Christmas Eve

we spent christmas eve at my parents as usual. we had soup in bread bowls and my dad's yummy punch.

i had seen this online and fell in love with it and knew my parents would love it.  however, i knew i couldn't afford it on my own at $10 a piece and 4 times that for the sofa!  so i hit up my siblings and they all paid for their own kids and we split the cost of the sofa, grandparents and dog.  i love it.  each grandchild is there and it's the first piece with new little lovina in the family!  i had fun playing with it and rearranging the kids. :0)  the top one is in order of birth from left to right.  the bottom one is putting the boys on the top of the couch with the dog and the new baby in the middle. :)

before the night was done, santa read 'twas the night before christmas.

and grandpa read from the scriptures.

then we piled in our cars and went looking at christmas lights before going home.  this house was fantastic!  by far my favorite so far!

when we got home we discovered eve the elf left us presents!  we each opened them to discover monkey pajamas.

trying to set up the timer was a treat but we got it!

the girls were then off to bed and santa stayed up for 5 hours putting together the girls amazing kitchen!  i was quite grateful.  kg normally works christmas eve.  i set things up and we celebrate when he gets home christmas morning at 7:30 am before he goes to bed. so i ordered this kitchen knowing i'd be putting it together.  but christmas happened to fall during his normal 6-day weekend.  i was so excited for that!   since santa was off, he did.  i can't even imagine how long it would have taken me!  thanks santa!

Amanda came to Boise!!!

Friday::
Amanda arrived in Boise at 7:00 am on Friday! KG picked her up on his way home from work. That's really early for us around here so she went and did a temple session. Once the girls and I were awake and ready we just awaited her call to come and get her. We were so excited to see her! She doesn't get to eat out much and doesn't' have any variety in China so we planned to show her all the yumminess we have here the entire weekend! We took her out to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Amigos. After that we all needed naps. Later, while I worked, KG took the girls swimming and Amanda joined us after she woke. She watched Flower swim and Flower loved that! That evening we took her to Texas Roadhouse.
When we were leaving their was this cool motorcycle in the parking lot. Amanda stuck Flower on and I snapped a quick picture. :)
After dinner we were all beat. My boss was so generous in allowing Amanda to stay in our fully furnished executive suite. She said she slept better here than any point on her vacation. That made me happy and I was glad to give her some space and alone time. She said she enjoyed watching HGTV and TLC, things she doesn't get to watch in China.
Saturday::
Amanda came over around 11:00. She and Flower had some girl time. They ate yogurt, which Amanda doesn't get in China and was very excited about, and did their nails.
Amanda brought a very pretty pink color and some flower stickers.
Flower was in heaven!!!


Flower was so excited to show EVERYONE! She was constantly admiring them.
After that they watched Flower's current favorite Princess movie that she's borrowing from Buffalo.
Eventually we were all starving for lunch! We took her to Bangkok Thai. It was yummy as usual.
Pretty nails for some pretty cute girls.
While we ate our food, River had a bottle. I swear she loses more down her chin and neck then makes it into her mouth!

After lunch we took her to our favorite snow shak for a shaved ice. When we got home we were all ready for naps!
I decided I'd take advantage of everyone being asleep and take a bath and read. After my bath I blow dry my hair. Every time I do that River sits in the doorway and just stares!
Saturday evening we had a big BBQ for everyone to come meet Amanda. We were excited to introduce her to people that are in Flower's life. We had a great time and I'm excited about the conversation Kris and I had with her about getting help for the babies and working on some prospective contacts!























Sunday::
Sunday morning we took her to Jim's Coffee shop for breakfast. I really wanted her to meet Joni! We enjoyed ourselves and Joni was hyper as ever. :) After that we went to church. It was so nice to have her at church with us and be able to introduce her to everyone.
After church we made a visit to Brenda who gave her one of her famous blown glass necklaces! It was so pretty and I love that she'll have one to wear just like the rest of the women in our ward.
Then we took her to Fanci Freez. We had to show her the best milk shakes in town. My other friend Amanda, from church, met us there as well. We enjoyed lunch and milkshakes there and had a nice visit.
We came home for some much needed naps!
That evening, because Jerry had been out of town, he and Kris came over for a visit so he could meet her.
I love this photo of Riv cuddling up to Jer.
We talked for a couple of hours and then decided we were hungry so we headed for Delsa's. More yummy ice cream!
As if that wasn't enough for one day we then went to my older brothers house to celebrate Lomad and Zach's birthdays. We had a nice visit there as well.
This is the point in the evening when she should have been getting on the bus for a long ride back to Salt Lake. But Kris and Jer so generously arranged for her to fly on Southwest instead! She didn't have to catch the flight until the next day at 1:30 pm so that gave us more time with her! I was so touched and so grateful for that. My love for them just continues to grow deeper. She was also very grateful!
After saying our goodnights Flower got to work making Amanda a blanket. She loved being able to do it by herself, with a tiny bit of help and was very proud of it.

We hope as she cuddles up with it in China that it will be like a nice hug from Flower!
KG and Flower took her to the airport at 12:30
We can't wait to see her again, which incidentally isn't going to be too long. We are so thankful she made the time to spend with us!
She is an amazing lady and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!