Poor Oreo or Poor Mark?

I need to start by saying how naughty Oreo is when it comes to our backyard. She has pulled out our entire drip system along the house, and eaten all the bushes. Mark is a yard Nazi, so this doesn't make him real happy. We are going to have to redo all of it in the spring, and it won't be cheap.

Now, on to my story. Oreo all of a sudden had horrible breath. Not just stinky dog breath....we are talking DISGUSTING! It got so bad that no one wanted to go around her anymore. They eat the good crunchy dog food and Bailey brushes her teeth all the time, so we couldn't figure out what was wrong. Mark did some research on the Internet, and it said really bad breath could be an abscessed tooth, or an intestinal problem, and they should go to the vet. Mark and Bailey took her to the vet, and then came home without her. Apparently she had bit down on the stick of one of our plants, and it broke off and got wedged across the roof of her mouth, and between her teeth. It was really bad, and her mouth was all infected. They had to put her under to remove it! I felt so bad for her. Mark was all ticked off, because not only does he have to pay to replace all the plants she has eaten, but he also has to pay to get them removed from her stupid mouth! I guess I feel bad for both of them :)! When Oreo came home, she was so drugged up that she could hardly walk to her bed. She was TOTALLY out of it, and blood kept leaking out of her mouth. I am happy to say that by the next morning she was back to her normal self again.

The stick. The vet sent it home with Mark so he could show it to me and Sawyer. So disgusting!

Poor baby Oreo!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Our day got started at 5:00 in the morning, and it was nothing but fun from there.

Stockings!

Sawyer got his Letterman's jacket. He loved it! We thought he looked especially jockish with his nice hat on!

We surprised Bailey with this Falls Valley blanket. The counselor at her school made one with her Mom. They raffled it off at the school Halloween carnival. Bailey wanted it so bad, but she didn't win. I talked to Miss Elsewood, and she had her Mom make another one for Bailey. She loves blankets, and she REALLY loves this one!

She is also a freak for popcorn, so this present made her really excited!

Bailey with all her loot. Santa brought them an electric scooter. Me and Mark got them electric guitars for their big present.

Sawyer with all his stuff. They both made out pretty good!

Christmas Eve

The kids were so excited for Christmas! We barley made it through our traditional Christmas Eve activities before Sawyer headed off to bed. On his own, he was in bed by 8:00! I love it that he still gets so excited even as a teenager. I wish he wanted to go to bed early on all the other 364 days of the year. Here are some of the fun Christmas Eve traditions that we do each year.

Our Christmas story: I pick out a new Christmas story each year. No one is allowed to read it (except for me), and then we all read it together on Christmas Eve. this year we read, A Christmas Bell for Anya.

The kids get to open 1 present on Christmas Eve. This year Sawyer opened new pajama pants. Yay! He is growing so fast, that all of his other ones looked like knickers.

Bailey opened a cute new pair of blue fuzzy slippers.

Cookies for Santa.

We throw reindeer dust right before bed. It glows to the reindeer's eyes, so they can find our house easier. As you can see, Sawyer takes this tradition very seriously ;)!

Living Room

Merry Christmas to me! My living room got finished just in time for Christmas, and I LOVE it! I started working in August at Falls Valley (Bailey's school). I love my job, and the money I make is our 'fun' money. The first thing we decided to do with it, is to start getting the house decorated how we want it. We started with the living room, because that's what you see right when you walk into the house. It turned into a bigger project than we were planning on, but we are so glad that it did. I've been taking pictures along the way, so we would really be able to appreciate the change.

Before

Before

Before

Shawn Fredrickson trimmed shadow boxes on the wall. He also changed the trim around the window, doors, and base.

Curtis Juassi did the painting. We did the bottom part white.


We painted the top theater red

The finished product; looking from upstairs. Shelby Westerguard added all the finishing touches.

The window wall

We love it, and we can't wait to start our next project...the entry way!

Christmas Guitar Recital

Sawyer and Bailey had their Christmas guitar recital. They both did great! It was Sawyer's very first time playing and singing in front of people. He sang, Away In A Manger, and did a really good job. He won't let me post the video though....maybe next time. Bailey played and sang, When Christmas Comes To Town, from The Polar Express movie. It was the same one she did at the Festival of the Trees, so I already have that video in an earlier post. I love listening to them play.

On our way to the recital

Sawyer

Bailey

Sawyer

Bailey

David Archuleta Christmas Concert

Me and Bailey went up to BYU Idaho for the David Archuleta Christmas concert. This was the second time we got to see him in concert this year. His voice is amazing. We thought his live performance of his Christmas songs was better than the CD.

Bailey and Emily waiting in line. We could hear him warming up and doing his sound checks.

Just minutes before the concert started. She was so excited!

The Christmas Spirit!

I had such a wonderful day yesterday! It really got me in the Christmas spirit. I spent the day baking Christmas treats with some fun ladies. I am not a very good baker AT ALL! To be honest, I down right STINK at it! I did two recipes, and they actually turned out really good. I was so excited! The treats the other girls made were so yummy! We are going to meet in January and put together the cutest recipe books, and then add the recipes from our baking day each year. So fun!

I have a VERY crafty friend, Jenni. She gave me the CUTEST Christmas gift yesterday that I need to share with everyone, because I love it so much!

Looks like just a cute box...

But it is really the cutest stationary set EVER!

The bottom has a little note pad, and a place to put stamps.

The top is filled with handmade cards, mini cards, and tags! I don't even want to use it...I just think it's too cute! Thanks Jenni! You're the BEST!

Then my family headed to our ward Christmas party. Lots of yummy food, a great program, and fun friends to mingle with.

Bailey and Emily with Santa

Zak, Jeron, Carston, Santa, Emily and Sawyer

Puzzle

Every year we start a big puzzle on Thanksgiving weekend. Our goal is to have it done by Christmas....but we always get it done within a few days. We find ourselves congregating at the kitchen table, way past bedtime to find 'just one more piece.' This year we did a puzzle that we bought on our summer vacation. It was a good one.