Christmas and stuff

After offering up an "I'm not tired" during dinner, a la David after the dentist, Sadie is down early tonight because of a missed afternoon nap. And with Ryan out playing tennis, I figured it was high time I crack my knuckles and finally get down to some serious blog catch up. Is it so sad that the main thing keeping me from posting was a dead camera battery for about 6 weeks? Now we're all juiced up and ready to go, so I really have no excuse.

Starting all the way back in December, BYU came and played Creighton in basketball, which we had to go see. It was really fun being in the alumni section in the arena. Sadie figured out the B-Y-U chant pretty quick, and says it anytime there is basketball on tv. After the Game we were allowed to go down court side and take pictures with the team and ask a few questions. However, once they realized how many people came, they only had Jimmer and Coach Rose say a few things, and then they had to hit the road. There were at least 300 people that hung out for the Q and A, so that was pretty neat to see. I guess with graduates all over the country/world, you can get a pretty decent following wherever you go!

Up in our seats near the end of the game. Sadie was much more enthusiastic earlier, I promise

Down court side. I'll admit, I got a little starstruck.

For Christmas, it was absolutely the best being back in Calgary. Sadie got plenty of play time there with all the cousins, referring to the girl cousins as their names, and all the boys were "buddy" until she figured them out. I'm not really sure where she picked that up, because we don't say "buddy" all that often. Maybe once there is a little boy around here, we will.

We got a chance to go see the beautiful zoo lights, which had a fun section orchestrated to "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas". Other outdoor activities included the nativity pageant on the 23rd (not pictured).

I think Dad was taking the picture, but he was there too

All bundled up

Shots from Christmas eve, where the bulk of the talent show were performances from the grand kids. Rachie and Dad also contributed stellar numbers.

All the kids in their cute Christmas jammies

Christmas day! A pretty quiet day, until Rachel opened up an iPhone case.

Grandma and Grandpa taking it all in

Sadie opening some presents. If I had to pick her favorite things, it would be the doll that all the girls got, and the super fashionable skirts that Laura picked out. Immediately after opening the box, Sadie needed to change the diaper on the baby. She kept asking it, "you stinky? Yeah..."

Sadie wanted her skirt on right away

A combo shot of Sadie's favorite items. She kept that skirt on basically all day.

Of course, she likes the box just as much as the toy that came in it

Dad, giddy as a school boy. That was Rachel's gift, by the way. It actually moves and makes sounds, and I'm not sure if they figured out if it can shoot torpedoes. Give me a ping, Vasili. One ping only, please.

Sadie loved hanging with Rachie, Gamma, and Banter (her version of grandpa). She took to all the extended family just fine, and played a lot with Grandpa Low when they were there for Christmas day. It was quite fun to watch actually.

After Christmas, we spent a couple of days up in Canmore, and did some touring in the mountains. Ryan had never been to Lake Louise, and since we're already married, it couldn't have any effect on our relationship (as it has been the death knell for many others). It was really gorgeous and snowy, and thankfully not that cold. Mom, Dad, Rachel and Jojo joined us in Canmore for dinner one night before they left for Texas.

Sadie quite liked the castle, and sliding around on the ice

She even found a little seat just her size. She's obsessed over having her own seat!

Loved the touque and jammie ensemble

We didn't spend too much time in Canada, as I realized my green card was about to expire, and we had to get back into the US before that happened. So we joined mom and dad in Texas for Christmas part II, and got to see all the rest of the family. We had lots of fun playing at the church, going out for lunch with the siblings, golf for the boys, and lots of late night games. Dan and Scott put on an impressive fireworks show, with explosions so big you could have sworn they were illegal! They were so big, it was scary-close watching them on the driveway. I don't have much picture evidence from Texas, but here is one cute shot:

And the vacation doesn't end there. Ryan had nearly a full month off in between semesters, so we left Texas for Arizona to see one last bout of family. We were so fortunate to get to see everyone on both sides of the family. Again, nothing from Arizona by way of pictures, but it was lots of eating fresh oranges and puzzles.

Eventually we made our way back home. Sadie's pose here says it all. It was nice to travel around and get to see everyone, but there's nothing like lounging back in your Dora the Explora bed and winding down with a sippy cup of diluted apple juice. Love you all and miss you more! I'm feeling just dandy, and can wait for the baby to come until Mom arrives in a week and a half.