Big day for Gabe!

This is day one of potty training!! Gabe is a Big Boy now... wearing Big Boy pants and going on the Big Boy potty! :) He has a potty chart that is a train track - I bought star stickers to put on each portion of the track for every time he went on the potty but instead (or I should say in addition) Gabe wanted to cut out the train so we could physically move it down the track! What fun! haha :) I hope the "fun" lasts! No accidents yet though and he already had 3 stars on the chart by 7am! Yes, we started early here... not mommy's idea!

Check out the cool new Thomas the Train behind! :) Gabe picked them out!Gabe's super cool football seat- another Gabe selection!

The Zermatt

We always take a few days and head up to Matt and Amy's townhome at the Zermatt. It's become like a cabin to our family! :) It is gorgeous up there in Midway, and there is so much to do, even in the winter. Our favorite thing this year was swimming at the pool... Gabe was thrilled every time we went! (that may even be the biggest understatement ever... he was SO excited. Check out the video!) I did not have a swimsuit in the beginning (and Eric had gone home already) so my wonderful big brother Matt was Gabe's hero and included him in all the fun he was having with Wesley. Thank you Matt! Of course my sister Mindy and everyone else were all very sweet to play with him and give him lots of attention even though they all had their own kids too! It really meant a lot to me and I know Gabe had the time of his life!All the kids getting thrown up in the air at the same time! (That's Gabe with Mindy) Matt throws Wes crazy high and he loves it!!

The Nutcracker

While I was in Utah Mom treated all the girls to night out on the town going to the ballet The Nutcracker. It's something we do most years and it's a treasured tradition. I love dressing up and going out with all the girls... especially to something as fun as the ballet! The dancing and the music are beautiful, the costumes are so fun to see, and the opportunity to be with some of my favorite people in the world... what a perfect evening! My mom has season tickets to the ballet and she always takes each of us to dinner and one performance a year - kind of like a mother-daughter date! But this ballet is fun to be with everyone together (well not everyone, but all the girls of the family available!). Even Grandma was in town this year and got to come!

lots of R & R...

Our time in Utah was so relaxing. Most of it was spent at home with the family just playing games, working on puzzles, talking and laughing, outside with the horses and for Gabe, a lot of time was logged in the play room with his cousins! It was wonderful to just be together and enjoy good company (and lots of good food!)

Gabe got lots of one-on-one play time with both Grandpas... he loves them both so much!

Movie time with Amy, baby Logan, Wesley and Gabe. Actually Matt gave up his spot for Gabe when he came down early that morning - it was so sweet. Their little family was all snuggled up together on the air mattress watching Snow White! Gabe got to sneak right in and soak up all the love!

Playing catch with Uncle Griff. Gabe is getting really good! Check out that throw!

Snuggle time with Daddy...

and Aunt Caitlynn!

Gabe and Wesley have the same coat so they look so cute together when they go out. Here they are helping Grandpa with the horses!

Feeding the ducks at Gardner Village with the Richardsons - Gabe loves this outing!

Puzzles!! That puzzle was 1,000 pieces and took us 2 days to finish - we were so proud of ourselves. It was very difficult breaking it up to put away! The puzzle workers were all the girls (even though they are not all represented here!) - Mom, Grandma, me, Mindy and Amy. I better give Dad some credit too - he helped on and off! :)

Home for the holidays

We had a white Christmas after all! The 3 of us made the long trek home for the holidays....2 days of driving with a fidgety toddler and a stinky dog and one very long night in an equally stinky motel room... but it was worth it a hundred times over!! We had such a wonderful time with our families in Utah. This year was a Richardson year for Christmas so we had a lot of fun times with that side of the family! There was plenty of fun to be had on my side as well though! We stayed with Mom and Dad in Highland and got to spend quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Rice who came down from Canada for the holidays - what a treat! We sure missed Mel and Erin's families though - Christmas just isn't the same when all the family is not there. Eric had to leave after only 6 days due to work (poor guy) but Gabe and I stayed on another 10 days and really lived it up! (We passed on the drive home... a 1 1/2 hour flight is a bit more bearable!!) Here are snapshots of the fun...

Christmas Eve

We had our traditional Christmas Eve evening with my family on the 23rd...Chicken a la King for dinner, Christmas songs and stories galore, reading of the birth of Christ from the Bible, lots of shortbread cookies and homemade candy, and to top it off watching The Christmas Carol (George C. Scott version - a family favorite). I LOVE our family traditions... it was an evening to cherish, like every year! :)

On actual Christmas Eve we went to the Richardson's for dinner and a rockin' party! This is a big family get together that Eric's family traditionally hosts for the entire Evan's extended family. Cheryl makes a delicious dinner then we move out the tables and get to visit with each other, eat tons of goodies, and even open one present! Gabe was beside himself with excitement when he opened a tow truck from Grandpa and Grandma Evans... he was literally bouncing up and down and opening and closing his fists while he was waiting for us to get it out of the box! It was so cute!

Christmas morning... bright and early!

Santa definitely found us in Utah! We all received wonderful gifts on Christmas but the best part was watching Gabe open his... oh my goodness, did that little boy get spoiled! We need more grandchildren on Eric's side of the family! :)

Later on in the day we headed back to the Sterzer's for Mom's famously scrumptious turkey dinner and gift-opening-fun with the family! This Christmas was different than any before since we were literally coming home for Christmas. It made me appreciate family so much more... being able to spend time with those we love is a gift... the best gift I could have ever asked for! Thank you to both our families for providing us with such a warm and loving holiday. We love you bigger than the sky!!