Christmas and New Year's

As usual, we had 3 Christmases this year!  It's one of the many benefits of being married :)  We had our family Christmas in Ogden really early, on December 15.  We were leaving for Lovell on the Saturday before Christmas, so we did Christmas on the Sunday before that.  Lex had a great time with her new toys, and I'm sure Mia appreciated her new blankets and binkies.

That evening, we met my parents in Salt Lake so we could take Lex to see the lights on Temple Square.  Lex was really tired, and was happy to sit in Mia's stroller :

Lex all tuckered out:

It was so fun to see my parents for the evening!  I really miss living closer to them so I can see them more often, but at least we're close enough to see each other at least once a month!

Mia with her Pillow Pet from Grammie:

Sister love!

On December 21st, we headed to Lovell.  The trip there wasn't terrible, but Mia was pretty sad.  When we were on South Pass, we pulled over, DJ unpacked and re-packed the car so I could sit in the back row, and then she was fine, cause she could see me back there by her.  The last 30 minutes of the trip was pretty much horrible, cause both girls were SO over being in the car, and just wouldn't stop crying.  The trip back to Ogden was MUCH better.

Here are my babies on the Sunday before Christmas:

Love those sweethearts!  On Monday, I did all the Allred girls' hair.  It was a blast!  Lex and Brooklyn got to hang out, so that was good too :)

Lex seriously LOVED being in Lovell.  She got lots of attention from all the family, and it was pretty obvious that she remembered the house from when we lived there this summer, and was very comfortable being there.  It was great!  She had one really rough night where she woke up crying like 4 times, but after that she slept through the night and actually was sleeping in past 9am every day.  It was GREAT for vacation!

Lex helping Vanna make Oreo truffles:

 Mia snuggling with Annie:

 Christmas Eve PJ's!

On Christmas morning, we opened presents and then had our big Christmas breakfast and DJ's parents', then headed down to Grandma and Grandpa's for more presents.  Lex was very spoiled!

Lex brushing Papi's hair:

It was seriously SO great to be in Lovell for a week!  The time flew by, and I wished we could have stayed a little longer.  I'm so grateful I got to be with my great family for the time we had, though!

My girls got TONS of attention and snuggles!

We came home from Lovell on December 27th, a Friday, cause DJ had to have basketball practice on Saturday morning.  On Sunday we headed down to Provo for Hailey's baby blessing.  The girls and I stayed at my mom's house through Wednesday, but DJ had to come back up to Ogden for basketball games and practice.  He came back to Provo on Tuesday for New Year's Eve.  It was so good to be at my parents' house again!  I love it there!

Lex eating breakfast at Shirley's in Provo:

Our New Year's Eve was really mellow... we watched the Sound of Music Live, had some snacks, and went to bed before midnight.  We're getting old.  I'm okay with that.

On New Year's Day, DJ took the girls over to Jordan's while I went shopping.  That was my Christmas present this year, and it was AWESOME!  I got to go try on clothes without an entourage.  I LOVE my babies, but oh my goodness it was so nice to have some me time!  We headed back up to Ogden that day, and enjoyed the rest of DJ's time off with our own little family.  I must say, being married to a teacher has its perks!  Having DJ home for 2 weeks in December was SO great!!!