Nursery Success!

We took this picture on Sunday, but I thought I would give everyone a few more days to enjoy our other posts before we posted again. Besides, if I post too often, people will expect posts much more frequently than I can handle.

Ellie (and I) survived her first day of nursery without mommy or daddy! Her first official week alone was supposed to be on November 29th (her exact 18 month birthday), but the Elders Quorum took over the nursery so the women could go to a special lesson. I wasn't so sure about having Ellie's first week in nursery be so different so she came with me to Relief Society. She was sick the entire month of December and so we went to Sacrament Meeting and then home.

So even though she should've been in over a month ago, it was her first week in nursery. I only had to stay there for about five minutes. She was having fun and playing nice. I don't think she even cried. I checked on her twice through the window. The first time, she was patting the seat beside her and talking to all the kids trying to get someone to sit by her. The second time a little girl was crying and screaming on the floor and Ellie went to comfort her. She said "uh-oh" and then bent over and pretended to kiss her. We are so proud of her!

Our Christmas Adventures!

Merry Christmas!
We spent Christmas Eve with the Reynolds. Dinner was the traditional delicious prime rib with holiday fixins. Our family opened our Christmas jammies and other gifts from their family. Ellie wanted nothing to do with opening gifts which was a complete surprise to us. We thought this Christmas would be so much fun for her. She was seriously throwing fits when we made her open her presents.

We then made our way over to the Sorenson house. Jimmy and Rylee wanted to open presents Christmas Eve. We got Ellie to open her presents from them and she couldn't put them down. She got a new pair of Vans and a baby doll set with a stroller, bassinet, and high chair. It also came with a new baby, bottle, bowl, and spoon. She wasn't interested in anything else. We had to hide her baby stuff Christmas morning, but she still found it. With the Christmas Crown in the oven rising, we all settled down for our long winter's naps.

Christmas morning was crazy. We never wake up early at the Sorensons to open presents, but this year we had a plane to catch. That's right, we all flew to Spokane, Washington departing Salt Lake at 11:17 a.m. Christmas Day. We opened as many presents as we could before it was time to leave, but Ellie still had half of her presents left when we got back.



We spent four days in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with Missy's grandparents. Aunt Valerie and her family as well as Uncle Jeff and his family were there too. While we were there, we did lots of visiting, eating, and playing. We went to see the Sherlock Holmes movie, searched for bald eagles at Coeur d'Alene Lake, walked along the boardwalk to see Christmas lights, and went bowling. We had a lot of fun!

We flew home Tuesday morning and then spent more time at the Reynolds' that evening opening presents with Cameron who was also out of town for Christmas. He got engaged one week before Christmas to Leila and went to visit her family for Christmas. We spent New Year's Eve with the Reynolds' enjoying food from Pagoda and watching Star Trek the movie.

We had a busy, but enjoyable Christmastime. We are thankful for family and those we love. We hope everyone else had a great holiday too! Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Here are some things we remember about 2009:

1. We framed our basement in February. Missy is still waiting to hear from the post office so she can work there part time to continue finishing the basement.
2. Missy used her sewing machine to sew Ellie's Easter dress. It was her first project that wasn't pillow cases, Halloween costumes, fleece hats, or burp cloths.
3. In April, we traveled with Weston's family to Las Vegas to watch Marc's baseball tournament. Ellie took her first real steps while we were there.
4. We were robbed :(
5. Our little sister Kristan graduated from USU with her Bachelor's (and Master's once she defends her thesis) in Biological Engineering. She then took off to Africa for three weeks. A few months later, she went through the temple and then she moved to Iowa. She is now working on her Doctorate at the University of Iowa which is way too far away.
6. Our baby turned ONE! That was in the middle of the year, but it feels like a century ago.
7.Our big brother Jimmy got married to his perfect match, Rylee. They are living in St. George right now and we miss them a lot.
8. Missy's family had their turn hosting the Sorenson Family Reunion. We held it in Swan Valley, Idaho and although it was a lot of stress, it was much more fun!
9. We (minus Ellie) were able to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication. We also had the opportunity to serve during the open house.
10. Missy ran her seventh marathon in St. George.
11. Weston finished his proposal for his capstone project. He now has to finish his project and write his paper to go with it. He is expected to finish school at the end of August!

We are looking forward to many other memories and happy occasions in the coming year!