The cousin Christmas party

Grandma had a little get together for the cousins. It was such a fun party, as usual the kids got VERY spoiled. It was really great to see everyone!





Katie did such a great job with Addison, she played with her almost the entire time. I almost felt like I needed to pay her for taking such good care of her when I was helping with dinner!! She is going to make an excellent babysitter!

Grandma and Grandpa Redmons house!

We had a rare opportunity to get a family picture with all eight of my siblings. Addison is the only kid in the picture because I had already put her to bed when we decided to take a family picture and my dad said "you better go get her, she can't be the only one not it it"......so she didn't really want me to put her down. I didn't notice this when we took the picture but we are all sitting in order, from oldest to youngest. (Mom and Dad are in the front, second row from the right: Travis, Tracy, Me, Tina back row from the right: Tim, Todd, Tony and Taylor. It was so cool to get a picture with everyone!
Then we lined up the grand kids for a quick picture...never easy. Also in order from oldest to youngest: Isak, Peyton, Colter, Olivia, Isabel, Addison, and Ava......with little Thayne arriving any moment!! (My oldest sister is due anytime)
Fun in the TUB.....wow what a full tub it is!
Now the babies turn......wait aren't we missing one?
Oh there she is, aren't they soooooo adorable?


After arriving back from California at about 9:00 a.m. my sweet sister came and took my kiddies for us so we could get some sleep. Wow did we need that! The next morning we were off to Wyoming for my family's gift exchange. We have had a big prime rib dinner for two years now (a tradition I really hope we keep doing YUM YUM:). We stayed for a few days, Peyton and Colter got to help grandpa feed the horses with his back hoe (sp?), and they had so much fun playing with their cousins! The adults had fun playing Guesstures, Pirates Dice, Uno, Guitar Hero, and Dance Revolution. It was fun catching up with everyone. We were going to leave Sunday afternoon, but the roads were closed so we all stayed another night. My dad was grinning from ear to ear;)

Christmas morning is finally here!!

OOOOH I am so excited I can hardly stand it!
HE CAME! HE CAME!!!
Look he left me a note, it said thanks for the map it really helped me find my way around!
Looks like he almost wiped out all of the cookies!
A "POBO" STICK!!

I just want to know what all of the excitement is all about.......

A gun with animals on it!Wow a remote control Monster Truck!!

And last but not least "a motorcycle.....just what I wanted"!!

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we did our normal tradition, opened up new jammies for everyone (Tim gets a 10 on picking mine out this year....not to big or to small;) We sang a few carols, had egg nogg and hot coco, and them Tim and Peyton got in the hot-tub for a quick soak......that last one isn't really a tradition we will be keeping up on (especially out here in Utah). After that Peyton got chocolate milk and a plate full of cookies ready for Santa. Then at the last minute he got his map out (that grandma and grandpa gave him from his pirates treasure chest) and set it by the cookies and informed us that his map was for Santa "to help him find his way around". Which I thought was a terrific idea since Santa had to find him all of the way out here in California! Hello, why didn't I think of that? Peyton was so excited when we put him to bed. Tim had told him that unless he stays in bed and goes to sleep Santa wouldn't come.......we didn't hear a peep out of him once we had him tucked in:)

Addison meets Santa, Peyton tells him at the last minute that what he really wants for Christmas is a remote control Monster Truck (like the kid at the park)!!
Making cookies with Mama "K"

Grandpa coming in to cause a little trouble;)
This is the annual Hunter gingerbread house....isn't it cute?!

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas! It began with driving out to California.......we decided that driving through the night was going to be easier with the kids. So we took off at about 8:00p.m. on the 17th. Yes worked out very nicely for the kids, not so nicely for the parents (especially Tim). It was a pretty good trip until we reached Donners. Wow did it turn ugly fast. The chain law was in effect and since we didn't have the truck Tim got to chain us up at about 3:00 in the morning and -2 degrees. Note to self: let the guys on the side of the road who do this all winter long just do their thing, even more so if you are half asleep! Anyways because of that our trip slowed down a bit 30mph to be exact for about oh 30ish miles. UUUUGGGGGH!

Because we were leaving so late at night, and the weather wasn't supposed to be good. We decided not to call Tim's parents to let them know we were coming so they wouldn't worry about us all night. (We did tell his brother and my family;). So when we finally arrived to Cali we sent Peyton in to say hello to Grandma and Grandpa........it was such a great surprise! It was so good to see them!

Hmmmm what do I want for Christmas!

Santa called Peyton the other night! He asked him if he was being a good boy, if he has been listening to his parents and taking care of his little sister. Then he asked him what he wanted for Christmas.......a pobo stick, and a gun with animals on it!?! Then Peyton had a few questions for Santa. Where is Mrs. Santa Claus? Where are your reindeer? Oh and by the way I am going to be in California this year so be sure to make a note! It was so cute and Peyton was so excited to talk to Santa!!