Christmas in Nevada

It was a Christmas of firsts. Our first married Christmas. My first Christmas ever with no snow. My first Christmas in Nevada.

It was nice to see family we don't get to see very often. We took family photos. We sat around the dinner table all together. We spent time talking and laughing. Exploring differences and seeing similarities. 

 It was a Christmas of many firsts. It was the first time I gave up the Christmas that I knew with my family and my traditions, for Parker. Because that's part of marriage. Change. Compromise.  And putting him first. It was great. We had fun. We were together.

my sisters in-law 

my father in-law and june bug 

parker and i with the biggest Christmas haul ever- thank you, thank you Robertsons 

yes this post is coming from my very own macbook pro.  i have the greatest husband ever. he even kept it a secret. i was actually very very surprised. excited. happy. thrilled. all of the above.

I'll Take Some Tinsel With That Tonsillectomy

My surgery went really well. It was early in the morning so Parker was able to go with me before he had to take a final. I wish I had a picture of his face when they put the iv needle in my hand. He just kept showing me how big of a needle it was, it didn't bother me as much.

just showing off those awesome hospital socks 

 I was a little nervous. Mostly because everyone said how miserable I would be when I woke up. It has been a crazy 10 days.  But I am feeling a lot better.

liquid pain killers.... really nasty stuff 

all my holiday treats 

To be honest the whole thing was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It has taken me a lot longer to start to feel better than I thought it would. Parker has been working so hard to do everything he can to make me as comfortable as I can be. He has been working a ton, had a bunch of finals, and made the drive from Logan to Alpine over and over again. He didn't want me to be all alone at our apartment sick everyday while he was working, so I stayed at my parents. I think he has slept less than I have and he still has been so sweet to me. I am a really lucky girl.
My mom is a saint. I know that everyone says they have the best mom. But mine dropped everything that she had to do right before Christmas for 10 whole days to be there for whatever I needed. That is just how she is. I don't think she will ever stop taking care of us girls. And she is a super grandma. The grandkids love her so much and there isn't anything she wouldn't do for them. Getting my tonsils taken out at Christmas time actually turned out to be a good thing. I have been surrounded by family. Watching Christmas movies, playing games, letting the kids stare down my throat with a flash light. It's been fun to have so much time with family.
I even got to see Nicole who spent an afternoon listening to me all loopy and rambling. The Holidays are all about slowing down remembering what life is really about and being with the people you love. Being sick just helped me slow down a lot.
Sunday night I even felt good enough to go over to my sisters house to see the kids preform a Christmas program and Nativity for my grandparents.

yep snow white was there this year

parker and the nephews playing the wii 

Tomorrow we head to Nevada! It's a long drive but we will leave early enough so that we can spend Christmas Eve with the whole Robertson Family.
I hope you are all enjoying the first part of your holidays.

where were we?

Disney Land!

Yep. Both of us in Star Wars Ts. We are that cool.

We did all the "big kid rides" multiple times. Including the new Star Tours. Which is awesome... in case you were wondering. 

 Parker can spin a tea cup faster than anyone. Its a pretty neat skill. 

Small world was all decked out for the holidays. I got more wet on Small World than I did on Splash Mountain. Maybe my family splashes each other on those slow boat rides...  

This trip was a big Christmas secret from all of the kids. Their parents didn't tell them where they were going till the got there. They were so excited. We drove with the Hustons and their kids were so oblivious. Friday night we packed up the car and told them we were going for a drive. They thought we were going to my moms house. And all night long when they asked what was taking so long we just kept telling them we were lost! They woke up the next morning in Disney Land. 

We also went with Hustons to the beach. Thinking the kids would like to see the ocean, maybe walk in the sand. Try taking two little kids from Utah to the ocean and telling them just to look... it didn't matter that it was a little cold, they ran right in. 

Fin in the back ground. All he wanted to take home from Disney Land was a big bag of sand. 

we ran around like crazy, and had so much fun. after a long drive yesterday we are back to reality, finals, and wait for it.... getting my tonsils out. 

wish me luck! 

white lights

I am not a total scrooge I just... I don't love Christmas music as much as most people seem to.... and this year I didn't want to put up a tree. ( i know its our first married Christmas. i know the tree is a big deal) Let me explain. We are lucky enough to be spending Christmas with family in Nevada. And we didn't have a tree so to put one up meant first we would have to buy one... and everything to put on it. Plus there is a little bit of a space issue (meaning there is only a little bit of space and all of our stuff is already in it) Not to mention that if we got a real tree there is the issue of all the needles everywhere and us not being here to water it. If we went with fake tree we would want to have it for several years so it becomes an issue of size and not knowing where we will be living next Christmas and what we will or won't have room for. Of course there is the storage issue, we would have to find a place to keep the fake tree at my moms house......
Parker on the other hand wanted a tree. Just like he wanted to listen to Christmas music the very first time it snowed.  He is determined to save Christmas. So we re-arranged the furniture, then re-re-arranged it, then put it back, then re-arranged it again, and then went back to a slight variation of the first re-arrangement and then we went and found the perfect tree. (fake, although you would never guess it by the delightful pine smell coming from our candle warmer. but still fake so Mom heads up come January we are going to come put it in the storage room some where. Thanks! love you.)
It was the last of its kind... they had to take down the display tree and box it up for us. By this point I had caught Parker's ever so contagious excitement and we anxiously explored Walmart looking for the perfect things to put on our tree.  The set up started as soon as we got home. The whole afternoon was spent meticulously arranging the branches and hanging ornaments. Now white lights reflect off  red and gold, and it is really beautiful. It is the best Christmas tree I have ever seen... probably just because it is ours.

Lesson learned. The Christmas tree is a must for this family. Thanks Parker, you never let me miss out on the fun.

Thanksgiving

First Thanksgiving together. It was a blast. We have so much to be thankful for.

great food. big family. good times.

The Wife

I love my wife.

She is truly the thing I am most thankful for in this whole world.

And as such I have decided to create a short list of reasons why I'm thankful for her.

10. I can always use the carpool lane.

9. She understands how weird I am and also appreciates it.

8. I always have my wife, who I can sing with and who can get me to dance.

7. I am so happy to always have her to watch basketball with.

6.She always makes me laugh. often so much that it hurts.

5. She always shares her left-overs with me... well almost always.

4.She is the best best friend anyone could ever ask for.

3. She always supports me in everything I do and pushes me to be the best.

2.I have some one who I can just be myself with all the time

1. She makes me happier than I ever thought I could be in life. 

To put it simply: I love my wife

The Marvelous Wonderettes

Quick Story.
Once Upon A Time my dad said Jessica lets go to Yankee Stadium this season. So I got all excited and then he changed his mind and told me I needed to learn disappointment.  Good life lesson Dad.
But then, Once Upon This Other Time we went for real. (And I was even more excited for it because I had been disappointed the first time around.) I spent my 18th Birthday just my dad in me in New York City. We ate at Carnegie Deli and spent the afternoon inside the New Yankee Stadium watching the Yankees beat Baltimore. I could take the time to tell you everything that happened in that entire game because two years later I still remember everything about it with perfect clarity but this is supposed to be a quick story. So I'll skip the details and just hit the relevant parts. After the game we found ourselves seeing the Marvelous Wonderettes. And it was awesome. Best-Pre-Parker Birthday ever.
We walked out of the theater both saying, we have got to take Mom and the girls to that one.
Well this Friday night we were finally able to do just that. Wonderettes had made its way to the local Hale Center Theater stage in Orem. My sisters grew up going to Hale Center Theater with our grandparents. It was a walk down memory lane for them, and they all had very specific treats that they always got at what Parker calls Half Time. The show was great was, and everyone loved it. Even the boys.
Bonus Round: I used to do theater. I didn't really look through the program but when it started I instantly recognized an old friend who was in every show I was ever in. It was great to see her still doing what she loves and after I even got to introduce her to my good looking husband and catch up briefly.
When we came outside we were standing in a blur of the biggest snow flakes I have ever seen.
It was a fun night with my family, and this weekend we will see them some more, even throw a football around. Not to mention how excited we are for some quality Robertson time over Christmas.
 Bring on the holidays!

@dinner before the show