Christmas 2009...

The day started early...Eli was up at 4:00 and did not go back to sleep, no matter what we tried. Asher slept until 6:30, and we waited for Oakley to finally wake up at 7:30. By then I was quite grumpy trying to get Eli and Asher to stay in our room and wait for Oakley. I should have thought back to how excited I was Christmas morning when I was 5 years old. Eli was acting crazy wild and I was so glad when it was time to head downstairs and check out the loot.  Even Harley was excited.

Grandma Lee Ann gave the Oakley and Eli ipods, which they were ecstatic about.  Now I have to stress about whether they're going to drop them in the toilet or lose them.  I thought they were just going to get the smaller, inexpensive ones- but Grandma got them the nicer ones.  She's always too generous!  They look like little teens walking around with their ear buds in. They love listening to Grandpa Fotheringham's classic rock that he loaded for them.

Asher loved to build a tall tower with his Legos and knock it down.

Harley was quite thrilled with his first Christmas.  He received gifts from Milo, Captain, Simon and Missy - his dog "cousins."  The funniest thing he did was "show off" his new toys when Grandpa and Grandma Fotheringham and Grandma Moore came to visit.  When the boys were showing them all of their gifts and toys, Harley went and grabbed his favorite new toy and came over to show them, too.  Harley is positive he is just "one of the boys" and wants to do just what they are doing.  When we were decorating the Christmas tree, he was watching all of us put ornaments on the tree.  Then he went over to the box, gently picked up an ornament with his mouth, walked over to me at the tree, and looked at me like, "Okay, put mine on, too."

Asher was beyond thrilled with the box of gumballs in his stocking.  I think he was more excited about the gumballs than any toy he received.

Oakley has been obsessed with Ghiradeli chocolates ever since he and Scott when to Ghiradeli square on their San Francisco trip.  Santa was aware of this and brought him a bag, which he was really excited about. .

The coaster cars that Santa brought for each of the boys were a hit!  The boys circled round and round on the wood floor.  Mom is looking forward to when the cars can make a permanent home outside in the spring.  They are fun to ride- Mom and Dad take quite a few rides, too.

Even though it was below freezing, the boys just had to ride their new cars down the hill outside.  They were going so fast, I was sure we'd end up in the Emergency Room with a broken bone.  Asher just kept crashing into a big pile of snow Scott had plowed on the side of the driveway.

Christmas Eve 2009...

We hosted the family Christmas Eve party this year, which I was really happy to do except for one thing- THE TURKEY!!!  I like to plan the activities and decorate, but the food portion always stresses me out.  When Scott asked if we could cook a turkey, I said, "Sure!" but I really wanted to say, "Heck no!"  Turkeys never cooperate.  They never seem to thaw on time.  I swear I could leave that frozen bird in the fridge for a month and it would be as rock solid on day 30 as it was on day 1.  I always end up trying to thaw it in the sink with cold water, but changing the water every hour is a bit time consuming and just a pain.  Then, if the darn thing is finally thawed, it either gets done way too early or way too late.  It doesn't ever seem to finish during the recommended time frame.  Those are my reasons for hating to cook a turkey, especially on a day when you've got a ton of other things to be getting done.  Nonetheless, turkey was on the menu.

As usual, the turkey was done almost an hour early!  Not even the appetizers were done... but we all survived and it was a fun evening.  Oakley was especially thrilled he'd graduated to the adult table and got to sit by cool cousin Austin.  Austin talked with Oakley the whole meal, Oakley loved it.

Who is that Grumpy Bug?!?!  Such a sad face the night Santa is coming!

After dinner, we played Family Feud with Christmas questions.  I was really proud of Eli when the question was, "Name a person associated with Christmas," and he said, "Jesus!"  The most popular answer was, of course, Santa, but not who came to mind first for Eli.  Grandma Fotheringham and Grandma Moore did a fish pond for the kids.

Audrey would throw back any of the toys she received that she didn't like.  We think she was waiting for an Ariel doll that she'd asked Santa to bring her.  When it wasn't the Ariel doll, she shoved it under the sheet and tried again.  She did approve of the snacks and treats.  She found a stool in the corner of the kitchen and made it a table to sit and snack away at her prizes.

Grandma Fotheringham showed the slide show with the Nativity Story pictures we took when we were young and the traditional Right-Left candy bar game.  The kids got to open their gifts from Grandpa and Grandma Fotheringham.  Grandpa made the boys a wooden track for their Hot Wheels cars, Grandma made a photo album for each of them with pictures of all the Fotheringham family members and a little blurb about each of them, and a new Wii game.

Every year Scott and I think we're going to get a decent night's sleep on Christmas Eve.  No such luck... we ended up with about 2 hours of sleep before the Christmas Day fun began...

A Trip to the Big City...

In lieu of Breakfast with Santa and riding The Polar Express, we decided to take the boys up to Salt Lake for the night.  I think this will be a new tradition!  We had a lot of fun.  First of all, I was away from home and didn't feel all the pressures of home with so many things to do surrounding me.  I could just enjoy Scott and the boys.  Ditto for Scott, he was away from all of his resposibilities of the home and yard, so we all just got to enjoy each other!

It was incredibly cold!  Even all bundled up, we were chilled to the bone.  The 100% humidity, which isn't common in Utah, reminded me of the days as a missionary tracting in 100% humidity and below freezing temperatures in New York.

Riding the Trax train was an exciting adventure!

The boys were not all that impressed with the lights at Temple Square.  I remember it being magical when I was young, but all I heard was, "I'm cold!  I wanna go back to the hotel!" "I'm too tired, I can't walk anymore!"  "This is boring, let's leave!"

Asher entertained himself going up and down the escalator over and over and over again.

He sat on the way down...

...and laid down on the way up.  I wasn't there, obviously.  It looks like an injury waiting to happen.

  Scott just thought it was cute.

After walking around Temple Square, with what seemed to be the entire population of the State (I guess with it being the last Sunday before Christmas, everyone wanted to be at Temple Square), we went over to the Gallivan Plaza.  Eli really wanted to ice skate, but, fortunately it was almost closing time.  The rink was small and really crowded, so we promised him an ice skating trip to Peaks Arena in Provo another day.

The evening ended with pizza for dinner and swimming until they couldn't keep their eyes open any longer. The boys loved the view from the 17th floor and playing with the safe in the hotel room closet all night.

I enjoyed this trip much more than the Polar Express or Breakfast with Santa.  We'll have to see what the boys choose to do next year.  My vote is definetely a night at the Hilton in Downtown!  Maybe they'll like the lights better next year...

The Highs and Lows...

Brotherly love is interesting... Just before this picture was taken Eli and Asher were in a go-for-blood fight (note the big red scratch on Asher's wrist from Eli clawing him) then Eli was reading to him so sweetly.

Christmas Programs...

Oakley and Eli both had their Christmas programs on the same day. Thankfully Grandma was there to help transport because Oakley's wasn't quite over when Eli needed to be at his school. As usual, Oakley was not excited to participate but he did. Eli was excited to be in front of the crowd and perform. They both did fabulous and looked so cute!

How Asher and Eli entertained themselves during Oakley's program...

...taking pictures of themselves pulling faces.

If It's Good Enough for Harley...

We have trained Harley to go potty inside a kennel so there isn't poop all over the yard. Asher decided if it was good enough for Harley, it was good enough for him. Scott caught him going pee out in the potty kennel. He does have a lot of dog-like behavior - he licks EVERYTHING and thinks going potty outside is way easier than using the indoor facilities.

Tchaikovsky...

Oakley "Tchaikovsky" Beeson had his first official piano recital on 12 December 2009. The weeks leading up to the event were filled with tantrums and insistence that he was NOT going to participate. With a promise of a trip to Pirate Island Pizza, he did perform. He was so nervous the morning of, he said yes when Scott offered to give him a blessing. He has always been so nervous about ever doing anything in front of an audience, he's almost sick to his stomach. I was really proud of him for pushing through the fear and just getting it done.

Oakley loved being able to wear his new suit and one of Grandpa Moore's ties.

Oakley introduced the pieces he would be playing,


"Angels We Have Heard on High," and "Russian Sailor Dance."

Asher entertained himself by licking the piano bench- disgusting!

Once we stopped him from licking the bench, Asher had a huge tantrum and spent the rest of the recital outside of the room.

Thankful for Windows...

I should make a better effort at making note of the thoughtful things that Eli mentions in his prayers. Each time he prays, it's completely unique and obviously from his heart. This morning during family prayer he said, "We're thankful for windows, so that we can look out of them and see the beautiful temple."

You never know what he's going to come up with, but it's always sincere!

Hatching...

Eli's latest phrase is, "My brain just hatched an idea..."

Asher's over-used phrase, "You're on the NAUGHTY LIST!!!"