Christmas to New Years to Tonsils...oh my!

I've decided I blog about as well as I kept a diary in high school...which is not good at all. I apologize in advance for the jumbled post. There is no rhyme or reason to the order of the photos...nor is there an end in sight. It might be the single longest post ever.

To start, we have #2's Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy which took place on Monday. This is the first surgery for any of our kids and was a little nerve-wrecking for mom, even though I help surgerize patients for a living. #2, on the other hand, was giddy with excitement to have his tonsils "pulled" out. After a sweet father's blessing, the kid and I headed to my place of employment for a little early morning cautery. Here's #2 in his oh-so-embarrassing "I see you" (ICU) gown. He held the backside shut and walked backwards everywhere to guard his little bum.

My stud and I waiting for his turn to go under the knife.
Coloring intently while waiting for the Versed (sleepy medicine) to kick in.
Attention! The Versed has kicked in.
My little trooper in the recovery room. He never cried once, even when coming around out of the anesthesia, which is where most kids get to howling. He's downed 44 popsicles in the last two days and asked when he'd be "recovered" so he can start eating real food again. Today he asked if he could go back to school tomorrow, to which I replied,

"Sure, but you'll have a note saying no recess this week."

To which he replied,

"Never mind then. There's no point."

I'm so proud of this little guy and so grateful that it all went so well!

Now to the next logical synopsis...the bath after the Shelton family Christmas gathering. Duh! Here we have #4, #3, baby Leah and #2 taking aim in Grandma's tub Christmas night. Christmas night we traveled up to Lindon to see my side of the fam. We had an INCREDIBLE dinner prepared by my incapable-of-smiling-brother-in-law. The dude's got a knack in the kitchen, even if he can't flex his lips. Here's a random group shot at Lisa's.
Bro-in-law Chris and my dad in the background, totally enthralled; my sister Lisa in the foreground, equally enthralled...
Another random group shot...
Then, back at the homefront (we'll get to Christmas morning sometime here) Hubby played good dad and helped #4 apply her new "Naiwl Powish", a favorite gift from Aunt Lisa. And yes, she's in a swimsuit just for the heck of it.
Showing off Daddy's artwork. He may have a future in nail design.
And before we ever made it home to paint the nails, we spent an evening in Salt Lake at Temple Square with my parents and brother's family. This is my favorite shot of the kids gazing up at the Christus.
The reason for the season.
Because it was our first trip to Temple Square in several years, it happened to snow that night and hit record low temps. AND only a fraction of the lights were on this year. #1 was not impressed with the evening's chilly activities. Either that or his face just froze into a frown...
Yep...must be a frozen face. Anyway, here they all are with little Leah in front of a miraculously unfrozen fountain.
Our frozen family.
Josh, Kristen, Leah and unnamed baby in womb.
My dad with Leah the red-nosed niece. It was sooo cold!
#1's face thawed but #4's froze in it's place.
Seeing this at Christmas time makes the frost bite worth it.
Mom and Dad Kristen and Leah Beah.
Now on to warmer times. #3 asked for a dinosaur for Christmas. And he got one...but not this one. This is the dinosaur we traded for when #3 woke up Christmas morning and realized Santa brought the WRONG dinosaur. After gazing down from the top of the stairs, he went back to bed crying that he wanted "The one that eats the weaves!". Stupid Santa. As luck would have it, the wrong dinosaur didn't even work (adding to the Christmas morning nostalgia) and we had to return it the next day. We happened to find this "weave" eating dino on clearance at Target for $200 less that it was being sold for the day BEFORE Christmas. Bingo! Happy kid at last.
Last Saturday Josh, Kristen, Leah and our clan headed to Fillmore to soak in the natural hot springs. My kids were so excited to get to go swimming in the middle of a 17 degree day. The water temperature was PERFECT and I couldn't believe how clear it was. You can see my pasty white legs underwater from the street. This was #1 and 2's second time here. Uncle Josh brought them last year, too. Josh is sooo cool. At first #3 and 4 weren't sure it was safe. The dog ate #3's life jacket at the end of the summer so he didn't have the confidence his brothers had. It didn't take long for everyone to "warm" up though. A few of us (by us I mean the people in the group that aren't scared of drowning which doesn't include me) tried diving to the bottom but the pressure on their ears was too much. It's approximately 30 feet to the bottom. By the time we were ready to leave it was getting pretty crowded. Everyone else in the pool was from out of town, just driving through. Who knew a pond in the middle of a field in Fillmore, Utah would be so popular?Group shot Oh yeah...this was going to be about Christmas! Here's the kids in their Sunday best the Sunday before Christmas.

If you look closely, you'll notice #4 says "Cheeeeeese" every time a camera is pointed her direction. Every year we have one set of parents over for Christmas Eve/Christmas morning festivities. This year was Hubby's parent's turn. I love, love, love having the family over for Christmas. We always open Christmas jammies and new ornaments on Christmas Eve.

Here's #4 checking out the goods. She was pretty disappointed that PJ's were the only thing she got her hands on that night.

#3 was quite pleased with his pajamas. Of course, this was before the big Dino Disappointment.

I just thought this was a great shot of me with my eyes closed. Oh, and #2 checking out the goods.

#1 with his ipod-wearing-snowman ornament. Cool.

Grandpa and Grandma admiring their new ornaments.

#4 with her Cinderella ornament...a titch disappointed that it didn't play songs like #1 and 2's.

And now...drum roll please...CHRISTMAS MORNING! It was a wonderful Christmas, and even with the Dino Drama, I think everyone was pleased. #1 got a Loving Family doll house with all the trimmings, a Pet Shop something or another, a Rose Petal Cottage and a puppet theater, along with other odds and ends. She's such a fun age where everything is super exciting, especially the candy in the stockings!

Grandpa in his new jammies, enjoying the excitment of the morning.

Once #3 got over the initial disappointment, he enjoyed everything about the morning...especially his Tag body spray at the bottom of his stocking.

The boys got a Wii and all the widgets, gadgets and games we could afford (including Wii fit for me!) They didn't even ask for it so it was the biggest surprise of the morning. They got Guitar Hero World Tour (the Rockband equivalent), racing games, football games, baseball games, snowboarding games, golf games, etc. It was the first year they didn't want to leave for Grandma's when it was time to go, even knowing there were more presents waiting for them there!

More fun...

and more...

#3 has the cutest smile when he's giddy about things. I love this shot of my boys!

Grandma gave #4 a birthstone ring that fit perfectly on her middle finger!

Grandma also made the boys new quilts for their rooms...one of their favorite gifts. #1 got a Boston Redsox quilt, #2 got a SS Rams quilt and #3 got a Dale Earnhardt Jr. quilt. Here's #1 wrapped up in his.

And #3 showing off his. He's always been a blankie boy!

#1 showing off his new LT jersey. #3 and his new Earnhardt Jr. race car.

#2 was SUPER excited about his Reggie Bush jersey. Both boys got Reggie Bush Fatheads for their rooms, too.

I don't know who likes the Wii more...the hubby or the kids. There have been many a night that I've worked since Christmas where he's stayed up WAY past his bedtime playing Tiger Woods golf. He thinks he's a pretty sweet drummer, too (although looking at his mom's face in the background you might guess otherwise!).

And lastly, we get some more shots from Lisa's house. (I told you there was no rhyme or reason to the order of the pics!)

A tradition that my own grandpa started when I was about my boys' ages was to give us money for Christmas. Last year my parents started the same tradition with my older two. It is truly a highlight of Christmas for them. We took them shopping the day after Christmas and they were able to pick out whatever they wanted. They both bought a pair of new shoes, #1 bought a couple of shirts and a hoodie from Aeropostale and #2 bought an ipod, among other things. And amazingly, they both still have some money leftover, saving up for a rainy day!

#3 and 4 opening up some exciting treasures.

#4 with her prized "Naiwl Powish" kit.

PHEW! If you made it, all I can say is congratulations and maybe you need a new hobby or two. You have a LOT of time on your hands!