This Christmas Season we headed to the Sacramento area to join in on the Haymore Christmas Party that is thrown every year the Saturday before Christmas. I've never been to one so I looked forward to be in on their traditions but also more importantly, be with Family. I'm so blessed marrying into this amazing family.
Matt took more time off so we can be up there longer and it made it so nice because we didn't drive all night which causes us to be tired and turn around 2 days later and do the same. This time we were able to break up the trip by stopping off in Vegas to get a great night sleep and get in at a decent time. In Vegas we got to see Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron. We miss seeing them so it was an added bonus.
Alex was in heaven being with his Papa. Alex was his shadow this entire trip.
Alex also loved being with Aunt Laura.
Laura wanted more kisses but he said no!
He gave in eventually :).
Our first stop in California was visiting Grandpa Thompson. We stayed there for two days. While there, we visited the State Park Railtown in Jamestown.
This park has preserved much of the Sierra Railway and it houses famous trains in different movies like this one:
If you can't guess where you've seen it, its the train that's on Back to the Future Part III. We got to take the Self Tour instead of having a Guided Tour. I think it was better because we got to go on the train. I don't think we can do that on the Guided Tour :). 
Other movies filmed here are: Petticoat Junction, The Wild, Wild West, High Noon, The Virginian, and Unforgiven.
Here are other fun photos from the Park.
Grandpa Thompson told us we needed to visit a street that had a train that went around the neighborhood driven by Rudolph, carrying Santa. There was also a live Santa that the boys got to talk too. The boys loved it and Matt and I thought it was really cool! It was hard to capture how cool it was on camera. Sorry for the bad pictures.
Laura had her 26th birthday there. We celebrated as a family before the trip but we still did some celebrating the day of. I went shopping with her in the morning and we all went to lunch together. Alex loved the slurpees! If he's happy, we're all happy!
Before the Christmas Party we had a little scare. Grandpa Thompson is ok but he decided it was time to get a new car so he ran his 18 year old car into the back of a semi ;). He's now a proud new owner of 2012 Honda Civic. 
The Christmas party was so much fun! It started at noon and lasted till late in the evening. There was a lot of food and we had so much fun visiting and playing games. Santa even came to visit!
Evan saying it's his turn to sit on Santa's lap. He asked for a truck again.
Alex of course. I'm hoping he will like to sit on Santa's lap next year.
All the Women got to sit on his lap too. There was some fun wants like new cars, TV's and a diamond ring. I asked for Slippers :). I really want them!
Evan had fun playing with his Cousin Erin who we stayed with the remaining time. He constantly asks to play with her. We enjoyed spending our time with Uncle Ethan, Aunt Becky and their other kids. We always look forward to staying with them. Even though we got to stay longer, it still was too short. Family is the greatest!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Out on the Open Road!
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
ESG Christmas Party 2011
ESG had their Christmas party at Fat Cats again because it was a huge hit last year. We brought Laura along for the fun, because Matt had to leave early for church meetings. 
They had contests to win prizes. Alex won a $10 gift card to Cold Stones for bowling the first strike in his age group that was 0-6 years old. He basically bowled it right after they announced it. 
Santa came to visit!
Evan was excited to see him and he asked for a truck.
Alex wasn't too thrilled to sit on his lap.
The boys had a blast! We love that ESG centers around families so the boys can be involved in the activities they have. 
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Savior of the World
Our Stake put on the First Act of Savior of the World that's written by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The first act depicts the events that lead to our Saviors Birth. 
Being part of this wonderful production was a huge blessing to me and I really appreciate Matt, Laura and my Father In-Law for stepping in and helping with the boys so I could. It really set the tone for this Christmas Season. I was worried I wouldn't feel the Christmas Spirit because the Anniversary of Mom's passing is drawing near. I also loved that I got to do this with my great friends from the ward and make new friends from the Stake.
I was an Angel or a towns person. 
Here is a clip of the scene "There Are Rules"
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Many Wonders of Utah
Hot Pots!!
For those that follow our Blog regularly, you will know that we visit the Fifth Water Hot Springs up Diamond Fork Canyon at least once a year but this year has been different. I personally been up there a handful of times but Matt has been up there more often for exercise. It's beautiful up there and we found more springs then the usual one we go too.
This one is the first one you can go to but as far as we know, no one knows about it because it's above the trail and is hidden by a big dead cedar tree. It's in the shape of a heart and it's just big enough for two. The temperature is cooler then luke warm.
These two are the first ones you see as you hike. The top pool is warm and the bottom is cooler then luke warm like the heart shaped pool.
The pool in this picture is to the right and it's the biggest of them all. It's a shallow pool but one of the warmest.
This pool is one of the most visited because of this waterfall just a few feet from it.
To the right of the falls is a very small pool that is extremely hot. The very cold water from the falls mixes with the very hot water to make it tolerable in one small area. There's also a little cave behind the falls.
These two pools are our favorites and not many people know about these. These are above the falls and a little ways down and across the river. Whoever designed these did an excellent job because you can control the temp of the water to how hot or cool you want it. There's a bench to sit on and hooks to hang your bags. It looks like someones back patio.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend we looked up other Hot Springs in Utah that are near by. After our Thanksgiving meal we drove towards Ogden to look for the springs just off of the road in Ogden Canyon. There's a total of three pools.
We also visited The Meadows Hot Springs south of Fillmore. The three pools that are there are on private property but the owner allows the public to use them.
This one is my favorite because it's the warmest one and just look at the colors! It's also very deep. People can scuba dive in the black hole. I love the rope in the middle of it.
This is another that has a bigger open area that's deep on one end and shallow on the other like a swimming pool. 
The third pool is as big as a pond but the coldest one so a lot of plant life grows in it. Not one I would swim in.
Anyone that wants to go to these fun places let us know! We are always up for an excuse to go.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
October!
October is one of my favorite months of the year. It's when it cools down and the festivities begin!
This year it was extra fun because the weather cooperated and stayed warm and cool instead of going straight to winter. I love winter but I love fall more! We were able to play outside longer and we did some fun things.
My SD card was shot so I wasn't able to capture our activities on camera but our favorite things we did this month were playing at the park, watching Halloween movies, going to a corn maze, Halloween Parties and Trick or Treating!
Alex has no fear going down the slides. He goes to the tallest one and would slide on his own but he scares me doing it. I have to be by his side so I can catch him if slides down wrong. He's done that a few times. He's too fearless! I like that Evan is more cautious but still is willing to try and do everything.
When we went through the corn maze, Evan thought it was "so cool!" being in the corn stalks. We could tell he enjoyed it so much and he guided us out of the maze all on his own. It didn't take him too long either.
I did purchase a new SD card in time for Halloween so I got pictures of the boys in their costumes.
Saturday before Halloween we had fun at a Halloween Party. A lot of people from our ward were there and it was so enjoyable being able to chat with everyone and be more on the goofy side. The boys had fun with all of the kids as well.
For Halloween we did what we always do. We spent the evening with both families and trick or treated together. 
Alex was the cutest monster I ever seen that wouldn't hold still long enough to get a great picture. 
Evan had fun being Lightning McQueen. He can't get enough of him. 
Trick or Treat!
Another special thing about October is that it's Elaine's Birthday on the 15th. In honor of her birthday we released pink and yellow balloons. 
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Scary Evening
Alex LOVES to jump! He does it whenever he can, especially around different people. My sister in-law and I were talking in our common stairwell and Alex climbed down the two stairs from our kitchen to the landing and decided he wanted to jump for Elizabeth. As soon as he got into his jump position I knew it was a bad idea but I couldn't get to him soon enough. He tumbled down the 10 steps that led to the basement. These stairs aren't carpeted so he took a very bad fall.
We picked him up and he was screaming. Luckily Matt was home and I yelled for him to help. I didn't know what to do but just hold him and look at the damage. He had a large scrap next to his left eye, his lip was bloody and a little blood in his nose. Matt was the one that told me to get in the car. Alex calmed down as soon as we got in the car but we still rushed him to his pediatrician. We were lucky to catch them before they closed. They took him right in and we started answering the the questions we were given. These accidents make me so nervous because how do they know it was an accident? He was also seen 3 weeks ago after he hit his head pretty hard on our recliner and the hardwood floor. Both times I had witnesses but it till worries me. I only took him in the first time because there was blood in his ear the next day but he was cleared.
The same doctor saw him last night. She's really getting to know Alex :). She knows he's a very active kid and very determined so no questions asked by her. She evaluated him and everything on her end checked out but she was concerned about his balance so a cat scan was ordered. Since he's so active we would need to be sedated. She went to make some phone calls but when she came back she let us know that the sedation team went home for the evening. If we were to go through with it he would need to go through the ER. She told us he was border line and didn't think the cost of the procedure is worth it so we decided to just watch him. There was no concussion so she let us go about our normal nightly routine and put him to bed but we woke him up three times last night to make sure he would respond to us and he did.
He's his normal happy self but still a little wobbly. His leg could be bothering him but we'll see if thats why over the weekend. His nose is still swollen so there's no way of knowing he has a broken nose. Even if it's not swollen I wouldn't know what a broken nose looked like. I wish he could talk so he could tell us whats going on in his little body. I'm just glad he's ok.
These pictures were taken before he went to bed.
