Goodbye 2010!

I have to say, I am thrilled to see 2010 leave us. Although we are always blessed in our lives, this past year has brought on too many changes that I did not see coming and did not welcome! We started the year with Tiff and Nate's family moving to St. George :( Then it was Martsi's turn :( Then it was off to Laguna Beach for my parents :( Then the tragic loss of Chris' dad. Horrible! In the midst of all of this, we made a heartbreaking decision to sell our beautiful home. We listed it the weekend before Thanksgiving and had a wonderful response leaving us with several offers, one of which was accepted. We don't have a set closing date yet but it's looking like in a month or so. Wow! I have been fighting this move for years now. The stress of this home has gotten to be too much and the inevitable has happened. We are hoping to end up in Daybreak so we stay nice and close to remaining family and of course, the many friends we have made here in this great neighborhood. The girls will be able to stay at school which is really important to me. They are handling the situation like champs and are liking the idea of living in Daybreak. We are praying that this next year brings peace, happiness and most of all, stability.

On a lighter note, we were so happy to have my parents stay with us for Christmas! Bronson and Chelcie came from California too and stayed with Danny and Bre. (I didn't get one picture of them. What???) How fun to spend time together. The girls were thrilled to have so much family around again. A few pictures of our time together...

The girls on Christmas eve in their new pajamas. They are all looking so grown up!

First presents to be opened at 6:30 on Christmas morning. I know it's horrible but we let Ava stay asleep... She didn't wake up until about 8:00. The girls were off riding their new electric scooters as soon as the sun was out and rode them until the batteries were dead. Fun!

A group shot minus the sleeping child...

Ava arrived :) She was so cute and super excited to open all of her gifts. She would pick up each one and say, "What's this?" Our video camera's memory was full so we didn't get much of her cuteness.

She absolutely loves Grandma and Grandpa. The whole time they were here, she was glued to their side. If she couldn't find them she would yell out "Where's Grandma? Where's Grandpa?" and then run upstairs to Mya's room where they slept. There was hardly a minute when they were out of her sight.

She has lived on this scooter since Christmas. She loves to give her Barbies a ride in the purse on the front. She is very coordinated on this thing and can maneuver all over the house.

Don't be shocked, here is Ava and Grandma watching Despicable Me for the 100th time on Christmas day. She LOVES this movie. It is so funny to sit by her and watch a movie. She gives you a play by play. Her movie habit is kind of out of control but oh so cute. I love to listen to her giggle and she is constantly repeating phrases which isn't always a good thing. The movie filter needs to be on high alert at this house :)

So, Chris talked me into getting him the xbox 360 for his present this year. I was warned by several wives that I was making a big mistake. They have lost their husbands to this gaming system :) He has been great and I've only gone to bed a few times without him so far. We got the Kinect with the xbox and it has been a hoot to watch people play. Here are a few shots of the girls playing a rafting game. (If you don't know what Kinect is, it's a system that goes with the xbox. It detects your body movements and you don't have to hold a remote. So any movement you make is reflected on the screen or game. Pretty darn cool.)

We ended the night with our annual family party. Clint and Britt hosted. We had the best food and the best time together :) This shot is blurry but so cute. Bella, Gracie Mae and Daphne.

Nixon and Ava hugging :)

Grandma made this cute headband for Ava. She also got a new "blah" (blanket) that has red edging like her favorite baby blanket that has retired into a keepsake box :)

What a great weekend it was! As my mom said, time spent together is extra special because of the miles that now separate us!