December Celebrations and the New Year

I need to come to terms with the fact that my life will always be busy, and if I want to keep up this blog that I will have to take time out of the month and write.  Writing isn't that hard.  Remembering stories about my family really isn't that hard either. And I've always got photos or videos to share. So I just need to get my butt in gear. 

So here we go with the recap of the last couple months:

December was full of fun and holiday spirit. We weren't home for Christmas, so we didn't get a Christmas tree. But I have a small plastic one that we used to decorate with some of our ornaments.  I was really happy I did this because Kayla loved the tree and kept taking off and putting the ornaments back on.

I decided to make this year's ornaments. I wanted sea-themed ones, and I knew I wouldn't find any I liked at the store. So I found patterns and made one for each of us.

Kayla's

Mommy's

Daddy's

If you look back at our Halloween costumes, you'll understand why I chose a fish, jellyfish, and turtle for each of us. I thought they turned out really well!

We also stayed busy going to Christmas parties for work and our neighborhood.  Brandon and I were able to go on a DATE and see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. That was really fun. A week or so before we saw it, we watched some behind the scenes of creating the dwarves, highlighting their different personalities and trying to show that through their costuming and appearance.  It was really interesting and I paid a lot more attention to the different dwarves while watching the movie than I did in the first movie.  

We also had Clark and Lonnie come visit before Christmas.  Clark helped Brandon put together the play kitchen we got Kayla (because we weren't about to haul it to Colorado) while Lonnie and I went shopping for last minute gifts. And speaking of gifts, it was Clark's birthday while he was visiting, so I made him a little something.

I thought it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. :) Oh, and he liked it too.

The Sunday before Christmas we left for Colorado. It was one of the worst driving experiences of my life.  Luckily I wasn't driving or it would have been worse.  We got there safely, but I think I may have had a number of heart attacks along the way.  It snowed the whole time, some places worse than others, and after 9 hours of driving we made it to Brandon's parents' house.  Thinking back on it, I believe the worst part wasn't the snow that was so thick on the roads, we couldn't see the lines, but the crazy drivers around us.  We didn't have many, but those few were too many.  None knew how to drive safely and they gave me the most panic attacks.

Vacation in Colorado is always full of fun and, most importantly, relaxation.   Kayla had fun Christmas morning with her presents (thanks everyone!!!), but I think she had the most fun helping her Grandma pass out the presents to everyone.  I hope that sort of attitude stays with her as she grows. I think it will, and it's a joy to see how much she loves everyone without reservation. She also likes to wear out Brandon without reservation.  Here's proof:

and after that dancing session she wanted to do this until 

Brandon almost collapsed from exhaustion :

She also enjoyed dancing with her Grandpa, but I don't have a video of that to post up, unfortunately. She had so much energy that week, it took all 4 adults to keep her entertained. Now imagine that same energy and only 1, sometimes 2, adults keeping her entertained when we're home. No wonder we're so exhausted.  And as life goes, we had to leave Colorado (the drive was MUCH safer) and come back home to work and more work.

January
On New Year's Eve, we had some friends come over and play games while we ate yummy snack foods.  I'm thinking that will become tradition in our home.  That was lots of fun.

Near the end of January, Brandon filmed his teaser trailer he's doing for Brandon Sanderson's Alloy of Law.  This was a picture he sent me that night (and there's other pictures on Facebook):

Just looking at that picture gives me the tingles. So excited! So a lot of good things are happening in that area, and when we get something more definite, then I'll make a post.  

So overall, I'd say that 2014 is looking very promising. I think as long as we're going good things, good things will continue to come our way. One can hope anyway.