A Very Merry Christmas

Santa made it! Christmas morning was the best one ever! After we woke Kate up, Dave told her that Santa left some presents for her downstairs. She replied, "I want to see him!" Well, when we went downstairs, he had left, but there were dollhouses, games, puzzles, movies, and many other toys to discover.This year was definitely a fun one for not only Kate, but for her parents who got to watch her. We had other viewers too. We invited the grandparents over to watch Kate(since none of them have kids at home anymore).

Here's Kate opening her Zhu Zhu pet (the toy of high demand but little supply this year)... After the grandparents left, we made a little adjustment to one of Kate's toys--her new Ken doll. You see, he was a bit of a long-haired hoodlum. Ken is a tough doll to find, and when you want the complete Barbie doll family for Kate to play with, beggars can't be choosers. We had to take what we Santa gave us. Well, the long hair was nothing that a pair of scissors couldn't fix!

You can see the anguish in his eyes looking at all that lost hair...

Sorry, Ken!

But what a happy family now that Ken's a grown-up!

Later that afternoon, we visited Hayden and Parker to see what they got, and then ventured over to my parents' house. They greeted us with way-too-generous of gifts, but then that's how my parents always did Christmas. Grandma Sherrie whipped up an amazing meal as always, we napped a little on the couch, and then got to talk to Mike in Thailand! I was a little sad that Kate was so sleepy; I wanted Mike to hear how grown-up she is. I guess he'll discover that in about 7 months when he gets back!! It made us all miss him, but reminded us of how proud of him we are!

Kate and Papa Lyle

Grandma Nelson, Baby Sasha, and Kate

Anyway, that's Christmas 2009. It will be a tough one to beat on the fun scale, but I'm sure it will happen, year after year. I feel so lucky to have my little family and the knowledge of the gospel; it really makes Christmas time extra special. If you didn't already, read all about our awesome Christmas Eve in the post below...

Christmas Eve

It was another fabulous Christmas Eve to be recorded in the Book of Time! We trade off Christmas Eve's each year, and this year we celebrated with Dave's fam. Our night consisted of a ridiculous feast composed of mouth-watering King Crab legs, ribs, shrimp, ham, turkey, and an assortment of sides. After the feast, the grandkids performed a number of talents in a talent show. Kate had been practicing her talent for a week of two.

Here she is performing "Once Upon A Dream," accompanied by her Grandma Sandra...

(If you watch and listen to the ending of this video clip, you'll notice the applause she gets. She's quite the star. You'll also notice two uncles imitating Kate afterwards; just disregard them)!

Next, came the Nativity. Sandra assigned Dave and me to revamp it this year. Dave worked hard at creating programs and scripts, and then I helped (a little) with the new donkey, camel, and sheep costumes. We made enough costumes for all the (unmarried or unmissionary'd) grandkids to have a role...the older ones were thrilled ;)! If you squint, you can see down on the bottom row a very CUTE angel; we're so proud she belongs to us!Afterwards, we opened gifts. We got a lot of great things. Both mine and Dave's favorite gift was a pen made from a tree on the Smith Family Farm located next to the Sacred Grove. Dave's parents served their mission there last year. A tree was struck by lightning, and when the pruning crew came to clean up the scrap wood, Reese asked if they wouldn't mind him keeping a branch. They agreed, and he has since used the wood to make oil viles and pens for people as gifts.

Kate liked her new jammies, and opening presents side by side her BFC (Best Friend Cousin), Cammie.

Along with many other fun presents, Kate also scored a cute (matching) Cabbage Patch Doll. We had to laugh when we discovered the doll's name--Prudence Carmelita; someone at the Cabbage Patch Factory had a good laugh about that one I'm sure. Kate has since renamed her "Kate." We think the name is very fitting since the doll has the same big blue eyes and brown hair as her new mommy.

After presents, we enjoyed dessert, went home, and got Kate to bed at 10:30pm! Good thing Santa started his journey on the South-Eastern hemisphere this year, or he might have passed us by.

Wants and Can't Wants

Tonight is a special night at the Blackhurst home. Kate is sleeping in a big girl bed for the very first time.

This all came about after a little heart-to-heart conversation Kate had with Dave the other night. As they were in rocking just before bed, she confided, "Dad, I can't want my bed. I'm too big." Dave (caught off-guard) said, "No, your crib is just your size." She then, reaffirmed, "No, I'm too big; I can't want it" (which, in truth, she is too big for it).

There happens to be an explanation for her not being in a big-kid bed earlier. For starters, Kate never mastered the skill of climbing out of her crib (not a lot of upper body strength going on there). Because of this, she's still been good about taking naps. Any parent would agree, naptime is a beautiful thing, and I for one, wasn't in a rush to lose it.

After hearing this conversation, however, my heart sunk. I realized naptime isn't so important as her self-esteem!!! Have you ever known a 2-year-old to be aware of such a thing? I guess if she's big enough to realize that sleeping in a crib in uncouth, she's big enough for a big girl bed, and old enough to give up naps too.

Anyway, we went out Saturday and bought her a bed. Then yesterday (after going to our niece, Allyssa's, dance recital) we went and purchased all of the bedding. Then tonight Dave set it all up for her.

Here she is trying it on for size

Hopefully, she CAN want this bed. We think it's pretty cute!

The Goose is Getting Fat

I love the holidays; there's so much togetherness and magical memories to be had. This year has been no exception. We've been filling our days plump full with fun, which has been both exciting and exhausting. Through it all, I still can't believe Christmas is this week!!!

Here's a look at what we've been up to this last week:

1. LIGHTS, LIGHTS, LIGHTS!

We were able to visit both the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork and Holiday Lights at Thanksgiving Point this year. Both places offered perks that the other didn't. For example, Thanksgiving Pt. had live reindeer to pet, hot chocolate to buy, and Ryan, Dren, and the boys as company.

Here's Kate telling Dasher to put in a good word for her with the old man

Spanish Fork, on the other hand, featured Cinderella's castle (that's what Kate called it), and only cost $5 bucks for a night of endless enchantment (I say 'endless' because the enchantment doesn't have to end; they let you circle the place as many times as your little heart desires).

BUT...after some careful analysis and evaluation on mine and Dave's part, we've chosen a winner of the holiday light extravaganzas. Are you ready for this? We dub thee, Spanish Fork, the victor. Cheer, cheer; hooray, hooray!

Here's how we figured...

First of all, it's set in a little cove filled with trees and a serene lake; the setting alone makes for an unfair advantage. The lights are better there too, and we didn't have to line up for 20 minutes just to get in. On the down side, it's a bit of a commute getting there, and you DO have to deal with hillbillies once there; don't think you can avoid them! Let's just say, if your car is new enough to have daytime running lights, you might get a few dirty looks and yells; at least we did. Still, it makes for a pretty fun night.

Here's Kate driving us through the lights. As soon as she got a hold of the wheel she yelled, "Watch out! Coming through!" Oh, our little child; not sure where she came from.

2. FRIENDS

Tuesday night, Dave took Kate to Temple Square with the youth from our ward. Scary, right? It was an extremely nice gesture on his part...all so I could enjoy a night out with my roommates from Slow Knowledge. I didn't see these girls for years, until recently we've started setting up quarterly get-togethers; something that filled a void I didn't realize was there.

Me, Jamie, Tara, Allyson:

I went to Snow with Tara, who happened to be one of my best friends in high school. While there, we met Jamie and Allyson. I now see Jamie and her cheery personality on a near-daily basis since we teach at the same school. And as for Allyson, she is one I wish I could see on a daily basis; no one has better stories than that chick, and is probably the one person I learned the most from while at college. She is hoping for another adoption so if you people know of any babies that need a mom, I'd suggest her in a heartbeat.

Anyway, we met up at the Pizza Factory for dinner and then visited at my place afterwards.

3. PARTIES!

Last Saturday we went to the Argyle Family Christmas party and dinner. We had soups and sandwiches for a fun change this year. Santa and his elf also made an appearance. Kate, of course, had no trouble sitting on St. Nick's lap. From birth, she's had a clear understanding that TRUE FRIENDS bear gifts (a good lesson for anyone wanting to become better friend's with the Blackhurst's). ;)

Then on Sunday, we met with the Nelson side at Aunt Lori's. It was a potluck dinner, and my sweet aunt arranged games and prizes for the kids. Bless that woman...I think that without her, we'd never get to see that side of the family.

On Friday, we went to Dave's Professional Dental party at the new Rodizio Grill in A.F. I hadn't been there for years, and didn't remember the food being anything special. This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised; it was every bit as good as Tucano's, and everyone sitting at our table made for a good time.

So that's last week in a nutshell. We can't wait for Santa to come this week; Kate's been a good girl and will probably score some cool toys, making it especially fun for us to see her reactions.

Mo Tab Concert

It was a cold, but eventful Thursday night. We were one of a few thousand people lucky enough to score tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert, starring Natalie Cole and David McCullough. This was our first time going (since the show's beginning 40 years ago), and after last night, we'd love to go every year...if we could just figure out a way to get tickets each year.

Anywho, the whole show was awesome; the decorations, the music, the entertainment, and the overall ambiance. Natalie Cole was great. David McCullough, did some narrating (he's the history buff author that wrote all those snoozer, but #1 best-selling history books, ie. 1776). He was actually delightful as well. The best part was an organ solo, in which the dude played two different Christmas songs at once; he was really incredible, and got A LOT of applause.

The only negative remarks I could make about the show was, first of all, the ballerinas. I think they were from the U, and looked totally unrehearsed. I kept thinking, "Gosh, they could have practiced like everyone else"; a total disappointment. Secondly, our seats were kind of crappy. We sat on the balcony in the section closest to the wall. It would have been better to be in a more central seat, but I guess I can't complain since we got to go.

fuzzy wuzzy was a...

After the show, we got to walk through Temple Square and see the place all lit up. I couldn't help but be reminded of my sweetie who proposed to me there 8 years ago. Aww, tender.

Once we got to our car, it took like 10 years to get out of parking garage; bleh...

Oh, well, it was a very nice evening out!

***Oh, and while we're being all tricky and uploading pictures, I thought I'd throw in this pic:This is me, with two friends from my ward, Tiffany and Bree, making friends with author, professor, speaker, etc. etc. Brad Wilcox. He spoke at "Relief Society" the other night, and I thought "I may want a picture with this dude someday." I had no shame and here's proof.

Old People & the Pope

After reviewing this weekend's agenda, one might mistake Dave and me for a couple of seniors. I can't believe it, but we actually spent two nights in a row at the Hale Center Theater. Dave's sister heard this and told us she's going to line us up with some younger couples. I think that might be step in the right direction.

Thursday night we went with Dave's parents to "A Christmas Carol." It was a good show except that we had the awkward, front-row seats; if you've been to this theater you'll know what I mean. Dave especially hated his seat; he sat on the corner of the front row where the actors entered and exited the stage. Anytime the women walked past in their big dresses, Dave's head would unfailingly end up underneath (for a show of another sort).Friday night we came back for some more thespian action to see "A Children's Christmas Carol," which was pretty much the same play except acted out by kids (our neice, Baylee, had a part). This time we sat back on the fourth row (Ppphheeewww!) and took our little Kate with us. Kate loved waving at Baylee every time she was on stage, although a return wave was never given. Kate also commented, "I've seen this show!" which she had...only in cartoon form, from "Mickey's Christmas Carol." It was a cute show and Baylee did a great job.

Saturday night we held the annual adult Blackhurst Christmas Dinner & Gift Exchange. We usually reserve the library room at The Roof, but because we were unable to get reservations this year, we scheduled the Pope's Table at Buca Di Beppo. Hate to say it, but it was way better food at much more affordable prices. This year, we mixed things up a bit. We made a rule that all gifts in the exchange had to be gift cards. Dave and I ended with up the gift cards we brought--a University Mall gift certificate, and Williams Sonoma gift card (which we were happy about). Next year, the rule will be no gift cards, which should make for some interesting gifts.

The real icing on the cake from the evening, had to be 8 adults all riding together in Steve and Becky's SUV. I decided we must really like each other to be willing to squish and suscept ourselves to fun little games like "Corners" while driving together.

It was a totally fun night that involved lots of laughs and food (a great combination). I've always been so glad that I married into that family.

One Little Monkey Jumping On the Bed...

She fell off and broke her foot!

So here's the story...

Saturday-We spent the evening at Lindsay and Paul's place. Super fun; adults were in the kitchen eating Olive Garden take-out, while the kids played in the toy room (or so we thought). Along came a 'thud', followed by a little cry, and then we discovered the girls in the bedroom. One monkey (Sabrina) was still on the bed, while our little monkey was on the floor crying about her foot.

The crying subsided after only a couple of minutes, and we figured all was well.

Sunday-Kate had a little limp, but didn't act too bothered by it. She played great at her new "big-kid" nursery class (even spent most of the time playing like she was a kittie, supposedly). Later that night, she ran around with cousins.

Monday-Kate was still limping. Grandma Sandra talked us into taking her to the doc. I was sure it was just a twisted ankle, but took her anyway. After 3 sets of waiting rooms, some x-rays at the hospital, and a very uncomfortable moment in which Kate pointed to an extremely large woman and said out loud, "She's big!" I was very shocked to learn that she had two fractures in her right foot. I immediately felt so sorry for not taking her sooner.

The doc said the fractures were kind of inset on her foot, and in a place where she doesn't put a lot of weight and pressure down...so I guess we were kind of lucky. She'll have to wear her cast for 3 weeks.

Kate was a little unsure about the cast at first, but once she started receiving treats and get-well presents from various people, I think it's kind of grown on her.

Here's our little girl enjoying a bumblebee balloon from her daddy.