the Huntsman Herd

I was so excited for Christmas this year because Cody totally got it, and Bo was just as excited!

We kicked off Christmas the same way we do every year by meeting Cory's family at the cemetery on Christmas Eve to sing 'Silent Night' to his older sister Jamie who passed away. This is a tradition his family has had since they lost her, and I have always loved it, but this year it meant even more to me since we lost our own sweet baby girl. After all the hustle and bustle of the holiday's it is nice to be able to meet at a sacred place together and remember the sacrifice our savior made for us. It is a sweet reminder that we will all be together again because of that sacrifice, and brings the spirit back to Christmas that sometimes gets lost in all the chaos. As always it was a beautiful way to welcome Christmas.

After the cemetery, we all went our separate ways to celebrate with our own families. I had my family over to our house for dinner this year, I was so nervous and so anxious because this is the first time I've cooked an "important" meal! (As Sally reminded me when she called to ask if she should eat before coming over!) I made my first Christmas Ham, and I have to say, it was a smashing success!! Dinner was yummy, and it was so fun to have all of us together! (Robbie, Heather, & Karlee were here for the holidays as well.) My mom made the grand kids these darling " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" Books, and gave everyone the traditional Christmas jammies. We played games, and had fun just being together.

Yep. That's my boy playing with the Hair Salon aunt Sally gave to Karlee!! I didn't know Cody paid attention to me when I did my hair, but apparently he does, since he knew exactly what to do with that blow dryer and comb! It was so funny!

...and made his dad oh. so. proud!

Christmas morning, we threw our kids in the car and headed over to my mom's house to see what Santa brought! It was so fun to open the door and see all the presents under her cute tree, and to see the kids go straight for the gifts that were meant for them. (a relief after the Salon fiasco!)

Cody got an Imaginex Pirate Ship that thrilled him,

and Bo got the Pirate Island that went with it. He hasn't stopped playing with it!

Cody had to check out every inch of his ship! It has missiles that shoot out the side that were met with total enthusiasm!

So check out Bo's Christmas Jammies! They made me laugh the whole time he was wearing them because they looked like a unitard! Cute Bo baby!! (mommies sorry!)

And there it is! What Christmas is all about! He was one happy little boy! (and you will notice Cody is NOT in Christmas jammies! He is going through this phase that he will NOT wear any new clothes! No new undies! No new Nothin'! If it's "Not Cody's" it will NOT Do!)

Yes, mom got right in there with the boys and there toys!

Bo and Karlee play so well together and love to share. Karlee and Cody however, are another story! They fight like a brother and sister! It's a love-hate relationship! So funny!

Another cute pic of Bo in his jams. Still laughing! Sorry Bo!

All the kids were so into there toys they didn't even really have any interest in opening any other gifts. It was so fun to watch them and it made all the hard work totally worth it!

I did get a little worried when Bo kept going back to Karlee's princess castle, instead of playing with his pirates, but in his defense, he just liked the horses that went with the princesses!

Our "Christmas Story" moment. So Ralphy! Cody got a play rifle! It cocks, and shoots, and takes play bullets. It came with some binoculars, so now Cody thinks he's got a set just like dads! I think it was definitely his favorite present!

With Cody enthralled with his gun, it opened the Pirate Ship up for the little brother! Bo loves to play with big boy toys, but sometimes the older brother isn't so nice...

Thank goodness for distractions!

Happy. Happy. Happy!

And Hello Golf Set!! What a smart Santa! Maybe next year, you can remember to give the boys there OWN sets! Fighting is not so fun on Christmas! :)

Maybe the next Tiger Woods? Hmmm. Maybe. Not.

I think this one will have to stick to baseball. He kept trying to use the golf club as a bat, and the golf ball as a baseball.

I know I didn't get a lot of pictures of Karlee, but she was so cute! She loved her Castle, and her princesses, and all her girly things. I think she may have glanced at the boys stuff, but she is girl through and through!

Another present! What is it!? What is it!?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!!! "Oh My Cow!"

And the Turtle Van!!!

(While Cody checked out his van, you'll notice Bo in the background having his Christmas Poop!)

After we opened our presents we headed over to see Cory's family, and to exchange gifts with the Huntsman's. I feel so bad that I didn't take my camera! We got to see the Grandparents, and Cathy & Mike, along with Cory's siblings. I love that we live so close to our families and are able to go back and forth between them on holidays!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of Jaxson meeting us at the door right when we got there shouting, "We got a present for Cody! What did you get me???" followed by, "Is it dinosaur stuff?????" I love that kid!

We loved Christmas this year, and I am sad to see it go. Thank you to our families for making Christmas so wonderful, and making us feel so loved, and so thankful for all you do for us!

Originally, we were going to leave the day after Christmas for Bear Lake. We spend every New Year's there and love being able to get away, and look forward to it, unfortunately, this year our trip was postponed a few days. Cory's cousin Dan and his sweet wife Nanette lost their 10 yr. old son, Jake, to a tragic accident while playing. My heart aches for there little family and once again, I am so grateful for the knowledge that families can be together forever.

We made it up to Bear Lake and I don't know who was happier, my little boys, or the hubs! Cory took his hounds, and spent most of his time out hunting, so he was a happy camper, and Cody asks every day if we can go to Bear Lake, so when we pulled up to the cabin, he was absolutely thrilled! Every time we wanted to go somewhere he would yell that he didn't want to leave Bear Lake. Finally, I pointed out the lake and tried to tell him we were still in Bear Lake, he looked at me and said, "No mom! That's water lake! I want to go to Bear Lake!" Can't argue with that!

This boy cracks me up! He emptied out the toy bucket and climbed on in. He seriously sat in there playing for at least an hour.

Bo is happiest when he can just be in his own little world!

Two peas in a pod!

Cory built a fire for us one night so we had to get all bundled up to go out. This red coat has been a traumatic thing for this boy! Last year Cory bought him an ugly camo coat that I've hated, so I was really glad when it was getting too small for Cody this year (it probably would have been fine, but I told myself it was too small so I could buy him a new one.) Cody has refused to put it on, and he screams for his green coat! We had to hide it at Cory's mom's house so he couldn't find it. He finally puts this coat on without screaming, but he still asks for his green coat!

I just think Bo looks so darling, but I keep thinking if he could talk he would sound just like Randy, "Mom! I can't put my arms down!"

I don't know if you know this, but Camo is dead sexy! Especially with hat hair! I just think my kidlets look so cute! Bo may be a little miffed about not having a plug, and when Cody takes a picture, he drags out "Cheeeeeeeese" until the flash goes off! But at least we captured the moment!

And here are my three muskateers! Totally in their element!

And here is our attempt at a family Picture!

Yep. Cory and Cody look cute, but Bo looks ticked, and I look like a camo michelin man!

This is why we don't have any family pictures!

So that is the end of our year in a nutshell. We had a lot of ups and downs in 2009, but I like to think we've grown a lot, a lot closer to each other, a lot closer to our families, and a lot closer to our Father in Heaven. We look forward to 2010 with great expectations and are excited to see what this next year will bring!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We went to the Annual Huntsman Family Christmas party last night, and we all had a blast!

We were all visiting and catching up, and all the kids were playing, except for one. I couldn't see Bo, so I started looking for him, and this is where I found him...

Yep. That's a dog bed, in the corner! I guess Bo was still a little sleepy, and just wanted some "Bo" time. Did I mention what a funny boy this kid is?

I figured, If the kid wants to sleep, I'm not going to stop him! So I handed him his blanket! He laid there for a really long time! But he was happy as a clam!

This is all the kids sitting in a circle getting ready for the White Elephant gifts. Jaxson told Kaeline that she needed to give all the kids numbers. He was number 4 'cause he's 4. He told her he knew this because he's in preschool!

Cody was just trying to figure out what they were going to do!

He was so excited when he got to pick out a present! Usually, when we play our white elephant game, you can steel something if you like, but we decided letting the kids steel from each other wasn't such a good idea! Who wants a bunch of crying kids?!

Cody was thrilled with his Gumball machine! Yeah. Me too!

He and Bo would eat a piece of gum, and as soon as it ran out of flavor, they would come over to me and spit it out in my hand, and then go back for another one! Yummy!

I know, we have got to get rid of that dang binky, but really, it makes for such a happy kid!

And finally, the moment we were all waiting for... The Big Guy himself!

When Santa came in, Cody was torn between excitement, and terror!

Here's a little smile, but still unsure...

Of course Bo had no problem introducing himself!!!

He was loving this Jolly Old Soul!

Cody was called up to Santa's lap very first, but there was just no way that was happening, so we let Jaxson go first. Cody watched as Jaxson sat on Santa's lap, but he wasn't totally sold on the idea until Jaxson got his present...