Holiday Bowling

The day after Christmas we met up with some of the family at went bowling! It was so fun, I love bowling! And Kason even got to bowl and he LOVED it!!! Thanks Mark & Kathy for the fun afternoon!!

Bowling with Grandpa:





Kason working his bowling magic:



And ... check that out - kason's mad bowling skills!



Doin' the bowling dance:



Ok, so Kason thought the ball thing was so fun. He would pull the balls out and line them up. So funny.



with cousin, Austin:



with cousin, Adam:



So much fun! Then that night we drove to Salt Lake and ate at a place called 'Red Iguana' ... it was DELICIOUS Mexican food! Every since moving up here I have been missing, really yummy, spicy Mexican food and I had heard good things about this restaurant and it was so worth it and definately hit my craving!! Thanks for going with us Gillmans!!

This was the end of our Holiday excitement. Now, it's time to get ready for New Year's!! I cannot WAIT!!!

Christmas 2009

Well, I wasn't really looking forward to doing Christmas this year. In fact, I was kind of a scrooge about it. I just didn't feel jolly and in with the spirit of it all. I was just ready to have Christmas day over with and move on. I have been more excited for January 1st that Christmas for the whole month of December! But, we survived Christmas!!! Kason's excitement over everything really helped me not be so bitter about doing this as a single mom this year. Plus, having my dad here was a HUGE help. I would have been a mess if there was nobody here. It was hard to not have Kameron here but, the day wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think being in a new house and new town really helped because it wasn't the "norm" for us. Anyways ... we survived and I can honestly say I am glad Christmas is OVER this year!!!

Santa brought Kason a tool bench with all sorts of power tools ... he absolutely loves it. Good choice santa! :)







With a few of his favorite toys:





Kason with all his loot, this kid is so spoiled. ha!



Santa also brought us a wii!!! We have been loving it! Here's Kason and Grandpa playin!





That afternoon we went to my Grandparents house for some yummy dinner and to hang out for a while. It was fun to just relax and visit.

Kason getting a massage on Grandma's new chair massager:



taking pics with his new camera!!



So ... MERRY CHRISTMAS (a week late)!!! We hope everyone had an amazing Christmas!! Ours really was great considering our circumstances this year! Thank you for all your love and care this holiday season! I felt so loved by all the cards, calls and emails we received this year, it really brightened our days!! Until next year - Ho Ho Ho!!! :)

Christmas Eve

We were so excited for Christmas Eve because Grandpa Jeff was flying in from Colorado!!! Kason was anxious all morning for him to get here ...

I just think this picture is cute, he climbed under our end tables and was being a train conductor. Love this kid!!



When Grandpa got here we hung out, ate dinner and then went out for our annual drive to look at Christmas lights. We found the most AMAZING house where every tree had lights ... and they had lots of trees!! It was incredible!

When we got home, our family elf, "frosty", had left pj's and an ornament for Kason. I love this tradition because growing up I would always try and get my mom to let us open one present on Christmas Eve but, she never gave in! So, this makes up for all the years we didn't get to do it growing up! HAHA!

Kason's ornament:



Kason's new pj's:



Then we baked some cookies and got the carrots ready for the reindeer. When we were at the store Kason kept holding the carrots up and telling everyone - "These are for Santa's reindeer!!!" He was SOO excited!!



And then it was bedtime! Kason was SO excited to go to bed!! That night he came into my room at like 5:00 and was like, "Mom, did Santa come yet?" I told him to just go back to bed - there was no way I doing Christmas at 5am!! I loved his excitement this year about everything! So cute and fun.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

Christmas Sunday & A German Christmas

Just getting home from church the Sunday before Christmas ... Kason all dressed up in his Christmas best!!





Then that night we headed to my Grandparents house for our family Christmas party! Each year the family picks a different country for our "theme" so this year we did Germany! We had German food, learned about Germany, played German games and sang German songs. It was FUN! :)

Kason with his cousin Austin wearing that German outfit ... whatever they're called and however to spell it:



Austin and his rockin' outfit:



My Stud:



Caroling:



With Uncle Kim:





Playing handbells:



Present Time!!

SO EXCITED!


"mom, it's like from Toy Story!"




With his cousin, Cameron:



I love my crazy, big family and I'm SO incredibly grateful for them and that I get to live so close to them!!!

Denver Trip (December)

Warning: Picture overload below!!!

The first weekend of December Kason and I flew out to Colorado to spend sometime with him and see his new house. Actually GETTING there was quite the experience!! Holy cow! I made sure we left plenty early but, there was an accident on the freeway and if anybody knows Utah traffic, you know it's HORRIBLE if there is an accident or anything going on really (I get so annoyed driving here!) So, we were seriously in standstill traffic for like an hour. FINALLY it cleared out and I BOOKED it to the airport. We got there like 20 minutes before our flight was supposed to leave. Checked our baggage and ran like crazy for the gate. Of course our gate was at the very end of the longest terminal so I am trying to carry Kason, plus all our carry on stuff. It was insane. Anyways, we got to the gate like TWO minutes after the plane has pulled away. I just wanted to cry!! So, I went to the ticket counter and they put our names on the standby list for the 2:00 flight ... our original flight was at like 9:10!!! So, we got to sit in the airport for 5 hours. Kason did relatively good considering the fact that he was stuck in an airport and mad at me that he couldn't get on any airplanes. We did get to hear them announce the birth of a baby on one of the Southwest flights - which was kind of cool!

Anyways ... so, like 1:30 rolls around and they are boarding the 2:00 flight. They call us up to the counter and tell us they have one seat but, that wouldn't work because I obviously can't send Kason on his own. So, they have two seats of people who were supposed to show up but weren't there yet. She said if they aren't here in 5 minutes, the seats are yours. So, we wait and I am praying that security is just busy and it takes them forever to get through. RIGHT before (I kid you not, like she was turning to tell me the seats were ours) the guys come running down the terminal. I was SO frustrated and Kason was getting so tired. So, I went to talk to them and they said they had a 5:30 flight, which was delayed until 6:40 and there were a few seats left on that flight. Or they had a 6:10 flight that was full. So, they put us on the waiting list (again) for the 6:40 flight and said, just be back by 5:30.

So, I had to walk away because I was so exhausted and frustrated and ready to burst into tears! Kason was so ready to be out of the airport and so was I! I got to thinking ... it's only 2:00, I can sit around until 6:10 and MAYBE get on that flight (but probably not) or I can sit around until 6:40 and probably get on that flight ... that's another 4 hours!! And by the time I would have gotten to our car, gotten anywhere, it would have been time to turn around and get back to the airport!

SO ... I decided to see what other flights were heading out to Denver in the next little bit. Delta (or maybe United?) had one leaving in like an hour, so I walked over to their terminal and was asking the guy how much a ticket would be. They were decently priced, not as cheap as Southwest, but, I just wanted to get OUT so, I told him I needed two because Kason was almost 3. So the guy started working on the tickets and he looks at me and this BLESSED old man (who I love dearly even though I will never see him again) said, "Your son, he looks like he's about 23 months. Is that right?" I stumbled over my words and was like ... well, um ... I guess, you're doing the ticket not me. So, this sweet old man only made me pay for ONE ticket and let Kason count as a lap child. I must have looked pretty frazzled and exhausted for him to do that. I just stood there and started crying saying, thank you. thank you! It was a pretty amazing gesture that I will never forget. And right as we were getting on the plane I passed him and he said, "remember: he's 23 months!" and just smiled at us.
It was just amazing.

ANYWAYS - holy cow - that was our experience GETTING to Denver! Once we finally got there and met up with my dad ... this is what all we did...

Disney on Ice:
Kason LOVED it! He thought it was SO fun! He loved all the scenes but, especially Cars and Lion King. It was fun to see him so excited about it. I thought it was amazing too. I LOVE Ice Skating though - so it was fun to watch.

this kid was AMAZING!!!





Denver Aquarium:
This was SO cool! I loved it! I was just as excited about everything as Kason was! I love the Sea Turtles- by far the favorite of mine. :)



with sharks: look close - do you see 'em?!





Grandpa and Kason with sharks:





DORIE!!!

NEMO!!!



Kason was so excited that Nemo and Dorie were there. Then he saw the Jellyfish and he was like, "Mom! It's like on Nemo!! SO COOL!"





Love this pic, Kason adores his Grandpa Jeff!



Goofing Off:

Just goofing off at Grandpa's house...







And Shopped at Bass Pro Shops:

Kason WISHES he could have this! haha!



It was a FUN trip!! It snowed a lot while we were there so we didn't get to do as much as we were hoping but, we still kept busy and had lots of fun!! Now, we'll have to go back in the SPRING when it's not freezing and watch some baseball!!