Highs & Lows:

LOWS:
Sarah getting a cough/cold (she is SO NOT a "sick person")

-she kind of makes it miserable for all of us.

Dealing with the RAIN. We looked up at our bedroom ceiling to find a water spot. What the heck?! Our house isnt even that old?!?! Our pool was about to flood over as well.


Sometimes being "Santa" means I must ask for wish list, shop for wish list, wrap wish list, set wish list out, take photos of wish list opening--all that and NOBODY LEAVES ME ANY COOKIES!!! I guess if "santa" wants cookies then "santa" will need to start making some and leaving some. Good grief.


HIGHS:
Taking Jon out for our 15th Wedding Anniversary. We went to the same exact hotel that we had our honeymoon at. They remodeled the entire hotel in 2009

and I must say it is SOOOOOOOOOOO nice! The room came with a livingroom, bedroom, bathroom AND heart shaped jacuzzi spa IN THE BEDROOM!

It was super nice. The whole entire room was a view of the city--all windows. So classy. Just loved it! We did lots of eating, went to the movies, & the museum.

Since our girls chose to go to a cabin in the snow for xmas

(we leave Mon 27th through Thur 30th!)
they each only got one REALLY special gift they wanted.

Rachel wanted a small portable video camera


Sarah wanted warm boots


Anna wanted a "really long pretty prom dress"


and becca wanted a pink scooter
.
So that's what they got. My wrapping session was SUPER FAST this year!

Xmas Morning-enjoyed our traditional potato/cheese breakfast casserole
. Our friends bring us homemade wheat bread and freshly squeezed OJ from their oranges on their property-so we enjoy that too. We let the girls open JUST their stockings. Then they have to wait for us. I swear from 6am on-EVERY 2.5 minutes Becca kept asking if i would get up. Finally around 9am I decided to be "Christmasy" & go downstairs and get on with it! I popped the casserole in. We go around from youngest to oldest and open one gift at a time. By the time we are done the casserole is ready for us. LOVE THAT! After breakfast I was strangely EXHAUSTED. Sarah was starting to come down with a cold-so she was wiped out too. So we both crawled back into my bed and I fell asleep from 10-1pm. HEAVEN. I felt tons better.

We then headed on down to OC to hang with Jons family. Always good food

and good times.

Do other families have 47 name assigned cups too?!



ALL the grandkids love to swing around in this chair. Probably was a nice chair to begin with-and grandkids have "broken it" and now its a new toy. Oopsies!

Turned around came home. Slept. Went to our ward. Headed back down to OC for more good food and

good times. Here are some shots from Xmas Time with the Hales:

if you are a Hales you are "blessed" with this gene. You can sleep ANYWHERE. One time Jons family found me asleep ON the carpet in the middle of the floor and I think Jon said "she's a REAL HALES NOW!"--he was proud.



Movies are always playing at the Hales House. Usually a movie in one family room and a game in the other family room.

It was so cute to hear Jons mom say "Im so glad you guys live close-because we realize that Xmas is not fun when it's just us! We are SO happy we have a few family here to share it with!!!" It made Jon & I feel happy that we chose to live here near both of our parents. The cousins ALWAYS play so well with eachother and you can really tell they love to be with eachother.

Highs & Lows:

Why do I call it Highs & Lows but start with the Lows?! random thought.

LOWS:
Jon came down with a 103 fever for quite a few days. After several doctor appointments, him giving me the "If this takes me out" speech and some antibiotics later-it was a REALLY bad Urinary Tract Infection.

The COLD weather is not good on Jons body. He is often in cold pain (but never tells anyone other then me!) He pretty gives his standard answer "Hey everything is GREAT!"

Trying to scramble to find jackets & gloves for all of us for the cabin in the snow. Hoping to just borrow it-I cant spend another 300 bucks to be "winter ready" for 3 days out of the year we will ACTUALLY be IN SNOW weather!

A science project looming that is going to be due Jan 5th. Need to bug Sarah to think of something.

HIGHS:
Jon back to himself again. PHEW!

Posting on FB my need for Jackets/gloves and people responding to help and let me borrow stuff--Facebook is SOOOOOOOOOO awesome!

Only having to buy ONE GIFT per child this year. They dont think they are getting any because they chose "no gifts and to go to a cabin instead!"-but I am getting them each ONE gift they REALLY truly wanted. Xmas morning will be sweet and simple.

Getting my DMV junk done with. I had to get a new license with a NEW photo--the stress to be cute! Getting the truck registered. Now I just need to trade in my truck plates for my new NURICHE plates I got.

Celebrating my 15 years of marriage to Jon.

Watching Rachel get award for 5 A's.

Hosting our 1st "Ugly Sweater Party" and having 40 people come and have a great time!

Hosting our 2nd GNO xmas night and having over 20 girls RSVPing to come!

NO SCHOOL FOR TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Highs & Lows:

Lows:

Why is the month of December SO DANG BUSY?! I had stuff everyday/night last week and again this week--why does that bug me?

Jon missing his afternoon medication tonight(my fault-left drugs at home when we went to OC) so he is M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. --sounds like it's going to be a LONG night for the both of us.


Highs:

GNO spur of the moment dinner! Love those--we shut down Yardhouse--we like to gab.

Having the missionaries over for dinner. I'm trying to have them in our home more-it's good for Jon and the girls. This week I made turkey, cheese, tomato on sourdough bread then placed it on the waffle iron-bam ghetto panini's! Add some avocado in there--DUHLISH!

Finding a cabin for our family for Xmas Vacation! This cabin is only 99 per night-ALL the other cabins are ATLEAST 300 per night. We will go the Monday after xmas and stay till Thursday. Happiness all around!

Receiving a GENEROUS gift from a dear friend-which paid for our cabin stay! She has been so sweet to our family. She always says "I have enough-why not share it!" I hope that when the day comes that we have "enough" I follow her example and "share it." It's so nice to know there are people in the world like her.

I was at home and checked into my FB to read how another friend was at the school watching her daughter get an award--I thought to myself "oh shoot both of my younger two are getting awards-is that today?!" Sure enough-IT WAS! SO I jammed around the corner and made it in time-whoo hoo for Facebook!!

Jon & I spending 11 hours, trying to REMEMBER 300 questions to take a test of only 35 to be Ham Radio Certified. Jon only missed ONE question and I only missed THREE. I havent taken a test for about 16 years! It was fun to take the class together, study together (we had about ONE HOUR) & then NAIL the test!

Spending Sunday to clean the house-why is Sunday the BEST day EVER in the week to clean my house?!?!? Oh well-does it count if I sing hymns in my head as keeping the Sabbath Day holy? I hope so. It REALLLLLLY makes for a nice week to start off the week with everything in order. The girls helped and I let them drag in the xmas clutter to decorate. Why does Xmas decor make me feel claustrophobic & grumpy? Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me?!