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.