Christmas

Christmas 2008 was a blast! My parents came down for the whole week and we all had so much fun. My mom and I spent the few days before making lists, shopping, and baking in preparation for our Christmas Eve snack fest (we just make a ton of fun snack foods/sweets to eat on Christmas Eve) and Christmas day dinner.

On Christmas Eve we just hung out and ate, watched movies, and ate some more. There were also Wii tournaments, ha! The girls get to open one present... pajamas! And this year my mom got them all matching ones, even cousin Abigail. They looked so cute in them, but Ava did not want to pose... it was bedtime! We always read the book I Believe in Santa Claus and the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible.

Christmas morning the girls let us sleep in till about 8 o'clock. :) We opened gifts and had a lazy morning. We had a fantastic prime rib dinner with lots of yummy side dishes and of course, dessert.

Ava asked Santa for a Barbie and she got a big one!

Lexi had asked Santa for a guitar... daddy has been helping her learn to play.

Can you see Romeo in the mess? He kind of got buried, but was quite content chewing on his new bone. :)

Ava got a Sleeping Beauty dress... she hated to take it off!

Ava combing her mermaid Barbie's hair.

Yep, Santa ate most of his cookies, fudge, and milk!!

After dinner, the nerf wars began! My dad had gotten all the boys (and himself) nerf guns to have a big brawl. It was like they were kids again and Bret, Chad, Benj, my dad, and Lexi- who had teamed up with Natalia started shooting at each other. My mom and I were sitting on the couch and had to hold up the nearest packages in front of our faces... bullets were flying everywhere!

I was on my way to the bathroom when I got taken hostage by Bret!
RUDE! I was just an innocent bystander, lol!

Poor Romeo... he didn't like those reindeer antlers on, but he looked so cute! :)


The day after Christmas me, my mom, and Natalia got to go shopping- with no kids! Then we met the guys/kids for real Chinese food in Chinatown. It was super crazy down there because there was some merchandise show going on. But once we got in to eat, it was delicious!
Thanks mom and dad for a great week!! We had so much fun and we miss you already. I'm so grateful for our family/friends and the chance to celebrate our Savior's birth.

Happy Anniversary

Today is Benj's and mine Anniversary... 8 years! I can't believe how time has flown. We really don't exchange gifts or anything since it's so close to Christmas. But Benj brought me home the most delectable cupcakes from Mad Hatter Cupcakes. These are the best cupcakes, they just melt in your mouth. These are the flavors he picked: Chocolate/peppermint; eggnog/cream cheese; and my fav strawberry/lemonade. Yummy!!!

Anyway, we got to go out tonight, thanks to my bro and sis-in-law for babysitting. We went and saw Blue Man Group and then out to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. The show was... different, but it was good. And the restaraunt...mmmmm, delicious as always.

Don't mind me for being a tad sappy here: I'm so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man... he puts up with a lot from me. ;) I'm still so in love 8 years later... Happy Anniversary babe!

The Gingerbread Man

Yay! Lexi's kindergarten class got to do their play today at school. They did the Gingerbread Man and it was soooooooooo CUTE!! Lexi played the grandma and she did such a great job with her singing part!!

School Cancelled??

So as the snow hit Las Vegas yesterday afternoon, I got a call from the school district. They said to check the early morning news to see if school would be cancelled or not. I checked just after 6am and sure enough, no school!! Being from Montana, I find this hilarious! But there are a lot of stupid drivers out there who can't manage to drive safely on the roads.
Lexi's school play was supposed to be today. :( I hope they will be able to perform it tomorrow.

MORE SNOW IN VEGAS!!

Ok, so Monday apparently was nothing... because it sure came down this afternoon and this time it stuck to the ground! So the girls got to go out and build a snowgirl. YAY!! I'm loving this rare occasion... it feels like Christmas, and home. :)

Gingerbread House

We started the tradition a few years back of putting together one of those gingerbread houses from the kit. So here is this years that we assembled tonight. :) The girls love it... well, I think they love eating the candy more.

It Snowed!

So the weather people said we might get the white stuff today and WE DID! I was watching for it all morning. I got up to go running, but didn't cuz I had an excuse... what if I got caught in the snow? HA! (But I did aerobics, so it's all good). It was only raining when I took Lex to school, but as I drove around town running my errands, the flakes started coming down. It snowed pretty steady into the afternoon, but darn it, it didn't stick to the ground. The kids had fun going out though to try to catch some snowflakes on their tongues. :)

Weekend With Friends

This weekend our friends, Amy and Joe and their girls came for a visit from Idaho. They got tickets for the NFR here in Vegas, so they went to that one night. We all went and walked around Cowboy Christmas on Sat. You all know I'm not the cowgirl type or anything... but it was cool to look around at everything. AND- I even bought Lexi a pink cowboy hat! She looks so cute in it, I had to get it. And her friend Breanna got one too. :)
Saturday night we went to the Magical Forest for some Christmas fun. The kids got to ride the train, slide on the big alpine slide, and ride the carousel. Oh, and of course they got to go see Santa. It was fun and the kids all had a blast!
Thanks Amy and Joe for coming! It was so good to see you guys and even play games (wink wink)!

My Dad in the Newspaper

I'm so proud of my dad and his business! He is a hard worker and taught me (at an early age in that very salon) to work hard as well. You are awesome dad, keep up the great work!! Here is an article from the Ravalli Republic:

Wes Matson has been styling hair in Hamilton for 30 years.
From the Farrah Fawcett look to the “Rachel” cut from Friends, he’s seen styles come and go since opening Hair with Style off the corner of State Street and S. Third St. Nov. 1, 1979.

“I went downtown and saw a lady walking around with rollers in her hair and something covering her head,” Matson said. “I was wondering if a hair stylist would be able to make it in this town.”

At the age of 20, Matson opened his two-chair salon and was booked solid within six months.
Thirty years and two locations later, Matson said he still styles hair for some of the same people he did when he first started.

“There’s still a couple of dozen people that are still with me from that first year I was open,” Matson said. “It’s neat. You need those people but you know there’s always turnover. You need both (new and old customers.) I’m fortunate to have that.”

Currently at 605 South First St., Hair with Style features Matson, two other stylists and a nail technician.

Though the sign out front may say walk-ins welcome, it’s hard to fit unplanned customers into their busy schedule.

“I’ve threatened to take down that sign for 10 years,” Matson said, laughing. “But you need all types of business.”

Walk-ins or booked appointments, Matson’s customers are one of his favorite aspects of the job.

“I like working with people,” Matson said. “It’s one of only a few business where you actually have to touch people. When you touch people you have a different connection with them. When you sit in a stylists’ chair, you’re giving them permission to be in your space ... building trust. I’ve had people tell me things they’ve never told anyone before. It’s an interesting business.”

Another one of Matson’s favorite parts of the job is that hair grows.

“It keeps business going. It’s always been said our business is recession proof” a smiling Matson said, adding he also likes the artistic part of it. “I like working with my hands. I’ve always liked sculpting. I feel like I sculpt on a day-to-day basis.”

Matson said what makes him different from other salons is the area is his years of experience.

“I understand hair,” Matson said. ‘I know how to read hair and I’m great at communication.”

Matson will continue to build on his experience and said he plans to continue styling hair for another decade.

“You’ve never heard of a barber retiring,” Matson said. “You don’t have to just quit. You can slow down a bit and just cut back a little bit.”

Hair with Style is open Monday through Friday. For appointments call 363-5109.

Big Girl Bed!!

Ava finally got a big girl bed this weekend! I found cute purple butterfly bedding to match her room. She didn't even fall out last night, lol. When I got her up this morning she stood up on the bed and said, "Mom. I love this bed!" :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

For Turkey Day this year, we stayed home and cooked our own turkey dinner. I must say, I did good. HA! It was a great Thanksgiving and I am very thankful for so many blessings in my life!! I enjoyed spending time with my family, but missed those who are far away. And I enjoyed my turkey coma, cuddling with Rooney. :)

We had a fun weekend with Benj having the whole time off from work! I opted out of doing the 5am shopping on Black Friday (unlike last year, right mom?). But we did venture up to the mall later that day so I could catch a few deals. Saturday we took a hike in Red Rock and took the kids to see Madagascar 2. So fun... and tomorrow it is back to the grind. And I am seriously going to have to run like 50 miles for all that yummy food I ate this weekend!! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! :)

The Mermaid & Santa Visit (#1)

My friend Shelly told me about Santa's Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops. Every weekend till Christmas they are doing pictures with Santa and a children's craft... and it's all FREE. So we decided to go check it out today. The store is in the Silverton Casino and right when you walk in there is a huge fish aquarium. And the mermaid was out today!! My girls got a kick out of that. They are still talking about how she was waving at them and blowing them kisses. So cute.
Then it was on to see Santa. Ava has been saying for a couple weeks now how she wanted to go sit on Santa's lap. And of course when it was about their turn she started freaking out. But Lexi went right up to him and got on his lap and then Ava was fine! They got to color Christmas pictures and I got to do a little shopping for fun gifts too. :) Thanks for the tip Shelly!