Ow that hurts!

Just missing Grandma GG. I love how everyone in the family thought they were her favorite. What a gift. Grandma GG had a full time job of keeping up on the lives of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She'd call and get her updates. I remember Grandma GG wanted to come to the boy's baseball game but she wasn't up to sitting outside on bleachers. She had Heather drive her to the outfield fence and she cheered from her car. She has given us a great legacy and gift. Unconditional love. Grandma GG was my grandma-in law but she was mine. She never had to color her strawberry blond hair! That is so cool. Grandma GG was rich in family and rich in love and rich in the number of VHS cassettes she owned. During a difficult time in our lives, Grandma GG sat beside me every single day. She also fed me Mentos while she supported Shawn and I. When Grandma GG passed away, I bought a case of Mentos and gave them to each of the family. I think I might eat Mentos today and visit her.

Today is my grandparents 84 and 85 birthday. It is so cool that they have the same birthday just a year apart. I talked to them yesterday to wish them happy birthday. There is a big family party but we are not invited. Ow that hurts.

Priest-i-zona Reunion

After unwrapping our gifts, we took down the tree and were in AZ by Tues. with all of our Priest cousins. The kids loved being with their Priest compadres. Uncle David and Aunt Natalie planned some fun activities! We went to the crazy town of Jerome (I love that place!), the kids explored a cave, we rode the go cart, bumped along an awesome Jeep trail in Sedona, and played mini golf and monster chess. Thanks to Uncle Josh and Aunt Josie we danced like crazies at night trying to do our moves with the Kinect. On our way home, we checked our ruins at Montezuma's Castle and Well, and played in the snow in Flagstaff (and saw 2 eagles flying overhead.) We spent our last night in Williams, AZ taking the Polar Express to the North Pole. It was magic!

Christmas Magic!

Reflecting on our holidays this year warms my heart. Our children are at great ages and growing a bit too quickly. Yesterday we accused Ty of wearing Cole's jeans because they were quite short. Ty insisted they were his and we checked the label and they were 12 slims. Now it's time for 14 slims. It may sound cRaZy but a blessing I feel really grateful for is we can afford to have Ty and Cole in braces. After a few rough years this is such a blessing to me. Some of my favorite experiences this Christmas season were...

*Visiting the Mission Inn in Riverside to see the lights and ice skate. Grandpa Paul and Grandma Wendy went with us.
*Attending the Nutcracker with Addy and her GS troop. Wow! Loved watching Addy sit on the edge of her seat.
*Attending the Bethlehem Walk that the Methodist Church puts on. This really helps me feel the Christmas Spirit.
*Watching Christmas movies. Elf, Grinch, Charlie Brown...
*Tyler's Christmas band concert, love the trumpet!
*Our tree was $14.99 from the fruit stand. Oh ya!
*Visiting the lights and nativity at the San Diego Temple.
*Cole's Nerf Birthday Party- some $5 pizzas and lots of orange bullets
*Sea World with our W friends we LoVe
*Seeing McWhirter, Horn, Elmore... families and meeting the new babies
*Tyler's Best in the World, oh I love my parents Airsoft Extravaganza
*Christmas lights and Addy's cookies!!!