A December to Remember ...

At my old firm, the partners had a program called "A December to Remember." It was a bonus program where you could make a lot of extra money if you wanted to work more hours. All rational thought aside, people worked more hours in December than other months in the year. It was hard to pass up an opportunity to make a little extra and I found myself spending more on Christmas and convincing myself that we needed the money. The irony is that in all of the years this program existed, there was very little about December that I remembered and I certainly don't remember what we did with the money.

This year, I set out to make it a true December to Remember. While I don't have photos documenting all of our activities, we had one of our best holidays ever. We implemented two of the Dorny traditions, leaving shoes out for Santa on December 6th (a litmus test of sorts to see if you have been naughty or nice), and lighting a candle on each of the four Sundays before Christmas. We made a lot of homemade decorations for our house, decorated gingerbread houses with Abby and Nathan, attended two holiday programs starring Miss Ava, went to Downtown Disney with Alexus and saw the lights, and hosted the Dorny Family Christmas Party.

We then packed up the car and headed to Utah with our annual stop at the Bellagio. Vegas must be hurting because we got an awesome deal and a great suite upgrade. Senya immediately opened the refrigerator/minibar and started unloading the bottles and nuts. This is the fancy fridge where as soon as the $18 bag of peanut m&ms is removed, a computer automatically charges your room account. Thankfully, the billing clerk had kids or had the Christmas spirit because she reversed the charges for us ... which, by the way, may have exceeded our room charge! It was a fun break in the drive for us and the kids loved the room, the lights, and the fountains.

On Christmas Eve, we arrived in Fillmore. Was that ever a shock to this now-California-girl!?! Below zero almost the entire time and my kids LOVED it! Grandma and Grandpa out-did themselves with sledding, ice fishing, and hay rides. It felt like Christmas in every way. On Christmas Eve, my dad read out of Luke and Ava acted out the story of Jesus' birth - with the help of a nativity set or two. Ammon played the guitar and my Mom and Ava decorated cookies for Santa. People came to the door throughout the night bringing gifts and goodies. It was warm, relaxing and exciting.

In addition to the spoiling my parents doled out on the kids, the girls were thrilled with their gifts. Ava got an American Girl-like doll with a couple of outfits and a [H]ukalele. She also got the Snow White dvd, some play make-up and a teacher set. Senya got an American Girl-like doll and a Rody horse. She got a Dora the Explorer backpack too. Ammon got some new running shoes and I got some boots, a whisk and a rolling pin. We are so blessed!

Now that was a December to Remember!

Ava's school holiday program. I asked her if she was nervous before she went on stage and she said "Mom, I have moves and I'm going to rock it." And she did. This was the only shot I had of her because I had Senya in one hand trying to run up to the stage to get her sister, the Flip in the other hand trying to record the performance, and then the camera for a brief second.

Ava and Alexus in their Christmas dresses before church.

Ava and Senya in their Christmas dresses. What pills. I don't know whether I'll ever get that perfect photo of the kids where everyone is smiling, hair is in place, and my house is in perfect order. Oh well, that is just us.

Ammon and Senya sledding. I need to feminize my Mom's snow gear for the grandkids, size 3T. Senya looks like the little brother from A Christmas Story.

My Mom and Ava coming back up the hill. Ava was a little daredevil. She was hitting all of the jumps that a bunch of snowboarders had made, catching serious air and laughing the whole time. She cried tears that froze to her face when it was time to go home.

Me and Senya. We accidentally hit the snowboard jump too. Mid air, I realized that there was no longer a tube underneath me. The landing was a little hard, but Senya loved it!

On the hay ride looking at the lights. Thanks Mom and Dad!