Christmas Eve

Every year we go to the Keetch's for Christmas Eve. This year we got there around 6:30 and started munching on yummy soup and various goodies everyone had brought. Everyone was there except for Russ's family. We missed them.

After eating we headed downstairs where the kids were excited to dress up for the Nativity play. Afton was excited to wear a crown and she even put on some robes and a belt.

She quickly decided that she was in charge of baby Jesus and where the baby slept.

She spent time organizing the blanket, moving the cradle around and at one point she was even sitting in it!


She got really excited when it was her turn to help out!

Some of the kids did a talent show and Afton wanted to be in the middle of it all. Kenna is such a good cousin. She always let's Afton be involved.

Afton was trying to get some attention during Riley's solo.

Finally it was time for presents and Afton opened a bathtub Dora doll from her cousin Porter. She was in heaven.

A cute photo of everyone. No one is crying. Wow

Steve found these great BYU hats for all the boys. They had to pose for a ton of pictures and were even brave enough to attempt a pyramid. Way to go Rich.

An attempt at a family photo.

We gave up and just got one of the two of us. Brett's such an angel.

We made it home by about 10:45 and once we got Afton to sleep we were able to start setting up Christmas! So exciting!

Another snow day

For whatever reason I am a sucker for snow photos. I always seem to take a million even if we are just going for a little walk. I love following Afton when she's all dressed up in her cute snow outfits.

I don't love the cold weather (or the heat for that matter) but thank goodness Brett does. He is always willing to bundle up and take Afton outside. Whether they are going for walks, shoveling the driveway, or just building a snowman, Brett is always game.

I love pictures of these two together. Brett is such a great dad and Afton adores him.
In this picture you can see their hands crossed over while they're trying to get the snow into the perfect spot.

I love the concentration on this little face. She needed to get the snow in her hands way up to the top of the snowman!

I love, love her little tongue sticking out.

This kid is so cute I can hardly stand it. I love how she is admiring her handy work.


On a side note - I have been looking for my sorels for a long time. Brett said I do this every winter but I haven't ever found them. I should probably buy something new but where could they have gone? This drives me crazy.
I'm sure a good pair of boots would get me out the door a little faster! Maybe I should invest.
For Afton's sake right?

Christmas photo shoot

Afton is getting harder and harder to photograph. I wanted a few Christmas shots of Afton in her cute red and white shirt and of course I needed one with her Santa hat.

While I am taking pictures she is wiggling, jumping, twirling, singing, dancing, making faces, and just about everything but smiling for the camera.

Even still, I did manage to get a few shots I am in love with!

Another birthday

Brett's birthday (37 WOW) happened to be on the same day as a BYU game so we dressed up, headed to the Keetch's and celebrated with burgers, cupcakes, and a fun football game. Brett will take any chance he gets to dress Afton in her little BYU cheer outfit and she loves wearing it.

Afton loves spending time with her dad and as you can see, blowing out the candles, even when they are someone else's. Brett didn't mind.

My camera battery died after a few minutes but luckily Tiff had her camera. Thanks Tiff for the great photos.

Sledding with Daddy

Whenever it snows Afton goes straight for her boots and wants to go out. Brett is like a little kid when it comes to playing with Afton so they always have fun. I love watching them play. Sometimes I stand at the window, just watching. It makes me smile to see them laughing and playing and spending time together. Brett is such a great dad and Afton adores him.

This particular day they decided to make a sledding hill. They started rolling snow toward the garden and eventually had a pretty good hill. Afton couldn't wait to climb on her little round sled and go for a ride. The hill was just her size and she went again and again!

This video is quick and sideways but it shows Afton's little ride down her personal sledding hill.

Merry Go Round

Afton LOVES riding the Merry Go Round. She likes to take her time and choose her seat thoughtfully. Once she's on she can't wait for the ride to start. She holds on tight while her animal goes up and down, around and around.

This particular day we had gone to Southtowne Mall to see a free concert by Peter Breinholt and we also saw Santa Claus. The Merry Go Round was definitely the highlight for Afton.


Somehow she even talked Daddy into going for a ride!

These things always remind me of the old movie, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Have you seen it?

Oh Santa!

Until this year I hadn't even considered taking Afton to see Santa. I've always said that when she 'asks' to see Santa, I'll take her.

But... the other day Peter Breinholt was putting on a free concert at South Towne Mall so Brett met us there. Brett and Afton rode the carousel, we tried to eat lunch, I managed to sit through one of Peter Breinholt's songs and then we found our way to Santa.

They were just about to close for lunch and we were the last in line. There were only two kids ahead of us so we figured we'd at least try. Sure enough, Afton got in there and wanted nothing to do with Santa. It wasn't until he put his arm around me and then Brett and then offered her a candy cane that she finally sat on his lap. I couldn't believe it.

She checked him out for a while, opened her candy cane and we managed to get one picture of them both looking at the camera. That was the closest she ever came to a smile.

I wasn't expecting them to get a photo so of course I was a little bummed when they actually got a few good ones. How can I not buy them? Tricky, tricky. So $30 dollars later I had the rights to 3 pictures and we were on our way.

Oh and did I mention that Santa looks just like Santa? Wow! He even stayed in character a little too long and Brett started pulling me away when Santa was remembering me sitting on his lap. Hmmmm

Dancing queen

These pictures are from my little digital and it was really dark so don't judge.

Tonight we drove all the way to Roy to join in the celebration of Dale Condie getting married. Dale and Brett have known each other for years and work together at QED. Dale has a band and his new wife isn't shy so the night was spent on the dance floor listening to them play and sing.

For some reason the dance floor was deserted (everyone was sitting in chairs or standing around the edge) until Afton appeared. She heard that music and wanted to dance. She got right out there, dragging a cute gal from Brett's work and danced her little heart out. Once she lost her original partner she found someone her own age! This little boy wanted to dance with Afton and the two of them put on a good show. Everyone was cheering and clapping and Afton got her boogie on!

I like this first picture because it shows the new couple framed by these cute kids (who happened to hold still for a minute).

And this picture shows Afton's anticipation. She was having so much fun she could hardly stand it.

At the end of the night we changed Afton into her p.j.s and she quickly fell asleep on the ride home.

And then she spent the next day throwing up carrot cake and fondant frosting. So fun!

I do have a lot of video, just not time to load it. Watch for it!

An early Christmas gift

Christmas came early this year when Grandma and Grandpa Watrous had a new swing set delivered to our house. Afton loves going to the park. She loves going down the slide, playing on the swings, and going up and down on the teeter totter. Grandma and Grandpa decided that Afton needed her own swing set in her own back yard!

Once it was delivered grandma and grandpa came over to help with the assembly.
It was fun to watch my dad and Brett working side by side. They talked about football, basketball, and who knows what else! :)

Afton was asleep at first and I was able to sit on the back porch with my mom and chat while the boys worked. Once Afton woke up she was so excited to come outside and get in the middle of it all. She loves 'working' on things and was a very good helper.

By the time it got dark the swing set was almost put together, Afton was in heaven and we were all getting really cold! Brrrr

Shutterfly

I sure was excited when I saw this great deal from Shutterfly. All I have to do is show you some of my favorite cards and send you some amazing links for you to choose your own favorites and I get 50 free Christmas cards!  Yeah!

I have used Shutterfly in the past to create a birthday book for my little girl. The process was easy, fast and the price including shipping was inexpensive. I loved the finished product and plan on doing it again!

For now though I haven't decided whether or not I want to use a family photo or just a photo of my little one for our Christmas card so it was great to scroll through the hundreds of options to get some ideas.
 
There are holiday cards

            holiday story cards

            Christmas photo cards

            calendars

            birth announcements

            photo gifts

and so much more.... I got a lot of great gift ideas while scrolling this site.

Here are a few of my favorite cards!

I love this one because of its simplicity. I love the little tree and the little pop of color in the corner. I can see my little girl on this card. 

You can find more photo -holiday cards like this here.

In this next one I love the way the color pops against the black and white photo. It's so fun and festive and any picture would work. 

 

For more fun photo Christmas cards check this out! 

I thought this card was great because it has spaces on the inside for pictures and updates. What a fun way to share a little more information!

Go here for more amazing story cards!

Thanks to Shutterfly, my biggest challenge now is finding the perfect picture!

Shattered glass

A few nights ago Afton was sitting in the living room playing before dinner as usual.
I asked Brett to grab her and bring her to the table when dinner was ready.
A couple of minutes later we heard a loud crash. Brett and I looked at each other wondering what had just happened. We walked toward the living room to find the light fixture on the ground in pieces. It had fallen off somehow and shattered. Glass was everywhere and although we were all fine I was sick to my stomach thinking if it had been two minutes earlier, Afton would have been sitting right underneath it.
I don't know what I would do if anything happened to this kid. Whew!

Sunday snow storm

Brett and Afton spent a good portion of the day playing outside in the freshly fallen snow. Afton loved wearing her hat and gloves but got frustrated when the snow stuck to the bottom of her boots.

Brett was like a little kid, rolling snow into a ball and devising a plan to make a snow hill big enough for all of us.

They rolled snowball after snowball toward the garden and soon enough a hill started to form.
Afton loved climbing to the top for a rest!

I think this poor kid needs some snow pants!

Fall fishing with Dad!

Today was so much fun. I met my dad at a parking lot at 8:30 in the morning. We put on our waders and boots and hit the road. Once we found a good spot we put on more gear. Jackets, hats, another coat, glasses, and a fishing vest to be exact. I love the feeling of my waders when I first step into the water. I can feel the water pushing down on my feet and everything tightens.

As we moved through the water we would hit pockets of air that seemed almost warm with no wind and a few minutes later I would be freezing. It stayed like that the entire time we were gone and we kept thinking a storm was rolling in but nothing hit.

As we were taking off our gear and packing up our poles a gust of wind came through and almost blew me over. I stumbled and had to grab the jeep. We ended up driving a little further around a bend so my dad could get out and get his waders off. Whew!

We stayed for a couple of hours, moved to a couple of different spots and picked up 12 or so fish each. My big one got away...doesn't it always? Dangit