer through this too. My love for my children and Trent and Tori has grown. I have had the reminder to slow down and enjoy them. To take time to cuddle, to talk, to read, to explain, and to love. God did not create the storms in my life, but He prepares and helps me through them. I know He loves me.

And just in case your wondering how I am doing, I am doing really well. It is taking awhile to get back on track. It is now about a month since I found out my baby probably wouldn't make it and I am barely starting to get my life back on track. I have started working out again. This week was the first week I have done more than one day. I have actually made dinner a couple times this week, which has been really hard to focus on before. I still have trouble getting out of bed in the morning and seizing that beautiful time of day, but hey after a month I feel like the steps I have made this week are worth commending. So, we are getting back to normal, slowly but surely. Don't forget--God love me and you and he takes care of us in good time and bad. We just have to wait on Him.

Together Forever. Families are Forever.

Christmas 2016

Between being sick and going on vacation Christmas arrived in no time. I really could have probably used another week before Christmas to just sit back and enjoy, but that of course wasn't going to happen so we just held on for the ride. I usually make jammies for the family for Christmas, but this year I just could not wrap my head around going out an getting the fabric. I know that is so lame, but my go to fabric place went out of business and I just couldn't justify driving about an hour to go to a just fabric store, and honestly Hobby Lobby kind of overwhelms me because there are so many hobbies going on. Anyway, I decided Gaupo and I didn't really need them and we found some super cute pink sweats with glittery hearts for the girls, so we bought those and called it good. However, I still really wanted to make the girls something. I know it is kind of crazy, but when you work on something for someone it gives you time to think about them and think about what they will do with it and stuff like that. So, for me it really kind of helps ring in the Christmas spirit. With this desire in mind I decided that I would make the girls some "queen Elsa's." Luckily, I mentioned this while I was at home visiting and Kara had found this super cool furry fabric type stuff and she said  I  could have some if I wanted it. I took her up on the offer and I am so glad I did. The project itself was pretty simple, but I really like how they turn out. Anyway, like I said I talked about this project when I was at home and then I bought the other material I needed on Tuesday morning, so I didn't have a lot of time to pull these together. Good thing they were simple. I made most of Tia's on Tuesday night and then for some reason I couldn't do it on Wednesday or Thursday, but I was able to finish them both on Friday. They turn out good. It is not perfect craftsman ship, but they still float out nicely as the girls run around the loop while listening to let it go.

So, between making these "queen Elsa's" and doctors appointments we didn't really do much leading up to Christmas. However, I did enjoy just being with my girls. We woke-up and got Gaupo off to work just in time almost every morning. Then we would cuddle up on the couch together and read books then finally I would mossy upstairs to get dressed. The we would come down make breakfast and then either play and/or run errands. I wasn't working out because I liked being lazy and just having my own two kids. I also didn't spend tons of time getting ready because I was still wearing glasses to make sure my pink eye was all cleared up. It was so great. Vacation spoils you, but oh man it is so great. Anyway, there were no super big events leading up to Christmas just some quality getting better and chilling together time.

Christmas Eve though is when the festivities started. I had gone shopping earlier in the week, but of course managed to miss a couple of things that we needed/wanted. So, we went to Wal-Mart in the morning. Luckily it wasn't too busy and we got what we needed. Then we by Gaupo's co-worker Ronda's house. She was suppose to come over for Christmas Eve dinner, but she wasn't feeling good. We dropped by because she wanted to give the girls her Christmas gift. She was so nice she picked out some great things for the girls and us. She wanted the girls to open it when they got home and not one to disobey opening present orders we did just that. They got coloring pages, Queen Elsa ornaments, a big box of crayons and candy. She also gave me a couple of light-up snowman ornaments. They are super cute. So the girls were of course all about trying out their new things. The coloring pages have been perfect. Kylee has colored tons of them and done a great job at staying in the lines. It was so great. So, while the girls were entertained with that, I made crescent roll dough so it could rise. Then we went on a walk I think and had lunch. 

After lunch and settling down for naps for a bit it was time to make rolls. I love crescent rolls. They are so good. They are totally worth all the clean up. So, anyway I was making the rolls and decided that my neighbors needed some. So while the last batch was in, we ran over there and got to chatting with them. Luckily we remembered the rolls before they were too burned. I talked to the neighbors for awhile which was great. They were probably like "Man, why is she here and still talking." (okay I have great neighbors so they probably weren't thinking this, but I needed some socialization after a week of isolation due to sickness.) So, after a good visit there and a friendly nudge from Gaupo to get going back home. We rushed back over in time for our home teachers to drop by and visit for a minute and leave us with a delicious plate of cookies and a container of fudge, They invited us over to hangout, but we were anticipating Christmas Eve dinner, so we had to turn them down.

 After they left, we quickly jumped in the car and went back over to Ronda's house to deliver her some rolls, and peach jam. She was grateful for both, so I am glad we went. Then we came home and got the potatoes in. Then I think we just played until they were done, but we may have gone outside for a walk or something. I don't know for sure, but time passed and it was time for dinner. Kylee really wanted it by candlelight, so we obliged and enjoyed a dimly lit dinner. It was kind of fun to have the glow of Christmas lights and candles with dinner. I currently don't have real candles, just electric ones and they are not quite as bright, so I think I may need to invest in some real ones. Anyway. we had part of our whole plan. I spent to much time chatting that we didn't have enough time to do it all. So we just had ham, cheese potatoes, corn casserole, and rolls. It was super good. Then we got the meal cleaned up. Then the girls opened their jammies and we got baths taken and kids in bed. 

After the kids were in bed it was time for us parents to get presents wrapped. I know it is so sad that we didn't have hardly any of the kids presents wrapped by Christmas Eve, but we got them all wrapped and then we visited for a bit and took our own showers in preparation for the Sabbath and then went to bed.

Christmas morning dawned early for Kylee, but the poor kid had to wait until about 8:00 before she could go downstairs. We waited and waited for Tia and finally it got late enough that I had to start getting a little bit ready for church, so that we could get there when we needed to. Luckily the running water and getting ready noises caused Tia to wake-up, so we could go see what Santa brought.

Santa was generous as always. He left us a Santa breakfast of cereal, and pop-tarts. He also left the family some microwave popcorn, and a one pound Hersery bar and a one pound Reese's cup. That was just the family stuff he left all of us our own treasures as well. I got some hair clips I have been wanting, candy, my favorite fruit snacks, some cool socks, and white board markers. Kylee and Tia both socks, candy, Frozen fruit snacks, white boards, white board markers, headbands, and slinkys. Tia also got some monkey's in a barrel. Gaupo got a lot of candy, some peanuts, toothbrush heads, and tie. Santa was good to us and it was fun to watch the girls eyes light up with all the candy, socks, and toys. We got stockings done, had a quick Santa breakfast and then got ready for church.

Kylee and Tia with their stockings.

Kylee looking at her new socks.

Tia and her stocking.

Me and my stocking.

Gaupo being silly and telling the girls he wasn't going to open his.

Kylee with what she wanted for breakfast from Santa.

Tia with what she thought we should have for breakfast.

Church was a combine meeting with all three wards in our building. It started at 10 and was presided over by a member of the stake presidency. It was a musical thing. They had a couple of special numbers but mostly it was a narration and combine with Hymns that the congregation sang. It was a nice meeting and we had fun going to church on Christmas. The girls did pretty good with it although Tia was a little confused about why we were going home and not to nursery when the meeting was over. However, she became really okay with it when we told her we needed to go home to open presents. 

Almost as soon as we entered the house the girls were all about getting into the presents. I had to run upstairs to put my shoes away and Guapo said, "You need to get downstairs or everything might be open." So, I hurried down there, but they hadn't opened anything yet. Gaupo helped the girls hand out the presents and then we took turns opening them. It is always funny to open presents at our house because Gaupo always wants to just keep going around and I am totally fine if it takes forever and the kids play with each thing as soon as they open it. So, we do a little bit of both and it works good. The girls got a lot of wonderful things and some much needed things. They have loved playing with everything they got. We now have quite a stash of Duplos, TinkerToys, Pony's, and plastic puppies. We also have a floor puzzle that the girls love doing and some new clothes. Gaupo and I got a few new games and Gaupo got Kenex and I got some Essential Oils I have been wanting. It was a great Christmas. In preparation, I felt kind of bad because I felt like it was really simple, but when it all got unwrapped and gone though I am so glad it was as simple as it was because they got plenty of treasures and love.

Tia and her 'Queen Elsa.'

Kylee and her 'Queen Elsa.'

Kylee excited about more leggings.

Gaupo opening his 'big' present. Kenex from the girls.

Kylee had her eyes on this package because it was so big. It was a baby carrier.

Tia opened her presents in her swimsuit.

Me opening gifts.

After presents we had lunch and naps. Then we video chatted with Grandma for a bit and got dinner ready and talked to Oma and Papa for a bit. Then we enjoyed a Christmas feast of mainly leftovers, but added the things I didn't have time to make the day before like sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. It was a tasty dinner and tons of fun. After diner got cleaned up the girls wanted to watch a movie, so we watched the Nativity and Mr. Kruger's Christmas. After the girls were in bed, I called my Grandpa and then Gaupo and I played a new game. We played the game I got called Forbidden Island. It is a great game because it doesn't take much time to setup or play and it is a cooperation game (a game where you all win or all lose).

I love Christmas in my own house. I really do miss being with family and not seeing anyone else on Christmas, but I love that we can do our own traditions and way of doing things. We don't have everything figured out yet, but its fun to figure it out together and to think about each other and be with each other. I love watching my kids play with each other and explore there new toys. I love that a Christmas bomb can go off in my house and I don't have to clean it up too much, because its just us. I love to be with my family. It was really nice to have Gaupo have the day after Christmas off this year because then it made the Holiday spread out that much longer. Honestly we didn't use the day other than to just be together, take the car to the shop, take walks, play with toys, watch a movie, and play games, but we were all together and that is what really mattered. Another great Christmas!!