Christmas

Here it is, December 27th. Christmas has come and gone. It always amazes me that we spend so much time and effort preparing for Christmas with shopping, baking, wrapping, celebrating, etc. and then it's over in about 30 min. It's CRAZY!! I guess I'm feeling the let down of Christmas since I'm back at work today. The kids are home with their dad playing Barbies and Nintendo and watching High School Musical 2 for the umpteenth time. I wish I was there, although I think I've seen HSM 2 enough. The office is very quiet, but has lots of goodies left over from the holiday. The diet starts again on Jan. 2. In the mean time, I plan to eat, drink and be merry for a few more days for tomorrow the holidays will be over for another year.

This truly is a special time of year as we commemorate the birth of our Savior. People are friendlier in general (excluding the poor cashier at Toys R Us). There is something just magical about this time of year (Must be Santa). My favorite part is finding and giving the perfect gift ("Snog" for the dog lover)! Also the excited faces of children as they discover what Santa has left for them! Truly magical!

So it is with a heavy heart (and other body parts) that I bid adieu to Christmas for another year with the pledge that I will try to maintain the spirit that has carried me through the last 35 days. One last time, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night".

Birthday!

I remember when I was a child that I thought 40 was so OLD. I'm here to tell you that it's not that old. Having recently turned 40, I still feel like I'm in my 20's. Even my kids tell me that I'm not old (I won't tell you how much I paid them to say that). Seriously, I guess I thought that something magical (not good magic) happened when a person turned 40 - body parts started falling off, hair and teeth started falling out, etc. It wasn't a pretty picture. Fortunately none of that happened! I still have all my hair which isn't too gray (not gray at all right now, if you get my drift! ;>)). I still have all my teeth and none of my body parts fell off (some are falling, but that's what support undergarments are for, right?). All in all, 40 feels pretty great! Hopefully my body and mind will hold out for at least another 40 years. I look forward to the amazing journey!

Christmas Vacation

OK, it's a little early for Christmas vacation, but bear with me on this. Every year, the extended Proctor family goes to the family cabin at Flaming Gorge for Thanksgiving weekend to cut down Christmas trees. One of the traditions we have regarding this weekend is to watch "Christmas Vacation" on Friday night before the big Christmas tree hunt - just to get in the right spirit. We love that movie! And the cabin is so crowded with people, it is sort of like the chaos in "Christmas Vacation". We are wall-to-wall beds every night, but that's part of the fun.

On to the Christmas tree hunt. Not enough snow to snowmobile again this year, but we did take the four wheelers which the kids loved and helped to carry 12 foot Christmas trees back to the cars. There was enough snow for the first snow angels and snowballs of the season. I'll get pics posted eventually. We also found various random deer parts. The boys loved it; the girls thought it was pretty gross! It's always an adventure. You just never know what you'll find. The best part was we got some of the prettiest trees we've had in years and it wasn't freezing cold (that means not much complaining from the kids!).

Back at the cabin, we ate and watched movies all night long. It is a wonderful family tradition which I love! We have entered my favorite time of year. I love all the traditions - buttermilk candy, annual Christmas tree hunt, Christmas music, parties, dance recitals, etc. The list goes on and on! May you all enjoy the traditions of your home this holiday season!

Thanksgiving

With the holidays upon us and life about to enter warp speed, I thought I'd take a moment to list a few things for which I am grateful.

1. The Christmas lights are up and Matt didn't fall off the roof!
2. The girls report cards were straight A's - smart and beautiful. What more could a mother ask? One day soon I will figure out how to post photos so you can see for yourself.
3. We won the birthright lottery by being born in the United States where presidential campaigns have become marathons, but we still get to choose (more or less).
4. Family and friends who forgive a little (or a lot) of flakiness. Thank you everyone!
5. Work. Yes, I am grateful for work. If I didn't have to work, I'd probably be as bratty as Paris Hilton without all the money. How fun would that be? Besides, I learn so much from people everyday.
6. My parents who continue to give me never-ending love and support and advice whether I ask for it or not.
7. In-laws. Yes, I said in-laws. They are wonderful people who raised a really terrific guy and so cute too! I'm such a lucky girl!
8. Church, the freedom to chose which one or none at all and all that goes with it.
9. My house and all the stuff that goes in, on it, beside it, all around it. We are blessed with many, many comforts!
10. Jesus Christ and the great plan of salvation that truly makes life worth living with all the joys and sorrows that we experience. I'm even grateful for the trials we experience because they help us learn and grow. I just wish it wasn't so hard sometimes.
11. Last, but certainly not least, I'm grateful for each of you and all that you do to enhance my life. THANK YOU!

Here's to a Happy Thanksgiving to each of you. May you eat too much and feel the love of family.

Doughnut Fry

Just wanted to fill you in on a fun Halloween tradition in the Proctor family. It's actually a tradition that started with Matt's mom's family. Every year for Halloween, we have an old fashion doughnut fry. Everyone in the family - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents (you get the idea - EVERYONE) - comes to this celebration. Kids come in costumes and we all eat doughnuts until we can't eat another. I'm not sure when this all started, but this party was my first Proctor function when Matt and I just started dating.

Let's see, this year, we fried about 20 dozen doughnuts - yes, that says 20. We only had about 18 doughtnuts left by the time everyone left. We had 3 princesses, GI Joe, 2 Ninjas, 2 Tinker Bells, and a genie plus 6-10 teenagers who would rather be any place but there. We had to breakup a sword fight between the 2 Ninjas, but other than that there were no casualties besides some buttons on pants. So 222 doughtnuts down until next year! I don't think I'll eat a doughtnut again until next Halloween.

first time blogger

After reading the blogs of other family members and being in awe of all they fit into their lives, I decided to start one for myself. I'm not a great writer, especially creative, or very good with computers, but I figured this just may be the perfect outlet for the stress in my life. We are a pretty average family with a life filled with dance, ice skating, school, work, church and just about everything else under the sun. Don't expect to see pictures here anytime soon. Remember - I said I'm not very good with computers. I will, however, paint the most descriptive picture I can with words. Also, I'm looking for a cause to pour my heart and soul into because dance, ice skating, school, work, and church just don't take up enough of my time. Post your cause and sell your case. You may be the lucky winner!