Merry Christmas

christmas eve just before bed



right after santa came


christmas morning fun





post christmas blues setting in a bit early


Christmas eve began with Kevin's family coming over for our first attempt at a fried turkey dinner. It was a bit chaotic getting the turkey started, but once it was cooking we were able to settle in for games, food, exchanging gifts, and the traditional viewing of White Christmas. Christmas morning Asher came rolling into our room at about 8:20. I don't think he's slept passed 7 once in the past two years. Classic. We got Malc, and went to see the cookie crumbs and carrot pieces left by Santa and his reindeer after eating their treats we had put out. As always, Asher is so excited about the whole event-- not necessarily the presents. Asher isn't much for things, like I mentioned in a previous post his Christmas list is a fake. It's exciting to see a bunch of toys are for him but he doesn't really want to play with them... he just wants something to unwrap. Sure, there are one or two things that he really appreciates, like his foam sword and shield, but for the most part he loves the process. Thankfully, Santa has wised up to this and brought only three presents this year. Malcom on the other hand was thrilled about his Elmo tool bench and batman punching bag. He kept busy all morning. They were a good team.... Asher would unwrap and Malcom would play. It seems kind of backwards, but it worked for us:) The day proceeded with my family coming over for belgian waffles and omelets. yum. We had our gift exchange and laid about watching football. That night we headed up to Marsh and Mary's for yet another get together with Mary's kids. More food and laying about - what more could you want? So much holiday fun to cram into 24 hours, but we loved every minute.

Christmas Catch-up

Some fun holiday activities that I've been meaning to post....

TRIP TO TEMPLE SQUARE
The night before Christmas eve we took the boys down town to see the lights. One of my favorite outings for sure. I love being out in the cold and not being cold.






GINGERBREAD HOUSES
The last of Asher's birthday celebrations was making gingerbread houses with the Nelsons. It was so fun to get together. Thanks Rubee and Phoebee for the nice presents!

Asher Marc Swiss Turns 5

Dear dear dear Asher, where does the time go? Thank you for being alive for the past five years, it has made my life wonderful. You are beautiful, brilliant, funny, and good and the best part is you're mine... lucky me. I love you.

On Monday night we had a nice low key get together with the fam to celebrate Asher's birthday. No fancy themed party this year, but no matter, he's only five right? It was still a great time eating cake, opening presents, and playing his new grinch board game. Today, Kevin and I took Asher on a special lunch date, just us, to his favorite place to eat-- The Pizza Factory. It was also his last day of school at Kid's Village and the class Christmas party to boot so I think he got to enjoy plenty of festivities on his big day:) Happy birthday Ash man! I hope it was a good one.

School Christmas Program

Asher's school program was our latest Christmas event. We got to see the kids sing Christmas songs of course, and although Asher had missed a week of school and didn't know any of the words (besides Jingle Bells), he was still willing to smile and wave during the performance. I'm also happy to report that this year he was much more comfortable with the idea of sitting on Santa's lap, but wouldn't look at him when rattling off his Christmas list (all things he just made up by the way). The best part was the gift they had for the parents - we got a CD with an audio recording of Asher being interviewed by a teacher at school. As a special treat I've provided a small portion of that interview, so if you pause the music and click the little audio strip entitled Asher Blog Audio you can have a listen.




boomp3.com

The Polar Express

For mine and Asher's birthdays, Kevin's parents took our little family on a special outing to ride the Polar Express. It was so much fun... talk about getting in the Christmas spirit! We ate cookies, had hot chocolate, sang Christmas songs, and met santa and mrs. claus while winding through a snowy Provo Canyon. A conductor punched our tickets, elves asked what we wanted for Christmas, and each child got a bell from Santa's sleigh. My favorite part was reading the story as we rode - so magical. The Heber Valley Railroad really did a marvelous job recreating the whole thing. Thanks grandpa Ralph and grandma Tish for all the fun!

Snow!!

We have loved all the snow! This past week I'm proud to announce that we have made several ventures outside. After our first big blizzard, Kevin and Asher made a snow fort and sledding hill in our back yard which the boys have made great use of. On Tuesday after finding dog urine in our fort, we decided to bust out Asher's skis for some fun .... so stinking funny to watch. Malcom mostly likes stomping in and eating the "no"-- as long as his brother isn't shoving it in his face and down his coat he's happy.

Trip to Palm Springs

Thanksgiving night we left our feast and hit the road. Marsh and Mary had invited the whole family to Palm Springs for 9 days of fun in the sun. It was a wonderful time. Among many things, we enjoyed...

the long drive (okay, maybe enjoyed isn't the word I'm looking for, but my kids were troopers)


the pool


feeding the fish at the pond (nice wife beater Malc! Don't make fun it's a hand me down)


riding bikes


the children's museum


the pool


some serious tennis


recovering from some serious tennis


and, of course, the pool


I love vacationing.

Silly Asher

The other night while getting ready for bed, Asher was standing in front of the mirror brushing his teeth. He was wearing his "yellowstone park" t-shirt and I listened as he sounded out the word on his shirt. Then he said, "mom, my shirt says crap." I looked up and glanced in the mirror...sure enough k r a p. Clever little bugger! He cracks me up. We finally get Internet tomorrow and I have a lot of catching up to do:)

Thanksgiving

Here we are on Thanksgiving Day getting ready to feast. Cambry and Brent hosted so we had the added pleasure of having Brent's parents and grandparents there. A prime rib Thanksgiving-- tastey! I made the orange rolls and they were NICE...thanks Bridget! So, now we are in the thick of the holiday season and while I'm loving it, I wish it would slow down.

Del's 100th

Last week we got together with my dad's extended family to celebrate his dad's 100th birthday. My grandpa, Delmas R. Larson (known to me as Del), would be turning 100 years old if he were alive today. It was a great opportunity to get together with aunts, uncles, cousins, and more cousins to recognize his posterity. Well done Cambry on putting the whole thing together-- especially the bolo tie party favors.

Farewell to Orem

It's true, we've moved. It's the end of an era!
Some things we will miss: friends, Kids Village, the ward, basement fun, great neighbors (and their dogs), our favorite babysitter, being next door to canyons, AMP Gym, neighborhood Subway, Riverside pool, and much more. Soon all just memories. Ahh change.

Fall Picnic

I have been so grateful that this glorious fall weather is lasting. Auntie Cambry invited us on a picnic yesterday, along with Mimi and Pa, to this scenic Salt Lake gully where the boys had fun blowing bubbles and running through leaves.