Just a little bit of me!: Finishing Up 2010

This is going to be a long post, just sayin'

THANKSGIVING 2010

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year with all the kids and grandkids. It was great. I was able to catch everybody and video them for John for Christmas.

DECEMBER

KAT'S BIRTHDAYDecember brought Kathryn's birthday. Mom and I took her out to Lunch at Zupas (one of Mom's favorite places) We had a nice time visiting.

We were then invited down to Kathryn's house to celebrate with the family. Just a few photos of my favorite daughter :)

"NIGHT IN BETHLEHEM"

Later in the month Mom and I went to a "Night in Bethlehem" that a neighbor of mine with their family put on every year in Provo. It is quite an undertaking. They invited both of our wards to go, so I went with Mom, so she could experience. It was a neat experience.

PREECE CHRISTMAS FAMILY NIGHT

So this year Christmas Eve went to the In-Laws, so we had our party on the Monday before Christmas. Dan and Alicia graciously offered to host the party at their home. We had a fondue for dinner amongst other things and that was kind of fun. Who gets to have Fondue anymore.

We were going to let the kids make Gingerbread houses (out of graham crackers) before we ate, but the weather was nasty and it was hard for everyone to get there early, but we didn't want to disappoint the kids, so we followed through after dinner. You can see everyone is really concentrating hard trying to get the darn things to stand up. But they finally did.

Jeph just enjoying the Chocolate Fountain that was also put out.

Then it was time for the Pinata. Dan & Alicia had the perfect place for in their Garage. It was pretty empty and we had plenty of room for swinging. Although it took a while for the thing to get broken and a few tears in the process, I think all the candy made up for it.

We finished the evening having a gift exchange and I gave the grandkids their traditional Christmas Ornaments.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Since Derek & I had no where to go on Christmas Eve, Mom invited us to her house where she was hosting a celebration with Marcia and some of her kids who were all up for her daughter Julia's wedding. The only problem was we got our call from John in Hong Kong right when dinner started and we ran on home to visit with him. Two hours later we headed back and all the festivities were over. We had a wonderful visit with our John and then some Philipina Sisters called right after to chat with us too. What a great Christmas Eve!

CHRISTMAS 2010
Christmas morning found us with just Derek, Jeph and I enjoying the calm and quiet of another Christmas....until

... All the fun arrived. First came The Smiths (Kathryn's family)
Let the chaos begin!!! and fun!!

Soon after came Dan & Alicia and boys

And last but not least Alan & Jacqui's crew!!!

I crocheted this cute little baskets for the little girls this year and some clothes to go on the dollies. It was way fun. I want to make some more clothes.

And my newest sweet little granddaughter Evelyn just rounded out the day!

A WEDDING IN DECEMBER?

So my Neice who has been living with my mom found her one and only this past year. We were so excited for her and Brian to tie the knot. They make such a cute couple. Here are a few pictures that I took.

THE WEDDING BREAKFAST

AT THE TEMPLE

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Brian Rollins

THE BEAUTIFUL MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

THE BRIDES BROTHERS

Mom with all her kids that are still here!

Some other cuties in the bunch! That came to see them come out of the temple.

Julia's family that were able to come to Utah to see her wed.

THE RECEPTION
The top left is Brian's parents and the lower left are Julia's parents. The room was beautifully decorated with white lites and a gazebo and they had a slide show going on about the couple as they grew up.

There was dancing and you can tell all the cousins enjoyed themselves.

Cutting the cake was fun too. Let's just say they had fun feeding each other.

Throwing the bouquet to a gaggle of girls!

Finally!!! We get to go and be alone!

It was a fun day from start to finish. Thanks Julia for letting us be a part of your day!

NEW YEARS EVE
So every year we have a tradition to go out for Chinese Food. So this year we tried someplace new and we even made reservations, because we just weren't sure if they would be busy or not. The other place we had gone to the last few years, was never busy. But with about 22 people, we just wanted to make sure. So we get there and they were packed. It didn't look like they were expecting us at all, but as we observed it looked like another huge party were just finishing up and that would be our table. Thank goodness. The food was great and they were very efficient.