More Christmas

So, we told the kids they couldn't go downstairs until we all went down together. You'll never guess who the first one up was... YUP, 6:30 our phone rings.. it's Lauren!! When we walked out the door all three kids were sittin in the hall outside the door. I love that the kids still get excited.

Lauren got some jewelry & books from Santa. Holly got a dance bag and some jewelry from Santa. Both girls also got a camera, & all the accessories to go with them, beaded watches and itunes cards from us.

Nate got legos, bionicles, and a nerf gun from Santa. From us, rather than getting him a camera, he was so hard to shop for. He ended up with a gift card so he could go shopping.

I can't believe how FAST three kids can open presents!! So, since we were done in a sum total of 20 minutes, Charley and I went back to bed!!

After that it was headed out to grandma J's. Here's just a few fun pictures.

This is everyone that was there... Minus me (taking the picture) and my mom and dad who were washing the dishes! Everyone that know my parents know that dishes do NOT sit in the sink.. EVER! Even on Christmas.

And I don't even remember when the last time my sisters and I had our picture taken just the three of us. But I like this one.. even if I do look like a "midget" as Michelle would say...

Christmas Eve...

We were able to have all the kids overnight for Christmas eve. Actually, it was Charley's first overnight Christmas with the girls in several years. We picked them up around 2 on christmas eve and headed straight to my parent's family party. Every year (started on christmas eve, but since, the date has varied a little because of family schedules). The Jamison family party is the one time that my dad takes the entire family to a nice restaurant and pays for everything. He loves to do it and we all love to get together.

This year's party was at Mimi's. We missed Craig's family because his wife had surgery, but it was fun to get everyone together. Here's a picture of 10 of the 12 grandkids.


It took them so long to get in one place for the picture, that we told them to make a silly face too. This picture is so funny!

And a couple quick pictures of our family.

Aren't my parents the cutest?

Michelle's Family:

And Erin's Family:

Afterwards, everyone went to my parents for the traditional pajamas. We actually didn't go this year. Instead, we took the girls back to our place and made gingerbread houses. My parents gave us this kit for Thanksgiving. (They always give a christmas decor gift to the families at thanksgiving). Nate has been dying to put it together, but we told him he had to wait until the girls were here.

This kids got bored of the gingerbread house pretty early and started eating the candy. We also went and visited Heather's family and also went over to our friend Denise & Carlos's to visit and exchange gifts. It was fun for the girls to see their cousins and to visit with friends.

Nate's Bowling Party

Nate gets a birthday party every other year. Well, this year is the "every other." So, since we are very low budged right now, and it's Christmas time, we told him he could have a small, inexpensive party.

After calling around to get party prices, Nate chose the bowling party. Nate's actually a pretty good bowler, and Delton Lanes is a pretty nice bowling alley. Their party included 90 minutes of bowling, pizza, drinks, balloons, decorations, and tokens to the arcade.

I made the invitations... and I tell you what. After doing mass quantities of invites, it was a cinch to make 5 bowling invites!! And... it was the first time that I was able to use my "early" christmas present... my gypsy!

Nate chose 5 of his closes friends which included, Eddie, Tyler, Daniel, Christian, and Stockton. They all had a blast, and they are cra-zy boys when they all get together! I actually was really sick (had missed 2 days of work)... I had a huge headache & earache, and I was in the a very loud bowling alley with 6 screaming boys! (After the party I went to instacare, and it turned out I had an ear and sinus infection... no wonder!).

This is Nate anxiously awaiting cake & presents... after the bowling time was up.

Lauren & Holly were able to come to the party, and so were other friends & family members. We were able to reserve 4 extra lanes and any extra guests could bowl for $2.50 a game. Denise & her family came, Michelle & here family came, and Jen and her family came. Grandma & Grandpa J, and Nate's dad also came...

It was a fun time, and Nate had a great time also. Since I was a busy mom running the party and handling crowd control, his dad was able to quite a few more pictures. You can link to them on his facebook page here

So Much to be Thankful For...

Another Thanksgiving season has come and gone so quickly. This year was pretty quiet. We didn't have the girls this year, and we only had Nate for half the day. It was a nice day to sleep in! After that it was to Grandma Jamison's for dinner. Michelle's & Erin's families were there for dinner, and Craig and the boys came for dessert. It was so fun to see everyone.

Would you believe I forgot my camera?? So, here's a couple pictures that my aunt took.


This is 9 of the 12 Jamison grandkids. Zach, Katie, Bailee, Jacob, Nate, Jordan, Austin, Addison & Tyler. (Missing are Chris, Lauren & Holly).

After that, it was off to drop Nate off at his dad's, and then to Michaels. Yes, I said Michaels... as in the craft store! They had an awesome deal on a certain cricut cartridge that you could only get at Michaels... Couldn't pass that up! After that it was home to relax. I boutiqued and Charley watched football.

I attempted something this year that I have never done before. Black Friday!! There's something in particular that I saw (will post details later when the kids aren't reading.. LOL) that I wanted to get. Anyway, it went on sale at midnight online, so I went on and tried to buy it. The computer kept freezing, and then shut down. When the site finally came up, they were out of what I wanted... Ugh. So, by this time it's 2:20 am. So, when the store opened at 4 AM, off I went. Found the item and waited over an hour in line.

I'm still trying to figure out why people do this ... for fun... year after year?

So, onto the traditional 5 greatfuls. (Still waiting for the girls to get back to me on this one).

Nates: (Keeping in mind, he's not your average almost 10 year old little boy) He thinks mostly OUTSIDE of the box:

1. Family

2. Gift of Life

3. Friends

4. The Gospel's Help

5. My Body

Pretty impressive.

My greatful 5: (Yes, I cheat, there are more than 5 here).

1. Family & Loved ones

2. Church & Testimony of it.

3. Savior's Love & Example

4. A place to live

5. My Job

Charley's Greatful 5:

1. Family

2.

3.

4.

5.

Um. That's all I could get out of him.

We are especially thankful to all of you. Love to everyone this Holiday season.

The Boys Turn Three...

Erin's boys celebrated their third birthday today! Wow, these boys have sure grown up fast! They are so tall it makes it hard to believe they are only 3! I don't get to see them very often, so it was so much fun to go up to Heber to celebrate with them today.

We started on the Heber Creeper. It was a three hour round trip train ride down the Provo Canyon. This was Charley's first time on the Heber Railroad, and I haven't ridden it since I was little. Nate has ridden before with my parents but he didn't really remember it.

I think Nate got bored on the way back...

Until the robbers came on the train at the very end & made everyone put their hands up

Then we went back to the park in Midway where we had sandwiches, cupcakes & the boys opened their gifts. This is Bailee trying to show them how many fingers to hold up... (At first they had up all 10. LOL). And then a group shot of everyone that attended. (Minus Jamie who is taking the picture).

More Christmas!

We have so many fun pictures from Christmas that it's hard to decide what to highlight. So here's a few more from Christmas with the Jamison's. This is for the family that couldn't be there, and for those in Idaho. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I think Grandma J. needs a bigger couch...

Grandma Blackwood needs a bigger couch too!

Thanksgiving day was a quiet thanksgiving dinner... Just Charley, Nate, the girls and I with my mom and dad and Kathie Jo for the Jamison's. Friday & Saturday it was headed to the Blackwoods for a bigger, more crowded feast in Idaho. Then, sunday the J's all got together for Chris's Christmas. Since he's leaving to go to the MTC next week, we all got together to celebrate him. It was a wonderful four day weekend of family togetherness.... (both sides). Rare, but memorable.

More Like It!

Ok. Now I feel more at home! You can always rely on mom and dad, right? Go Cougars!