New Years Resolutions: MADE.

Toph and I took advantage of having slaves my siblings in town this weekend and went out last night to make our news years resolutions. I made the goal to not eat sugar all year. Toph laughed at me. JUST WATCH ME DO IT, BUDDY!! Or watch me fail as the cravings consume my soul by January 2nd. Toph made the goal to pass the bar. I support that one. Big time. Now the boys are hounding me to go buy ice cream so our news years party can get underway (my last night of sugar!!!) so I'd better get on that. Gooda will most likely die if he doesn't get some ice cream in his system ASAP. No joke. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

best of 2011!

Toph's faves from the past year:

-Finishing his 2L year and starting his 3L year.

-His summer job. Amen to that.

-X-Men First Class. Again: AMEN.

-Buying a marked down HP Tablet. Wayyy marked down.

-Getting a free chrome book to "test" out. For keeps.

Bronson's faves from the year:

-Baseball cupcakes.

-Football cupcakes.

-Basketball nights with dad.

-Real big boy basketball shoes .... sensing a theme.

My faves from the year:

-B's second birthday.

-Getting a new camera for my birthday.
-Making date night a priority again.

-Going to the blogger swap/meet up.

-Gooda coming home!!!

-Taking Gooda out to BYU with my mom+B.

Goodbye 2011. You were good to us.

But 2012 is gonna be HUGE.

This is the first time we've ever bought B presents. Luckyyy!

Guess what? Christmas was on Sunday this year. That's like the craziest thing ever for Mormons because then we have to figure out if we do presents before or after church. Insanity!! I was all about making Monday into Christmas and Sunday into Christmas Eve so nothing conflicted but that plan got majorly vetoed. We ended up going to church and then doing presents later on which was actually perfection. No waking up early and the present part got prolonged (which is what I wanted all along); best of both worlds.

Highlights:

-Watching B open his gifts! Toph and I just got him a few things but he ended up with tons of stuff courtesy of aunts, uncles and grandparents. Pretty much everything was sports related and he was in heaven. The piece de resistance were the real live basketball shoes I ordered for him. The second he opened them, on they went and he's been wearing them ever since. I shoulda got some odor eaters as a little stocking stuffer too.

-My presents!!! Faves included: a potty training DVD that Gooda picked up at the thrift store (very thoughtful), a handed down man watch from Carlos who gave away a lot of her possessions since she's moving to BYU next week and had to clean out her room anyway, and a homemade camera strap cover from my madre. 

-A new tradition! We started a new tradition where Toph and I write each other a thank you letter of all the things we're thankful for from the past  year (things about each other or just from life in general). I love getting notes from Toph. For reals.

And now Christmas is over and life goes on as usual. Kinda.
School doesn't start until the 11th so we're still on vaycay.
Bronson's soaking in all the cousin time and Toph's reading some new book on his tablet.
Same old, same old.

Christmas Eve was beyond spiritual.

We stuck to family tradition and acted out the nativity on Christmas eve. It was Bronson's first year to be in it and he got to be a shepherd! It was kinda the cutest thing ever. Thank goodness for dishtowels and freepiled sweaters too. 

We went all out for costumes.

The play wrapped with the cast wrestling and rolling around on the "stable" floor.

It was magical.

We also opened new pj's, had homemade Chinese food and pushed the 

couches back together because the motherload couch is what it's all about.

Highlights:

B as a little shepherd boy kneeling in front of Rowan as the huge toddler "baby" Jesus.

Mom's Thai sweet potato+shrimp soup.

The fortunes I wrote for everyone.

B's little basketball pajamas. Smooth move gma.

Putting all the presents under the tree. There were so many!!! Because we have like infinity people in our fam.

we went. we saw. we jumped pics.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!! I wish pictures of Christmas lights could do them justice. 

This year we went to this house that does this huge light show coordinated to music. 

The highlight was when part of it was done to the Angry Birds song. 

My nephew went crazy with excitement. And I kinda did too. Truth be told.

Driving around in the dark and staring at other people's yards is genius. 

I vote to do it everyday!!!