"A Long December"

So to celebrate Hunter's birthday, actually on his birthday, we went to dinner with Sean and Shelley and their kids, at the Outback. There aren't very many here in Utah and it is one of our favorite steak places. So it was good. And the company was great. Then we went to their house afterwards, to just hang out. Here are some pictures of Hunter opening presents after getting home from class on his birthday.

Saturday we did a lot of nothing, as is par, for our weekends. I accomplished a lot of things off my list of things to do. Keelia and I ran errands, while Hadlee and Hunter hung out at home. It is nice to get to spend some one on one time with Keelia. I think we both miss it, so it is nice to have the chance every so often. We attempted to see Bradlee's dance recital, but it didn't work out. We made it to the venue, but didn't have cash, so we couldn't get in. Tough break, but we all recovered. Eventually.
Despite our sleepless night, we got up and got ready for church. Keelia has been dying to go to her class and so I made the decision to go, no matter how tired we all were. And this is the first time in a long time someone at our house hasn't been sick on a Sunday. We were a little late to church, but we made it. It was nice to actually get to attend. Here are some pictures of the girls, ready for church. I might be biased, but they are pretty dang cute! :)

We came home and started getting things ready for dinner. Corey came to eat with us and hang out. After dinner, we had Sean, Shelley and their kids, and Tory and Tyler and their kids, over for ice cream cake for Hunter's birthday. This year, he wanted a peanut butter cup blizzard cake, so that is what we got him. It was nice to have family and friends here to help him celebrate. I think he had a pretty great birthday weekend. Here are some pictures from the cake party.

Monday we did what we do every day. Keelia has been playing with our neighbor kids a lot lately, which has been good for all of us. Mostly. She comes home a little hyped up, but it is nice for her to have friends to play with that live close by. And then Monday night we had FHE with Tory, Tyler, Brock, and Bradlee. We went to Gardner Village to do an elf hunt and get a free sugar stick for the kids. And we had a treat after completing the hunt. And we did our annual ornament tradition. It was fun. We are glad they agreed to come with us. Here are some pictures from that adventure.

Tuesday and Wednesday were full of a lot of playing with the neighbor kids. And me trying to keep the house clean and trying to get things done. We are leaving for our trip one week from today, as long as everything goes to my plan. Which almost never happens. But I am really hoping. However, noteworthy for sure, we did make a trip to Target on Tuesday just to buy "Shrek: The Whole Story." Worth every penny, right? :)
I have watched my fair share of sappy, Christmas movies. Both on ABC Family and Lifetime. It has been fantastic!
Today, being Thursday, Keelia went to play with Bradlee at her house. I got to run errands and try to tackle my never-ending to do list. I got closer to the end, but the list still won today's battle. Keelia had fun and was sad to be picked up. However, I think Tory was happy to have her day back. Tonight I was able to sneak away and have dinner with my friend Jill. I met Jill in my rugby days at BYU and we have been friends since. It was nice to catch up with her and just visit. Plus, when there is good food involved, who isn't happy?? :)
Which brings us to now. Hadlee is 8 weeks old today. WHAT?? How in the world is this happening. I didn't want it to go by so fast this time, but it is going by faster than last time. She is getting so much personality and I love it. She is still sleeping so well and is really such a good baby. We feel so blessed. They tried to tinker with her meds this week. I put a quick stop to that and we are back on track. Thank goodness. One day of tinkering was all I could stand.
We are more than excited to go home. Hunter's last day of class is tomorrow. And he starts his finals on Tuesday. I can't believe how fast things are going. It is crazy. But we are excited for the break and to have a new semester to come back to. But mostly we are excited to introduce our sweet Hadlee to all the family in Colorado that has not met her yet. Can't wait! But I have to go finish wrapping some presents and then get in to bed, before it is too late! :)
Before I end, here is a random, too cute picture of Keelia after church on Sunday. She was getting out of her dress and decided to be silly. Well, she accomplished silly, for sure!