This is a little late getting posted, but as they always say....better late than never. This year we spent Christmas and New Year's with the Watson's up in Utah. BRRR... it was so chilly cold. Jason and I arrived on Christmas Eve and flew home on Jan. 1st. We did so much in the between time -- let's see if I can rememeber it all or atleast some of the good stuff.
Christmas morning was spent with the Watson's - Ken and Jerri, Brandon and Lisa and Jason and myself. Keri and Lori's family decided to have Christmas with their little family in the morning time. We all got together in the afternoon to exchange gifts and eat some yummy Christmas food. Christmas day was so enjoyable. It is always so fun to sit around and visit with everyone and catch up on everything going on.
This is a very special picture. Jason and I decided to keep a big secret from Ken and Jerri and reveal it to them on Christmas morning. They are both reading test results for Jason. He PASSED his FE Test, something every engineer has to do. The test is not easy by any standards. I am so proud of Jason. That was the best Christmas present ever. Now, just one more test to go.
Each year my family likes to give each other gag gifts instead real gifts. It is such a fun tradition. This is something I personally think about all year. Each year I try to get more creative and watch the faces of the people we give to. This year - I knew what I was going to do for a whole year. I thought of it immedietly after we opened our gag gifts in 2007. Personally, I am impressed with my memory. Anyway... here are the gag gifts of 2008.
Staci Gave Colby a picture of Nepolian Dynamite. This is a gift I gave to her two years ago.
Bacho gave Cass a picture of herself with Kevin Jonas and David Archuletta - two boys she is in love with. She really love Edward Cullen too.
Colby made Staci a wonderful pair of homemade slippers. He made them out of feminine hygiene products. The funny part is, they were a perfect fit and Staci said they were actually comfy. 
Chuck gave Bacho a wooden puppet
Jason and I gave Cami and Chuck their very own bobble-heads and a picture of Jason that says "GET OUT". It's an old family joke, that brought tears to our eyes from laughing so hard.
My Dad gave Jason this crazy hat. He'll have to wear that to the golf course!!
My Mom gave me a knitting set and told me I have to knit something for everyone in the family. I'll keep you posted of my progress
Cami gave my dad a shirt that reminded him of old age, and how old age make you forget things
Cassidy gave my mom baseball sized marshmallows. They were the biggest marshmallows I have ever seen. They were pretty tasty.
Thanksgiving this year was with my side of the family, so we decided to crash Cami and Chuck's Thanksgiving and invite ourselves over. We packed up the rental van and started the 6 hour journery west on Wednesday with Staci, Bacho, and Bodie.
After the race we packed our bellies full of delicious turkey, stuffing, green beans, rolls, jello.... it was so tasty.
The rest of the weekend was filled with lots of fun. We played hide n' go seek in the church gym - in the dark, we went to Hortin Plaza - where Jason and Staci got their teeth whitened, the girls got pedicures while the boys played basketball, munched on Chucks fantastic cinnamon rolls, watched a scary movie, and Staci, Cass and myself went and saw Twilight. I'm still not sure if I totally loved it. There were some really good parts and then some really cheesy parts. I think if you didn't read the books and only saw the movie - you would be lost. Nonetheless, it was fun to be with the girls and be entertained for two hours.
and the winner is.....
All year long we waited for this game. Hoping Utah would go undefeated and be invited to another BCS bowl. Looks like it is going to happen ;) - Hopefully the Fiesta Bowl, it will be held about 12 miles from our house. Jason and I enjoyed watching the game at Buffalo Wild Wings this year. Half of the restuarant was Utah / BYU fans. It was fun to get into the spirit of the game and trash talk our rival fans. In the beginning the game was close, but Utah dominated the rest. Final score 48-24. GO UTES!!!!
This year for Halloween we decided to dress up as Popeye and Olive Oyl. We spent a quiet evening at Bacho and Staci's house enjoying our 2nd annual pizza dinner. We kept waiting and waiting for trick-or-treaters to come, but this year was a dud - only 3 kids came to the door. Maybe it was better we had a quiet night, Jason and I had to be up bright and early the next day.
The next morning, November 1st, we had to wake up at 4:00am in order to check in, get our numbers and wait anxiously for the race to start at the 17th annual Desert Grande Triathlon. That's right, our first triathlon. We obviously couldn't carry our camera with us through the swimming, biking and running, but thankfully Staci and Bacho came and supported us. They cheered us on to the finish line and captured the moments of us finishing.
Both Jason and I were a little nervous before the race, but as soon as the man said go - all the nerves went away and the "you can do it" attitude came. Jason and I got seperated during the swim, so we didn't know how the other was doing. It was hard to go through the race by ourselves, but we finished. When Jason crossed over the finish line he told me his bike broke - his pedal fell off 3 miles into the biking portion. I know I would have quit and waited for someone to come pick me up, but not Jason. He pushed his bike the rest of the way and continued on with the running portion. Can you say SUPERMAN!!!
The race was hot and long, but an overall great experience. We have our medals and the memories of our first triathlon. Now it's time to get ready for number 2 - December 6th.
