A New Kind of Christmas

This year it was just our little family of 3 for Christmas. I was a little worried early on in the season that it wasn't going to feel like Christmas, but it did! We really enjoyed spending time as a family, and Boston's cute excitement made up for any worries I had. We ended up loving our first Christmas as a family. Scott's pretty laid back about traditions and stuff, so he let me decide how Christmas Day was going to go. I kept a lot of the same traditions that my family has Christmas morning, but we also did our own thing too. 

Boston let us sleep in until about 8AM, and then he woke us up with his cute little voice saying, "All done sleeping! Santa came!" We turned on the video camera and opened his door. Then we all opened our stockings and tree ornaments. 

This Africa shirt was one of Scott's favorite presents this year. I saw it at the Marathon for Adoption I did back in October, but we didn't have our money on us. I hunted it down later on and ordered it online. 

All the money for this shirt went towards feeding kids in Africa. (If you want to see the other shirts and stuff they have you can go to intothestreetsofethiopia.com) One of the traditions I wanted to start this year was to have one stocking stuffer for each person where the money went towards a charity. Boston got a book this year where the money went towards St. Jude's Children's Hospital. 

Another tradition we have is to buy each other a tree ornament that signifies something we did that year. I got the 26.2 foot for the Boston Marathon, Scott got the bears in their sleeping bags for our first family camping trip in TX, and Boston got the Mickey Mouse for his first trip to Disneyland. (If you look close you can see that the mama bear is holding a baby bear. I thought it was so cute because Boston actually cuddled up in our sleeping bag when we went camping because it was so cold.) 

After stockings and ornaments, Scott and Boston watched his new movie Bolt and blew bubbles while I made breakfast. My family always had pancakes, bacon, and maple syrup from Vermont on Christmas morning. I don't like bacon, but I did make some yummy pumpkin/oatmeal pancakes, and we improvised with store bought maple syrup instead of Vermont maple syrup. 

After breakfast we let Boston open his blocks while we waited to skype with my parents. 

Skype is awesome. My parents got to watch Boston open the presents they got him almost like they were in the same room. Boston was very excited to finally get his radio flyer scooter. We took video of him opening and riding his scooter, but I realized we didn't get a snap shot! He is impressively good at riding his scooter! The other night we walked all the way to our nearby shopping complex while Boston scooted next to us. It's an entire mile and he scooted the whole way. 

I also got to open my big present while we skyped with my parents because it was from both them and Scott. I got the Garmin 410 watch for running. I've been wanting a Garmin for years, so I was pretty excited. This watch does all sorts of cool stuff. I could ramble on and on about it, but basically it will keep track of my distance and pace on my runs along with a bunch of other cool stuff. :) I love it. 

After we skyped with my parents, we called up Scott's parents who were also with his Grandma Gwen and skyped with them for awhile. 

Boston really likes his Transformer Robot from his Grandma and Grandpa Fitz. 

Scott got to open his big present while we skyped with his parents, an Apple TV! 

After we were done skyping it was nap time for Boston. Scott and I opened a couple more presents from each other while Boston was napping because it was difficult for us to open any presents while he was awake because he didn't quite understand that not every present was for him. :) Scott gave me a salad spinner, something else I've been wanting for years, and some nice new Paula Dean frying pans. Then we got ready for church, and I started getting dinner ready, including using my new salad spinner! I'm so excited that I don't have to do the wet lettuce on a paper towel thing anymore. 

We had church from 2:30-3:30, and then we came home for some more skyping! Lots of skyping this Christmas, but it was so cool that we could spend time with family like we were there with them even though we were half way across the country. This time we skyped with my little sister Kristen and her boyfriend Matt, and my older sister Jessica and her family. 

Then Boston got to play his new game Elefun, which he had been dying to play since he opened it. He LOVES this game. We are so glad we decided to buy it two days before Christmas. 

The elephant's trunk blows butterflies out and you try to catch them with your net. It's right up Boston's alley. I really wanted a game that we could all play together as a family, so I'm glad we have this now. 

You probably noticed that our present opening was very spread out throughout the day. I know this is different than a lot of people do it, but I really like to make the present opening last all day rather than hurriedly opening everything at once. I like to open something and then play with it for awhile, so that's what we did. I think one of the best things about Christmas is the anticipation, so I like making that anticipation last a little longer. Scott and Boston had fun playing with his new play dough stuff while I finished making dinner. 

We had glazed ham, herb-roasted vegetables, green beans with feta, berry salad, and sweet potato casserole for dinner. We were supposed to have rolls too, but I forgot to put them out, so I was bummed when I saw them sitting on top of the fridge after we were already cleaning up. Oh well. We were completely stuffed. 

I didn't know this until this Christmas, but apparently Scott's not a huge ham fan. I'm not either most of the year, but my family always had a nice ham dinner either on Christmas Eve or Christmas, so Scott was nice enough to let me make ham for our Christmas dinner. With fresh pineapple and glaze, Scott became a ham fan. I was glad he liked it so much because this is what I want to have every year for Christmas. 

After Boston went to bed, Scott and I opened the rest of the presents we had gotten each other. Scott got a lot of clothes this year. He looked at his dress pants, shirts, belt, and tie, and said, "I must be getting old." I told him, "Ya, maybe next year I'll buy you a nice watch." 

I looked at my tupperware, shower curtain liner, wash cloths, and pans and said, "I must be getting old too." We had a good mix of fun presents as well as practical presents this year. 

This trip to Houston to see the Olympic Marathon trials was definitely a good fun present to end the night on! We are so excited for our little family vacation in a few weeks. 

This was the longest post ever! Good job if you're still reading! We were so grateful for all the happy memories this Christmas brought to us, so we wanted to write some of them down so we can re-live them all over again someday. 

P.S. I will hopefully get around to uploading some cute videos of Boston on Christmas. I know his grandparents would like to see those. 

Gingerbread Houses and the Riverwalk at Christmas

A couple Saturdays ago Scott and I thought it would be fun to make gingerbread houses with Boston. 

Boston thought it would be fun to let his parents to the gingerbread house making so he could take advantage of their distractedness and shovel unknown amounts of candy and frosting into his mouth. 

Here's Scott's house. It reminds me of a Whoville house. 

Here's my house. It tasted really good, so it didn't look this cute for very long. :)

Maybe next year Boston will join in on the actual house making, but we all had a good time, and that was the ultimate goal. He hasn't been eating chocolate has he? I don't see any evidence of that, do you? 

The Monday before Christmas it finally stopped raining long enough for us to spend Family Night walking around the Riverwalk to see the lights. It was almost 70 degrees this night, but Boston insisted on wearing his hat, gloves, and scarf because they were, "So tute (cute)." He says that because whenever he puts them on I say, "Awe, you look so cute!" 

He's our little GQ. He loves being the center of attention at all times which means he loves getting his picture taken. 

Not nearly as pretty as Temple Square, and they didn't have all the lights on this night, but at least we could still feel our toes when we were done. 

We had fun walking around and we ended the night with a trip to the food court for fro yo and ice-cream. 

We went back to the Riverwalk the following Saturday with our upstairs neighbors who are in our ward for a nice Christmas Eve dinner at Q. It was a fancy BBQ restaurant at a hotel (the same hotel where the Heisman trophy winner is staying for the Independence Bowl Game.) Cool huh? We didn't see him, but we saw some other football players roaming around. 

Boston enjoyed his kid's meal, and we really enjoyed our meals too!

Scott got short ribs with Korean sauce, salad, and Mac N Jack. 

I was so excited to eat, I almost dropped my plate trying to get a picture of it. 

I decided to try something new and different than anything I've ever had before, and I LOVED it. It's always scary for me to try something new because I'm kind of picky, but I'm getting less and less picky, and I'm really enjoying expanding my menu options. :) I got Pad Thai with rice noodles and tofu. That was my first time ever eating tofu minus the one culture night at Young Women's a long time ago, but I spit that back out, so I don't think that counted. I really like tofu! I'm going to have to start buying it every now and then. 

It was actually cold this night. It was only in the 40's, which is freezing for us Texans. I liked it though. It made it feel more like Christmas.  

They had a lot more lights on this night. I loved the cute little bridge. :)

My favorite picture from the night. We got lucky with everyone looking at the camera and smiling! Thank goodness we have such a fast camera because I guarantee Boston didn't sit there like that for more than two seconds. 

This pretty picture is compliments of Scott. One of my New Year's resolutions is going to be to learn how to better use our camera! I love pretty pictures. This looks like a Texas postcard huh? 

After the Riverwalk we came home and let Boston open one present. We want to start the tradition of letting our kids open a pair of pj's and a new bedtime book on Christmas Eve.  

We had a great Christmas Eve! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Boston woke up today saying, "One, two, three, then Christmas!" We have a countdown puzzle that only has three pieces left. We count the blank spots everyday after we put another puzzle piece on. Boston also walks around saying, "Santa's coming to town!" I can't believe Christmas is almost here! I haven't been this excited for Christmas in a long time. Boston is at such a fun age this year, and I really can't wait to watch him open his presents and then spend the day enjoying them with him. It's also been really fun getting packages and cards in the mail. I look forward to checking the mail everyday now, and there's almost always something besides junk mail and bills in there. It's nice! We are so grateful for skype so Boston's grandparents will still be able to watch him open the presents they gave him. 

USAA Christmas Parties

I was waiting until I got some pictures from Scott to blog about the USAA Christmas party, but I guess you have to pay for them, so the pictures we have will do. We couldn't take our camera in because professional cameras weren't allowed, so we just have one picture before the party and a couple blurry phone pictures at the party. 

This is at our good friends, the Reeve's house before the party. They were so nice to watch Boston and take him to our ward Christmas party with them. When we found out the USAA Christmas party was the same night as our ward Christmas party, we thought there was no way we were going to find anyone to watch Boston. We're so grateful for good friends in Texas!

I had heard lots of good things about the USAA Christmas party, and I knew it was going to be big, but I was still shocked when I walked into the Alamo Dome and saw the amazing decorations everywhere. We hadn't even done anything yet and I was already having the best night ever because of how awesome everything looked. They do different themes every year, and this year it was Viva Las Vegas, so all the decorations made it look like you were walking down The Strip. 

The entertainment was awesome, but let's be honest, the food was the highlight of mine and Scott's night. We like good food. They had salad, an array of veggies, mashed potatoes, beef, and the best turkey I've ever had. Then there was the dessert. So many choices I didn't know what to do with myself except go back to that dessert buffet about 3 different times throughout the night. 

For the entertainment they had Zuma Zuma (the African acrobatic men from America's Got Talent), the illusionist Reza, and a concert by Huey Lewis and the News. They also had Vegas type games like Black Jack and Roulette where you could win tickets to enter a drawing for prizes, and slot machines with fake money. Then there were different things going on throughout the Alamo Dome in different rooms like karaoke and piano dueling so you could just wander around and pick different things to do. 

I was really, really impressed by how well USAA treats their employees. We are so grateful to work for such a good company. 

As if that amazing adult party wasn't enough, they put on another big Christmas party the next Saturday just for the kids. Scott was actually out of town though, so I went with our friends that work there. 

Zak got to carry these two around all day and get a taste of what it would be like to have twins. He also got a good workout. Boston made Zak hold him and wouldn't come to me very much. He really likes Zak. 

The first activity at the kid's Christmas party is always a play. This year it was called "Snowman in Texas."

They gave the kids a goody bag that included tickets to play a variety of games and win prizes. 

Boston was pretty happy with his candy cane balloon. 

He was at a fun age this year for this party because he was actually really good at all the games he played. I was impressed with his aim and his ability to hit and knock down tin cans with a bean bag. His dad would have been proud if he was there. (He was at the Army vs. Navy football game in D.C. for "work". It really was for work though. I'm going to make him blog about it since I wasn't there.)

We ended the party with a trip to the cotton candy table. Boston's first taste of cotton candy. Pure sugar, of course he was a fan. (Oh, and the little snowmen they are holding up is for a drawing we were supposed to enter but never did. We were supposed to take pictures of them with their snowmen in certain places and then email them to enter them into a drawing for prizes.)

Thank you USAA for two really fun Saturdays. I already liked them, but now I really like them. I am already excited for the Christmas party next year.