here is a hint to how we spent ours:
and here is an even BIGGER hint....
and here is the truth:
we had a great time.
and breakfast the next morning was a great way to start off the next 366...
happy new year from the taylors.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
your ideal new year?
how did you spend your new year?
here is a hint to how we spent ours:
and here is an even BIGGER hint....
and here is the truth:
we had a great time.
and breakfast the next morning was a great way to start off the next 366...
happy new year from the taylors.
here is a hint to how we spent ours:
and here is an even BIGGER hint....
and here is the truth:
we had a great time.
and breakfast the next morning was a great way to start off the next 366...
happy new year from the taylors.
christmas 2011
christmas this year was awesome. we really were spoiled rotten and we loved every second of it. at one point, cade yelled out to a room full of family, "this is the best christmas of my adult life." how is THAT for a great christmas! i am starting this post off telling you how great it is for a reason: we hardly took ANY pictures! you really will have to imagine most of the highlights- but here they are nonetheless...
christmas eve started out a little rough. i had a last minute gift to buy which left me in a bustling target staring at empty shelves while listening to the employees complain to one another about being open on christmas eve. not really a tradition i want to continue next year...
after that, we headed to sandy to meet up with some of my family for a movie and dinner. we saw the adventures of tin tin... owen fell asleep asleep after about 30 minutes and violet spent the duration of the movie rummaging for snacks and moving from lap to lap. maybe it wasn't the best kid movie... we made up for the fun afterward by heading to chilis. i think this is the first christmas eve that i have ever spent out on the town. usually we are at a family member's house eating a home cooked meal (tradition.... TRADITION!!!). this year, nobody wanted to cook but we all wanted to get together. plus, chilis welcomed us with open arms. it really was a relaxing way to end the evening. total number of pictures taken on christmas eve: ZERO. yikes.
after dinner, we headed back home where sleepy babies went to bed and busy santa set out all his goodies. having our little girls around really made the holiday even better. i have been giddily snatching up gifts over the past few months as we prepared for christmas morning. i think i was more excited than violet (who is just barely starting to understand what christmas is all about).i was beyond thrilled at the thought of all of us tearing into gifts the next morning and i could barely sleep.
the next morning, we let violet and ivy sleep in while we got ready for church. having early morning church means a quick christmas morning for us so we tried to make it as smooth as possible by getting ready before the kiddos even opened their eyes. as soon as violet woke up, we led her down the hall so she could see the spoils. after four weeks of me telling vi that she can't touch any of the presents under the tree, she was a little confused when we forced her to open her first gift. luckily, it only took one present for her to get the concept and she soon ripped into the rest with excitement. we opened a few of the presents for her to play with- which she promptly stuffed into her stroller for a walk.
ivy just swam in all the paper.
oddly enough, those are the only two photos we took christmas morning. a little sad, i know... but we do have lots of video footage of violet yelling excitedly about barbies and babies. so all is not lost. it really was a MERRY christmas. even if our two photos don't show that so well.
next was church. it was a great meeting and it reminded me that the whole reason we celebrate christmas is the same reason we go to church every sunday. Christ is our Savior.
post church, we headed to grammy's for brunch and presents. vi was still on cloud nine from her barbies and babies- but the gifts kept rolling in. she was in heaven.
grammy was so generous and really spoiled all of us. violet got a cat book from her aunt mandy that has not left her sight in the three weeks since christmas. it is a well-loved book by this little cat lover as is her new cat piano. ivy's favorite gift was from her cousin addy who gave her a glowing worm that sings her to sleep. what's that? you want photos of the girls in their matching dresses holding up their fabulous gifts? sorry. we were too busy living in the moment to be bothered with such trivialities as taking pictures. just know we had a great time.
after grammy's we headed to my mom and dad's house for more presents and a fabulous dinner. we stuffed ourselves silly with my mom's famous enchiladas before diving into more gifts. here are some of the gifts we got:
heidi knitted this cute poncho for ivy
cade and i got new shirts
and violet posed by her new kitchen pans and food set.
after the kids exchanged presents and were happily playing, my mom unveiled an awesome game she had been preparing for months for the adults to play and win their gifts this year. we all unwrapped a gift from the pile to find AWESOME prize packs. there were gift cards to just about everywhere, sephora makeup kits, car dvd players, a tent, a box containing a bunch of stuff from my dad's junk drawer (which also included an unspecified amount of money), restaurant card and MUCH more. she had put a lot of work into these prize packages. then, for the game, we answered trivia questions that were written about the family members in the room. if you answered correctly, you could steal a prize from someone. the more questions you answered, the more punches you received on your card. if you got enough punches, you would keep the prize you had stolen. make sense? well, even if you are confused, you should know it was a blast. we all walked away with great presents (cade and i won a tent and a dual screen dvd player for the car) and the game was fun for everyone. my mom sure knows how to throw a party!
where has ivy been all night?
sleeping or smiling... just her usual.
needless to say, we all sacked out as soon as we got home. a busy christmas to say the least- but we really did love it all. violet has been so obsessed with santa that she often wakes up, runs down the hall and asks where her presents are. she talks about santa all the time and cade was nice enough to explain that she still has days, weeks, and MONTHS before he comes again. violet and i both wish it would come sooner. i am already giddy thinking about christmas next year.
oh, and trust me, next year will be FILLED with pictures. i learned my lesson...
christmas eve started out a little rough. i had a last minute gift to buy which left me in a bustling target staring at empty shelves while listening to the employees complain to one another about being open on christmas eve. not really a tradition i want to continue next year...
after that, we headed to sandy to meet up with some of my family for a movie and dinner. we saw the adventures of tin tin... owen fell asleep asleep after about 30 minutes and violet spent the duration of the movie rummaging for snacks and moving from lap to lap. maybe it wasn't the best kid movie... we made up for the fun afterward by heading to chilis. i think this is the first christmas eve that i have ever spent out on the town. usually we are at a family member's house eating a home cooked meal (tradition.... TRADITION!!!). this year, nobody wanted to cook but we all wanted to get together. plus, chilis welcomed us with open arms. it really was a relaxing way to end the evening. total number of pictures taken on christmas eve: ZERO. yikes.
after dinner, we headed back home where sleepy babies went to bed and busy santa set out all his goodies. having our little girls around really made the holiday even better. i have been giddily snatching up gifts over the past few months as we prepared for christmas morning. i think i was more excited than violet (who is just barely starting to understand what christmas is all about).i was beyond thrilled at the thought of all of us tearing into gifts the next morning and i could barely sleep.
the next morning, we let violet and ivy sleep in while we got ready for church. having early morning church means a quick christmas morning for us so we tried to make it as smooth as possible by getting ready before the kiddos even opened their eyes. as soon as violet woke up, we led her down the hall so she could see the spoils. after four weeks of me telling vi that she can't touch any of the presents under the tree, she was a little confused when we forced her to open her first gift. luckily, it only took one present for her to get the concept and she soon ripped into the rest with excitement. we opened a few of the presents for her to play with- which she promptly stuffed into her stroller for a walk.
ivy just swam in all the paper.
oddly enough, those are the only two photos we took christmas morning. a little sad, i know... but we do have lots of video footage of violet yelling excitedly about barbies and babies. so all is not lost. it really was a MERRY christmas. even if our two photos don't show that so well.
next was church. it was a great meeting and it reminded me that the whole reason we celebrate christmas is the same reason we go to church every sunday. Christ is our Savior.
post church, we headed to grammy's for brunch and presents. vi was still on cloud nine from her barbies and babies- but the gifts kept rolling in. she was in heaven.
grammy was so generous and really spoiled all of us. violet got a cat book from her aunt mandy that has not left her sight in the three weeks since christmas. it is a well-loved book by this little cat lover as is her new cat piano. ivy's favorite gift was from her cousin addy who gave her a glowing worm that sings her to sleep. what's that? you want photos of the girls in their matching dresses holding up their fabulous gifts? sorry. we were too busy living in the moment to be bothered with such trivialities as taking pictures. just know we had a great time.
after grammy's we headed to my mom and dad's house for more presents and a fabulous dinner. we stuffed ourselves silly with my mom's famous enchiladas before diving into more gifts. here are some of the gifts we got:
heidi knitted this cute poncho for ivy
cade and i got new shirts
and violet posed by her new kitchen pans and food set.
after the kids exchanged presents and were happily playing, my mom unveiled an awesome game she had been preparing for months for the adults to play and win their gifts this year. we all unwrapped a gift from the pile to find AWESOME prize packs. there were gift cards to just about everywhere, sephora makeup kits, car dvd players, a tent, a box containing a bunch of stuff from my dad's junk drawer (which also included an unspecified amount of money), restaurant card and MUCH more. she had put a lot of work into these prize packages. then, for the game, we answered trivia questions that were written about the family members in the room. if you answered correctly, you could steal a prize from someone. the more questions you answered, the more punches you received on your card. if you got enough punches, you would keep the prize you had stolen. make sense? well, even if you are confused, you should know it was a blast. we all walked away with great presents (cade and i won a tent and a dual screen dvd player for the car) and the game was fun for everyone. my mom sure knows how to throw a party!
where has ivy been all night?
sleeping or smiling... just her usual.
needless to say, we all sacked out as soon as we got home. a busy christmas to say the least- but we really did love it all. violet has been so obsessed with santa that she often wakes up, runs down the hall and asks where her presents are. she talks about santa all the time and cade was nice enough to explain that she still has days, weeks, and MONTHS before he comes again. violet and i both wish it would come sooner. i am already giddy thinking about christmas next year.
oh, and trust me, next year will be FILLED with pictures. i learned my lesson...
i love to see the temple
before christmas rolled around, we made our way to temple square with a few of our closest friends to see the lights. violet has been learning the song "i love to see the temple" at church lately, so she was especially excited to SEE the temple AND to sing her song- which she did a few times while we were there.
first we grubbed.
then we bundled up- because it was beyond cold.
we saw a few sights.
and then we HUSTLED into the nearest open door to get a little warm again. i'll say it again: it was so cold.
it was so nice and warm... that we decided to stay a while.
and finally, we tried (yet again) to pull off the "casual laughing shot." a few years ago, cade took this picture at our annual light-seeing extravaganza.
and since then, we have tried a few times to reenact the shot. this year, the boys' shot was another bust. remember, we were going for "casual."
the girls' shot just shows how witty kylee is...
overall, a great night with fabulous people.
first we grubbed.
then we bundled up- because it was beyond cold.
we saw a few sights.
and then we HUSTLED into the nearest open door to get a little warm again. i'll say it again: it was so cold.
it was so nice and warm... that we decided to stay a while.
and finally, we tried (yet again) to pull off the "casual laughing shot." a few years ago, cade took this picture at our annual light-seeing extravaganza.
and since then, we have tried a few times to reenact the shot. this year, the boys' shot was another bust. remember, we were going for "casual."
the girls' shot just shows how witty kylee is...
overall, a great night with fabulous people.
Monday, January 9, 2012
a tribute to the beard
filming as an extra for the new testament finally came to an end. cade was tempted to keep his facial locks a little longer. but it was time.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
bullough family party
the bullough family party is always a PARTY. every year, my uncle b has all the family over to the school he teaches at where we stick to the traditions that have come to be over the years.
first: we eat and chat. this year cade and i were an hour late to the party. that's right- an hour. the weird thing is we didn't really have much of a reason. we were just late. thus, we skipped over #1 and headed straight into tradition #2...
next, the kids will act out the nativity story. (you will noticed how shocked one of the shepherds is at the appearance of angels... this ain't no amateur production.)
i have always loved to watch this (and participate in it when i was young) but having kids in it lately has really made it great. this year, violet played an angel and ivy played baby jesus #2. there were 2 babies because mary wanted to hold a doll...plus ivy is a little too heavy and floppy for a 5 year old to manage. thus: 2 baby jesuses. ivy didn't mind the straw at all! she didn't make a peep in her manger the whole time!
mary and all the angels couldn't get enough of her.
our little angel was quite content to bring good tidings of great joy to the masses while seated on the other side of the stage with a roll in her mouth.
if that isn't the cutest angel you have ever seen....
next comes the kids' present exchange. all the kiddos under 18 exchange gifts. ivy scored lots of new teething toys and baby toys. she loves them, in case you were wondering.
violet got a cute apron (which is perfect for her kitchen set she has been playing with lately) along with a dress-up bear game.
which she insisted she play with right away.
she also couldn't wait to get her apron on... nor could she wait to get on her new boots and hat from her aunt julie. she is LOVING presents these days and they don't go unappreciated. she puts them right to use. this left violet looking like this for the rest of the night:
she looks a little bit like a bag lady. ok... she looks A LOT like a bag lady- but we couldn't get enough of it.
at one point in the evening, she tripped on a stair and before she had even hit the ground, she was yelling out to nobody around, "i'm ok! i'm ok!" that crazy bag lady had us rolling.
next: santa comes.
vi wasn't too sure about this. she kept looking at santa like he wasn't human. we all know she is used to beards so it was strange to see her put up a fight. ivy, on the other hand, loves santa. have i mentioned that she is the best baby ever? it is worth saying again and again.
tradition #5 white elephant exchange
cade ended up with a lion portrait that looked something like this. he hauled it off to work to hang in his cubicle. win.
cade is such a hunk these days.
finally, we end the night with a pinata. the kids break it open, we gather our spoils and head home.
needless to say, violet was asleep in the car before we got out of the parking lot. and so was i.
first: we eat and chat. this year cade and i were an hour late to the party. that's right- an hour. the weird thing is we didn't really have much of a reason. we were just late. thus, we skipped over #1 and headed straight into tradition #2...
next, the kids will act out the nativity story. (you will noticed how shocked one of the shepherds is at the appearance of angels... this ain't no amateur production.)
i have always loved to watch this (and participate in it when i was young) but having kids in it lately has really made it great. this year, violet played an angel and ivy played baby jesus #2. there were 2 babies because mary wanted to hold a doll...plus ivy is a little too heavy and floppy for a 5 year old to manage. thus: 2 baby jesuses. ivy didn't mind the straw at all! she didn't make a peep in her manger the whole time!
mary and all the angels couldn't get enough of her.
our little angel was quite content to bring good tidings of great joy to the masses while seated on the other side of the stage with a roll in her mouth.
if that isn't the cutest angel you have ever seen....
next comes the kids' present exchange. all the kiddos under 18 exchange gifts. ivy scored lots of new teething toys and baby toys. she loves them, in case you were wondering.
violet got a cute apron (which is perfect for her kitchen set she has been playing with lately) along with a dress-up bear game.
which she insisted she play with right away.
she also couldn't wait to get her apron on... nor could she wait to get on her new boots and hat from her aunt julie. she is LOVING presents these days and they don't go unappreciated. she puts them right to use. this left violet looking like this for the rest of the night:
she looks a little bit like a bag lady. ok... she looks A LOT like a bag lady- but we couldn't get enough of it.
at one point in the evening, she tripped on a stair and before she had even hit the ground, she was yelling out to nobody around, "i'm ok! i'm ok!" that crazy bag lady had us rolling.
next: santa comes.
vi wasn't too sure about this. she kept looking at santa like he wasn't human. we all know she is used to beards so it was strange to see her put up a fight. ivy, on the other hand, loves santa. have i mentioned that she is the best baby ever? it is worth saying again and again.
tradition #5 white elephant exchange
cade ended up with a lion portrait that looked something like this. he hauled it off to work to hang in his cubicle. win.
cade is such a hunk these days.
finally, we end the night with a pinata. the kids break it open, we gather our spoils and head home.
needless to say, violet was asleep in the car before we got out of the parking lot. and so was i.
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