Christmas/New Year

Okay, so this is our holiday story. I know...a bit late, but it's all good, right?

This year was a Stott Christmas, so everyone was in Warden. This was my first Christmas with Ben's family, so there were a lot of new experiences. Since Ben's mom is Norwegian, they open presents and celebrate on Christmas Eve. We had Polska Kielbasa, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole for dinner, and dessert was Krumkaka (pronounced crumb ca-ca, I giggled the first time I heard it). We got some really fun games, Sorry, Life, Phase 10 plus our new favorite, the Game of Things. If you haven't played it yet...you need to! I got a very pretty shirt, and Ben got a very nice sweater, which were totally us! We played Nerts and Things for the rest of the night. Christine, Colton, and Ben's mom weren't feeling too good, but it was still an enjoyable evening.

The next day, we went to my parents house to open presents at 7 in the morning...mind you we didn't get home from Ben's family until 2:30ish. My mom bought me a nice photo printer since I am starting to dabble in photography, and everyone pitched in to get me either a Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixer. I have yet to decide which one, but I already know the first thing I am going to make with it! I got the book Women of the Old Testament that I had been eyeing. I also got a snuggie! Ben hates it, but I am excited!

Needless to say, all the gifts we got will get good use!

We bought our Christmas presents during Black Friday, where we picked up the new Super Mario Brothers game for the Wii, two more Wii controllers and Wii motion plus(es?) (How do you make that plural?!?!), and a induction controller charger.

After spending the morning with my family, we went back to Ben's family to spend more time with people since everyone was there for such a short time. We ended up spending the night there playing Super Mario Brothers until nearly 3 am. Unfortunately, I woke up at 4:00 am to the oh so enjoyable UTI. Gotta love it. Luckily I had meds at home, so I didn't have to make an ER trip, and we were back before people were awake.

After a VERY fun time in Warden, we went up to Leavenworth to spend time with my family, and meet Brad's girlfriend, Erin, and her family. They were in Auburn visiting Erin's sister. We did The Reeder Race, which my mom and dad had put together on a previous trip to Leavenworth. During the race, we ended up at the gazebo, where Brad proposed to Erin...needless to say, she said yes. It was very fun to get to know Erin and her family! They had to leave on Friday so that Erin's dad could work at the Temple Saturday morning. It was sad to see them go, but obviously we understood.

We really didn't do too much to ring in the new year. We watched a movie as a family, made a toast with apple cider, and went to bed. We had fireworks, but we were a bit too close to the condos to really feel comfortable enough to shoot them off.

I can't believe that it's 2010 and a new decade! I'm definitely looking forward to the new year and all the possibilities that lie ahead. I have my resolutions in hand, and I am excited to cross them off the list as they are completed. Happy New Year everyone, and I hope that you meet all of your expectations for the next year and beyond!