A Happy MN Christmas and WY New Year!

This year we went to Minnesota for Christmas! We had a wonderful time! My parents as always went all out! The first couple nights were hard on Kaylen's sleep routine as we got in pretty late and in the middle of a snow storm! So, she went to be late that night and the next night as it was Christmas Eve and we always go to the candlelight service at church! But I think we've learned our lesson. I do love the candlelight service, but it's not really worth keeping Kaylen up too late for it. She did "pretty good" overall. She did good with naps and sleep, but as the week wore on, she ended up in our bed in the middle of the night. But the nice part of all of it, was having my parents there in the morning! We were spoiled! When Kaylen would wake up, my parents would pretty much take care of everything and feed her... so we got to sleep in quite a bit! I think it was the most sleep I'd gotten since Kaylen was born! It was a wonderful treat!

Here is our beautiful girl all dressed up for church on Christmas Eve! I didn't get any pictures on the blog of Christmas morning, but she was a spoiled little girl! She had a wonderful time eating the wrapping to the presents and playing with her new toys. Her definite favorite was a table top toy thingy that makes noise, has all the flashy lights and does all kinds of things Jeff gave her! Ohh... and quite funny was this singing, dancing donkey my parents gave her. She's still not to sure what to think of that one. We got spoiled by ALL of our family! Gregg's parents sent presents to us in Salt Lake and we had a mini Christmas with Leslie in early December and then they sent a few to Minnesota for us. Our big present to both our parents this year was a 2010 Calendar we made of Kaylen. It definitely hit the spot... but now they've warned us that they expect a calendar every year! :-)

My Mom bought Kaylen her very own tiny sled, so we had to get all bundled up and take her for her first sledding excursion around the front yard! She went down the little slope in the front yard, but the sled definitely handled best on the street... don't worry, no cars! Once her little nose got red, we called it good and went inside! It was fun to have a little time in the snow with her!

These door jumpers are by far her favorite thing to play with/in. There is one at daycare and we actually have one at home, but can't use it! There are no full door frames in our apartment... how ridiculous is that!!! So, my Mom, being as savvy as she is, went out and bought this one toward the end of our trip so Kaylen could bounce like crazy in it! She was adorable to watch. Then, my Mom took it back after we left! How smart!

Minnesota was wonderful! We had a wonderful, blessed Christmas with my family. My Mom held an Open House that Sunday and we got to see lots of people we hadn't seen in a long time! If we weren't able to see people there, we made a point to try to see everyone we could before we left. It was great! But mostly, we spent as much time with my family as we could as they loved each and every minute they got with Kaylen. She is also very loved by her Uncle Jeff! He likes to have little conversations with her... but he doesn't like anyone else to hear them! They are fast friends! Thanks again to my family for being wonderful hosts and giving us a wonderful time in Minnesota!

It was hard on the Jones side as it was for us to be away for Christmas. It's always the hardest part of having family so far apart. But they had a wonderful Christmas in Wyoming with the rest of the family. It snowed a ton in Minnesota as it did in Wyoming! So, we decided to make use of our long weekend over New Year's to head to Star Valley when we got home. Gregg worked New Year's Eve, so we headed to Star Valley New Year's Day and spent Friday through Sunday with them. Again... so wonderful! Kaylen has even more people to entertain her and love on her there! As we have two more grandparents to let us sleep a little extra in the morning! ;-) We played lots of games together and even got a chance to take out the snowmobiles thanks to the new snow! We actually took Kaylen around a couple times with Gregg and I on the sled behind the snowmobiles! Don't worry, we went S-L-O-W! :-) She didn't seem to care for it one way or another, so soon we let her go in with Grandma Cherie and the rest of us played a little more outside! Gregg always comes in the house looking like the abominable snowman! We get to have lots of fun with him! We should be back in Star Valley over President's Day in February for the annual cousins ski extravaganza and Warren's Birthday.

Gregg starts school again tomorrow for the semester. He got a 4.0 this last semester and was taking SUPER difficult classes! This semester his main focus is going to be preparation for the MCAT which he is going to be taking May 27th! He's already started one MCAT prep class and is already stressed out! I think it is going to be a stressful semester, but we'll get through it! We are also trying to plan a now LARGE family trip to Australia this summer! We're trying to work out exactly who's going, then to purchase tickets, then on to the fun details! Kaylen is 7 months now and is really thinking about crawling, but she's not quite there yet... but hopefully soon! Again, I could say I'm going to get better with this whole blogging business, but who am I kidding! Sooner or later, I'll post again!