New Years Eve

I usually am happy to see the year go and get a new fresh start on everything. We kept it simple this year and just had the Eash family and Rowley family over. It was a good number and we got alot of game playing in. We did nachos and lots of goodies. Despite Nan's face, we were having a good time!

 Getting ready to cheers the New Year! I apparently didn't get many pics but that must mean I was having lots of fun!!

goodbye 2019, HELLO 2020!!!

Christmas parties in Idaho

The day after Christmas Chad had to work, so me and Carter hung out for the day and did a little shopping and then picked up Chad to head to Idaho. Love hanging with my little man. 

 The brothers came home too and we all got to share our presents with eachother and mom and dad. This year, Jordan and I went together to buy equipment to transfer old VHS family videos to a digital file. We shared the cost and Jordan spent alot of his break going through every tape! We put them all on a hard drive. She was slightly confused when she opened it but after we explained she was excited! We had a good time watching some later on!

 The next day was Cousin Game day! Lots of Serena & Cindy's family gathered at my parents house to play games. Ben smoked brisket and we all brought snacks to share. There is never a shortage of food at DeGiulio gatherings. It was so great to catch up with cousins and actually PLAY with them.

 It was double the fun watching all of my kids play with my cousins kids! It made me SO happy and brought back so many fun memories of getting to play with my cousins at christmas!

 The sisters held down the kitchen!

 And dad pulled out the hardest puzzle in the world!!

 Games, foosball, ping pong, puzzles and lots of chatter and laughter kept us all busy all day!

Love this big italian family of mine and the priorities we make to keep in touch. There's LOTS of love to go around and after this tough year of loss and hard things, we all gained a new appreciation and love for each other.

Most magical Christmas night ever

We usually like to go sledding on Christmas Eve but we had NO snow! We knew a storm was coming so we were just waiting for it. G&G wanted to beat the storm so they were out of there pretty early. By about 4 it started snowing and by 6 we had a good 8 inches of snow!!! We HAD to go play. 

 It was just Carter and mom and dad so we dressed up and went to the sledding hill!! Just the 3 of us.

 We got to the hill and we were the only ones. The powder was fresh and the light from the lamp showed how hard it was still snowing. Big giant flakes fell on a perfectly silent evening.

 We climbed the hill and tried to go down but the powder was so deep we just sunk. Chad paved a path for us to go down and after making several paths we raced and made several runs.

 We laughed so hard and flew down that hill so fast! We would go clear into the parking lot! I was always covered in snow by the time I got down.

 I love this crazy guy for putting up with my wild ideas!

 There were a few good wipe outs and we were able to make a few successful trains! WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!! I wished the girls were there to enjoy it too but there was something special about just being with Carter. As the oldest and only boy, he gets looked over ALOT. I was so glad to just have time to spend with him doing something he loves and experience a magical moment.

I love this snow loving kid so much. He is so good and kind. He has the best heart and righteous intentions. Love you C-man! More than you know!

Christmas Eve & Day!!

We were all So excited to have G&G Reed join us this year for Christmas! We played Just Dance while we waited for them to get there. Then had our traditional fondue dinner. The kids were bouncing off the walls as usual but it was cute as they called "kid meetings" and talked among themselves about how they were all going to go right to sleep. 

 We opened jammies

 And even G&G got some!

 Chad and me too!

 The kids all slept around the fire place on the couches as they always like to do and they really did go right to sleep! Carter was anxious to be in on the magic this year and we let him help some.

Then once everyone was alseep, Santa came!

 Santa brought Carter an ollie sphero, Mollie a doll loft bed, Brielle Myla the Unicorn and Rylee her own 18 in doll in pjs. After morning prayer, the kids lined up at the stairs to get the morning started! They ALL of course were up super early...like 2:30 I think! And I got a little upset and threatened them all with their Christmas that they better get back to sleep. They did, and at 5:30 sharp they were waking us up!

 Then the wonderful chaos exuded.

 The best part about Christmas morning is these kind of faces! All for a doll jeep.

 This was a big surprise we made the kids open last.

 A hoover board!!!

 Rylee loved getting her doll and matching outfit. She sat and played with all the things she got all christmas day.

 Grandpa even made us all nervous when he jumped on the hoover board just a few short weeks after his knee surgery! Don't worry, he was safe.

 I usually try to get a picture of all the gifts everyone got but only made around to getting mine and Rylees! Doll gear was definitely a theme for this christmas.

 And it was my turn to make the surprised face when I opened a Roomba from my parents! Something I never thought I'd have. I was so excited to use it! And an Alexa from Santa was super exciting too. Chad got me an awesome gift! Heated seats for the van that he would install. I can't wait to have heated seats again!

 I spent the afternoon and next days watching my roomba clean up while I ate treats. Best feeling ever!

Christmas with grandparents is always so special and we are so glad they made the sacrifice to be with us. They left christmas afternoon to get ready for the family party the next day. They also took ALL THREE girls with them since we would be coming the next day. I was surprised they were willing to leave all their toys but a sleepover with G&G is just as good as new toys to them! I love Christmas. I love my savior. I'm so grateful that we are so blessed to provide a wonderful Christmas for our family that we don't go into debt for. I love sharing my love through gifts. I'm grateful for the gifts Jesus Christ shares with me because of love. Merry Christmas...stay tuned for the coolest christmas night ever!

Other Christmas Things

I helped with Mollie's Christmas Party at school. Everyone brought a treat to share and HOLY SMOKES there was a TON of treats. PLUS they had ice cream and toppings along with it! And they just let the kids to crazy and grab whatever they wanted! It was a mad house watching the kids grab all the candy they wanted and then eat it and have immediate sugar highs! 

 Chad and I were invited to and ugly sweater/white elephant party and of course we had to pull this guy out!

 Christmas Sunday family pic!

 We wanted to see the lights without fighting the crowds so we went really early before the lights came on and walked around the visitors centers since this is the last time Temple Square would look like this! The lights will be minimal during the temple construction so we wanted to see it in all its glory one last time. Right as it got dark, we headed outside and viewed the lights as we walked to our car.

 It was fun to see them and it really wasn't too busy until we were about to leave.

 Bri HAD to have a picture with the pink tree.

 The weather was actually pretty perfect too. We didn't freeze and we didn't fight crowds!

 The beauty never gets old!

We LOVE to see the temple! And Christmas time makes it even better with all the lights. I'm so glad we live so close to this beautiful, historical, spiritual sight. I know it is the House of the Lord. I believe he visits there. And we look forward to the day it is renovated so we can visit it again!