Nutcracker, Skiing, and New Years Eve

Jill and Alyssa got to attend the Nutcracker again this year.  Usually it's an every other year thing, but because the Buxtons were in town, Judy wanted to go again.  All the girls had a lovely time.  

After Christmas the Bunkall's hosted a Sunday dinner and after eating, we played the name game.  It's a family favorite and we play often. With so many people the game took quite a bit longer.  It's a fun game for both kids and adults.

Buxtons love to ski so we joined them for a day of skiing at Brighton on the 30th.  Our children haven't skied during the day yet so it was a lot of fun.  As soon as we got there, the boys took off with their cousins and I spent the day helping Alyssa.  She has struggled a bit with picking up skiing.  She was tempted to stay home, but did want to spend time with Makenna.  We had a great day on the slopes!  Jill had a great day at home taking down Christmas.

On New Year's Eve we decided to end the year with a bang.  Landon and Alyssa have really enjoyed eating fish lately so we went to Red Lobster for lunch.  It was a lot of fun to do something out of the ordinary.  We were the youngest people by a lot at Red Lobster.  The average age was probably 70 years old! Someone took our picture so I didn't have to take a selfie. Logan ate a steak, Jill ate chicken, and the rest of us ate salmon.  It was a hit, but Landon and Alyssa still like Mike Bryant's smoked salmon the best.

Their food is fresh!

What happened next will live in infamy!  When we got to Red Lobster, I parked at the back of the parking lot, away from everyone else.  It was a bit of a longer walk to the restaurant, but I like to park away.  When we left the restaurant, something didn't seem right.  Sure enough, I had parked under a power line and there must have been over 150 bird droppings all over my truck!  I was so mad.  It hasn't been the best weather, but that very morning I had washed my truck to get the salt and dirt off of it.  We left the restaurant and immediately drove to the car wash for the second time that day.  As we drove, the children counted the number of bird craps that covered the windshield and the sunroof.  It was incredible and they didn't even count the droppings on the hood, mirrors, or bed of the truck.  It was absolutely covered! I got to the car wash and pressure washed that crap off!

For New Year's Eve, we shuttled all over the city. Alyssa was invited to a party at her friend's house (Calli Chandler).  Landon spent some time at his friend's house (Fynn Nielsen).  I went to the Yeager's party and visited there for a bit.  Then, we all rejoined and went together to the Roundy's, who hosted a party and had great food.  After a bit, I took Logan to a friend's house so he could welcome the New Year with a bunch of his friends.  He had a lot of fun and I picked him up after midnight.  At the Roundy's, we played some great games of Catchphrase and then rang in the New Year.

2019 was a great year for our family!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning we took some pictures before the children got going.  We didn't have to shovel snow for the first time in a few years so we were able to wake up at a normal early hour.  The children slept better than they have in years past as well.  They had a difficult time falling asleep, but were able to sleep through the night.

Coming down the stairs to the front room is one of the best parts of Christmas.  It's magical to see the kids' excitement when they see the room full of presents.

Alyssa opened a giant squishmallow, a tennis racket (from Landon), some clothes, a volleyball, and an iPad for herself! She was so happy.

Landon scored some Top Ramen socks (he likes fun socks), a robe, the movie "The Meg" (from Logan) and a new iPod Touch!

Logan got some dress clothes, a letter board (from Alyssa), a desk, and a gaming chair. 

The kids had a gift that they opened together--a puzzle of Cabo San Lucas.  Landon was so excited, and pronounced it CabO-san-lUkAHS.  It was really cute.  We will be going to Cabo for spring break.  Jill and I have been excited planning this for a long time. We will stay at an all inclusive resort, so it will be like a cruise, without the ship.  We're so excited to be warm in Mexico this Spring. 

Another gift the kids opened together was a new four-wheeler!  It is a red Honda Recon.  We're looking forward to doing some more four-wheeling this year.

Jill has seen how much I love Kuhl clothes, and now she has some!

It was the year of the coats for me.  I opened a new ski coat and a running jacket to keep me warm while skiing and running. 

The hare brained dad gift this year was baseball mitts and baseballs.  When it get's warm I hope to go throw the ball with everyone.

After opening presents at 7:00 am, we drove to the Bunkall's at 9:00.  Grandma Bunkall always makes a delicious breakfast of pull-aparts and breakfast casserole.

There was no video conferencing with the Buxtons this year.  Everyone was here to celebrate.

We love our Z-wave Yale lock set so we gave Corwin and Judy an electronic lock for their front door. 

It was a fun morning being with all of the Bunkalls.  At noon, we left for the Bryant's.

Grandma and Grandpa Bryant were also very generous and we had a lovely time visiting with the Bryants, opening presents, and eating lunch. We missed having JaKayla with us, but were able to video chat with her!

The boys got a small monster truck.... and a ticket to see Monster Trucks at the Vivint Arena in two weeks!

We hope mom enjoys her pillow pad (an easel for her iPad).

Dad can take his first step toward creating a smart house.  With a Nest thermostat, he can now control the temperature with his phone.

We got home and took our pictures with all of our spoils. Everyone was happy.

Logan spent Christmas night assembling his chair and his desk.  He did most of the work himself.

We enjoyed our presents, of course, but enjoyed even more spending time with the families that we love.  It was a wonderful Christmas!