Aloha!

I pulled off a surprise! It's true - Miss Bigmouth actually kept something hidden! I can never surprise Greg. I get so excited that I start to give really sneaky hints (at least I think so), and it takes one guess and Greg gets it right. I made sure to keep it a secret from my kids as well, because they are possibly the only people on this planet worse than me about keeping secrets. But...he didn't guess this year! I kept telling him that he was only getting one present, so he shouldn't get his hopes up. He was filming the festivities when Austin bounced over to give him his one present. I took the camera and started filming him. He opened a calendar. He looked at me, very confused (the plan was working!), and was about to toss it aside. I told him that I put a lot of thought into it and recorded all the important dates - birthdays, anniversaries, vacations (hint...hint). He reluctantly opened to January and saw the Hawaii stickers for the last week of January. He looked up and asked, "Are you serious?" He's so excited. I connived with my father-in-law back in October to reserve a place on Kauai. And our fab friends (as she would say), Jen and Jasper are coming with us. He just called me on his way home from his first scuba diving lesson and said that this was the best Christmas present I've ever given him. For anyone that doesn't know - Greg is a fish, and I'm positive that he has gills. He said that it is one of his dreams to stay under water. Aloha! Greg spoiled me with a new flash and lens. I LOVE them! Now, I just have to learn Photo shop!

It was such a great day! We spent Christmas Eve with my family, eating Chinese food, singing Christmas carols accompanied by Grandpa's guitar, and opening sibling gifts. (Madeline gave me a pedicure so I'll have pretty toes for Hawaii - well...at least as pretty as humanly possible for my feet.) Then, my family came over Christmas morning to see the kids open their presents. We had our traditional breakfast casserole and sticky buns. Then, we headed over to my parents house (again) to open even more presents (my mom went nuts this year). Mostly, we just hung out playing games and eating, of course.

We laid around the house for a few days, although I did get to babysit my cousin's darling four-month old baby. After a get together with my cousins, we headed up to Bear Lake to spend the weekend and celebrate New Year's. I actually stayed up this year and got to kiss my husband at midnight. We're pretty wild and crazy! The first few days were pretty stormy, but after that, the sun came out and new powder glistened in the sun. It was gorgeous! We snowmobiled, Macy soaked in the hot tub with her cousins, and Greg skied and snowboarded while Austin took lessons. Macy absolutely loved being pulled on a sled behind the snowmobile. I thought she would get cold and tired in a couple of minutes, but I bet we went up and down the golf course 20 times. Once, she went over a bump and snow flew into her face. She just whipped out the lizard tongue that she inherited from yours truly and licked it away. She's definitely our little daredevil. Poor little Paige was sick the entire time. She had a fever and was glued to me. The only good thing about a sick baby is that they cuddle! On Sunday, she wouldn't even go to Greg. She sat on my lap with her head buried into my chest while we watched "Hairspray" - the entire time. That just isn't like her. Poor baby! We thought it was her teeth, but they didn't break through.

This was a great Christmas break - but it is always nice to get back to "normal" life (although I do miss the music). How blessed am I to have all the luxuries I enjoy in addition to a wonderful husband and healthy family!

My kids on Christmas morning. Nice of them to pose for one pic before tearing into their Christmas.

Austin gave Paige a Hershey kiss. That's all she needed (and got) for Christmas! She wasn't complaining. (Look at my new lens! It works so beautifully in doors with less-than-ideal lighting. Compare it to the picture above. Doesn't this one look better?!?)

Abby sporting her new hat:Dad enjoying his new I-Pod. My mom surprised him, and Greg loaded most of his CDs before she wrapped it.

Lisa, looking fabulous in her new J-Lo shades. Just kidding - they are very classy and look amazing on her! So amazing that everybody else tried them on as well. Josie (my cousin, Annie's sweet girl) in her own stylin' shades:
How sweet is she!
Greg and Mike:

Does she even notice that it's snowing on her head!