12.25.09 ~ Christmas in Utah ...

Nate and I spent Christmas this year in Utah with my family - the Coltons. Now that I don't have to go back to work, I was able to stay in Utah for two weeks, and Nate came out for the first week. I got to go down to St. George with my family the second week and celebrate New Year's there. It was sad to not be with Nate on New Year's Eve, but I was just so excited to be able to spend time with my family and not have to worry about using up too many vacation days or having to go back to work. That is a perk of being a stay-at-home mom. So Connor and I enjoyed a nice long vacation in Utah. Here are some of the highlights from the whole trip ...

Some adorable pictures of Connor during our stay in Utah ...


Christmas Eve Dinner ... It's a tradition to eat Arby's by candlelight ... and always a must that we have plenty of cherry 7up ...






After dinner it is a tradition to make Gingerbread Houses ... we split the family up into two teams and see who can make the better gingerbread house. This was one of the teams. Us Coltons are so competitive ...

Connor and Dad ...

Connor and Mom ...

Lining up in the hallway on Christmas morning ... getting ready to go see what Santa brought us ... a tradition we have always done in the Colton family ... and Dad always says "It looks like Santa didn't come this year" after coming from the family room. Of course, we never believed him ...

Connor after opening his present, with my help, of course ...

Playing games on Christmas day - one of my favorites ... Settlers ...

The COMPLETE Colton family was there Christmas Eve, which hasn't happened in a long time ... so special ... it's amazing to see how big our family is getting, and with Aly and Cami both pregnant it is going to get even bigger very soon!

Merry Christmas to all and have a Happy New Year!