December 2010

This year Josh and I took Josh's cousins Matt and Karla Nordstrom to Pine Valley and we chopped down our own Christmas Tree. This was a first for me. My dad would get real trees when I was really little so I don't really remember them. I just remember the fake ones. I personally just wanted to put up our fake one up again this year, but Josh insisted on a real tree. I think he made a good choice. The whole experience was way fun and the tree smelt amazing!!

Our pretty little tree that Josh chopped down with a ax all by himself! I won't comment on how long it took him ;) He blames it an the ax being dull and he didn't grow up choppin wood haha!

Paige LOVED the Christmas Tree! She thought is was so "cutiful!!" in her words. She combines the words cute and beautiful into one word. She's done that for like a year now and were trying to get her to realize it's two different words.

Paige was in love with santa this year. She practiced many days in advance to tell santa claus that she wanted a doll house. But when it came to the real thing...

She was simply awe struck and became speechless!

The night before Christmas Eve we went to Tuachan to watch the nativity scene. Landen and Paige watched the whole thing. Paige kept yelling, "I see baby Jesus!" Over and over again.

After the nativity scene we took a few pictures around the area.

Getting a good pic with the kids was a little difficult. This was the best we could get with Paige's patience.

Paige and Daddy so stinkin cute.

Santa was even there. This time Landen was more curious with santas beard and this time Paige was to scared. She was all excited to see him again, then the girl infront of us cried so then paige was scared and didn't want to sit on his lap again.

I forgot to mention in November Josh and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. We didn't do anything real special. We actually spent the whole day with family. I went to Santa Workshop with my mom and sister in law becca, then josh and I went to lunch at Applebees with his old friends from high school, then my mom went with us to take paige to see "Tangled" that night. Which I loved the movie by the way!

But I still can't believe it's been six years. Through these last six years we've lived in 5 differenet homes, been in five different wards, and have had two beautiful children. I have been so blessed in my life and wouldn't take it any other way. I'll even keep the hicups. Through this economy even though job stability has been something were working towards we've still been trully blessed. Even when the times have been hard by faith, paying tithing, the gospel and having eachother we've been blessed. We've been blessed and eternally grateful for our children. I am so blessed to have them in my life to have and to hold and to help me want to be a better person. Without them I may be lazy in life, but because of them I push myself to want to be a better person. By me becomming a better person, I can be a better mom and a better wife, which in return can help them be better themselves. I look forward to this new year. This is the year I will have read through the whole book of mormon on my own. Thanks to a challenge from my little brother who's serving a mission. I'm slightly embarrassed to say I'm 24 and never reached that goal. I have started that goal many many times, but this time is different this time I am not going to let myself down. I kindof turned this anniversary paragraph into a new years resolution, but it was just on my mind and it's already a week into the new year so I may as well write what I'm thinking. That's what blogging in a way is for right?!? Anyway on with my christmas post, but the moral of this paragraph is I'm striving to be a better person and I am extremely grateful for my husband and for all the love and support he gives to me and I look forward to our many years ahead!

The Tanner family clan. We alternate who we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with every year and this year Christmas was with my family. With Tyson on his mission and my other two siblings not able to make it, it was a very small group of us, but it was still special and a wonderful christmas!

I always love these things they do at tuacahn. Traci, my mom and me always gotta get some pics taken!

These two pics are kind of random, but it's just some updated pics of my family. We're gonna get some new family pics taken soon, but this fills the gap till I stop being lazy and schedule someone to take our pics.

Christmas Eve

Of course a pic of our yummy Danish Pastry. A Tanner family tradition that we make every christmas eve!

Girls cooking in the kitchen before the christmas eve party begins!

This is Brain Gambles, my dad's best friend. Since it was a small group of us and their kids all live else where and their empty nesters they came to our party. We played a couple of christmas games. One game we got a good white elephant gift and the other was strickly white elephant. This was Brian's white elephant gift, one of the best! Antler ears with christmas lights!

After the games my dad gave my Grandma her christmas present for her and Grandpa. Two Jazz tickets. She's a all time JAZZ fan. I don't think she misses a game on TV. She even puts the Jazz games on her communities calendar so others know when the jazz are playing. She was in shock when she saw the tickets. She didn't think it was real. One of her items on her Bucket List was to attend a Jazz game. And now her wish will come true! I think my parents are going with her in March and they're gonna have a blast!

We're real party animals!

Traci and I with Grandpa Tanner. I'm so happy he was able to come to the party. He doesn't get out often and I don't see him as nearly as often as I should. But he's a pretty special guy and I love him grately!

Grandma Tanner is just a crack up. Constantly making us laugh. We told her to make a funny face, so while we pose she just say's (rather then make a funny face) "I don't have to do anything and I'll look funny." And here's the result to that picture! Love you Grandma!

Another Tanner Family Tradition we'll carry on forever, christmas eve pj's/lounge wear! Here's my family sporting our new pj's that my mom got us! Thanks mom, Love em!!

These two love eachother!

more pj pics with mike and traci.

Instead of pj's for Dad he got a Jazz shirt that he can wear to the Jazz game!

Christmas Day!

Wow Santa found all of us at Grandma's house!

Even though it was early for Landen (7am) he still managed to give me a big smile on christmas morning!

Though this is how he really felt!

Time to open presents!!!!

Here's all of us helping Landen open his present.

A present from my dad to my mom. The bag is from JC Penny's Jewelry and the bag say's "I thought about going to Jareds" haha! We thought that was pretty funny!

Josh and his Hayabusa shorts! He better love em they ain't cheap!

Landen enjoying hanging out while we open presents!

Josh and Mike have created this tradition of these type of gag gifts they give my parents. But this year they put a twist on things. They actually went out and bought my mom a really nice shirt she could wear to work or church because she always takes care of them for christmas, but then my dad they call the more cheap one so they bought him a dominos shirt from the di. haha

Paige ended up getting pretty spoiled. She got her doll house she wanted, clothes, and some new preschool aged games! She loves it all!

I didn't get a pic of the boys with their gifts, but here's me and my gifts. It was a good christmas.

We all got either a new coat or sweater jacket so here we are sporting our new stuff.

Right after presents it was time to call Elder Tanner! He's serving his mission in Canada and has been out about 8-9 months already and is a district leader! Time so far has flown by since he's left, but it was fun to hear his voice again. We caught him saying aye every now and then which was funny, but he is doing really good and I'm proud of him. His first baptism was right on New Years Day, which was pretty special!

Now that landens crawling everywhere, which I'll have to post more about later, he's also standing up to everything, walking along everything and wanting to be part of everything. I think he's starting to drive paige a little crazy. He won't want a toy until Paige is playing with it. If she's laying on the floor he's crawling over the top of her. He loves his big sister and is always by her side trying to grab her toys from her!

That sums up Christmas morning and isn't that just an adorable face!! I love that face!

Now what are the Tanners going to do on christmas day in sunny st. george?? Well go golfing of course!! Thanks to Grandma Hammond who took the kiddos for a couple of hrs for us so we could all enjoy a family round of golf!!

Josh strummin his club! The weather was just absolutely perfect and the day was just beautiful!

My mom and dad! Some of the worlds greatest parents and grandparents! They may not always think that, but I think they're pretty great!

Traci cleaning their balls.

Here's my kiddos in their new christmas church outfits! So stinking adorable! Landen so handsome in his tux and Paige looking so grown up! This year she graduated from the nursery and is now a Sunbeam! I can't believe I have a little sunbeam!! She loved nursery, so I was a little nervous on how she would be her first week as a sunbeam, but she actually loved it too. She cried at the very beginning when we were dropping her off in sharing time, but her teacher said that lasted about 30sec then she was done and had fun the rest of the day! I'm excited to see her in primary programs this year!

Paige loves her little brother! I am so blessed to have these two amazing kiddos in my life!

Paige is a awesome big sister!

We didn't get snow for christmas, but we did get it a week or so after!!! Paige loved the snow! She played in it that morning with dad, then again with her babysitter kim, then by the time I got off work at 1pm, it was all gone :( She was very sad when the snow was gone. She just kept saying "Mom the snow melted, it's all gone!!!" Atleast she got to enjoy it for a morning!!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

And I hope some of you are still reading! :) For the most part I am now fully caught up, so another new goal is to not let myself get that behind again!!!