Monthly Archives: December 2009

Today, Angela and I took the entire day and went out on an extended date!  We had a TON of fun, and it was nice to be together and not have to worry about the kids.  Grandma and Grandpa took great care of them all day.

We started off the day on a great note by going up to the temple.  After our session there, we did a little bit of shopping at the LDS bookstore near there.  We got a DVD and a couple of other things before driving toward downtown Chicago for lunch.

Lunch was absolutely amazing!  Angela likes to watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, a show on Food Network where people submit recommendations of their favorite restaurants around the country, and then the show visits them and checks them out.  Before we went, Angela looked up to see where a good place to eat would be and this one came highly recommended from this show.

The name of the place is “Smoque” and they specialize in BBQ.  It really was a dive, but it was BUSY!  The place had holes and scratches in the walls, cement scratched-up floor, old cheap tables and chairs, the front door was worn out, etc.  We couldn’t believe it until we tasted the food!  Angela got a brisket basket with beans, slaw, and macaroni and cheese, and I got a half-slab of St. Louis ribs with slaw, fries, and macaroni and cheese.  It is by far the best BBQ ribs and brisket we have ever had!  🙂 🙂  We would definitely recommend this place to anyone!   http://www.smoquebbq.com.

After that, we went shopping for awhile at the Premium Outlets in Aurora.  We wore ourselves out just wandering about with no screaming or complaining children yanking on our sleeves!  🙂  It was nice to just be together!

After shopping, we went and saw the movie “Sherlock Holmes” at the theater.  It was a really good film.  I probably liked it (actually I definitely liked it) better than Angela did, although afterward, she wasn’t as skeptical as when we first went.  🙂

What a wonderful day!

Today was sunny and a little warmer, so we decided to all go out and go sledding on a nearby midwest (nothing like Utah) hill.  Zachary got a tube and Ben got a sled for Christmas and couldn’t wait to go out and use them!  🙂  We bundled up and drove over to the sledding hill and had a WONDERFUL time!  Ben even liked it (most of the time).  He went down a couple of times and cried each time except for the one where he and Kirstyn wiped-out in the snow at the bottom and then he giggled non-stop!  🙂

After getting nice and cold and worn out, we went back home and had a nice warm lunch and relaxed the rest of the day.

Today was a very interesting day!  Zachary, Grandpa, and I drove up to Elburn, IL on a little “guy’s activity” and checked out a small train car manufacturing business named Accurail.  Grandpa Halliday is VERY into model railroading, and this place is where he orders most of his model train cars.   One of the guys there gave us a tour of how they manufacture everything.  We got to see the raw materials (styrene beads that they melt down to inject into the steel molds), how they create the molds and make the parts, where they paint and stamp the parts and where they package the finished parts for shipping.  Zachary got to grab a handful of train wheels which he thought was pretty cool!

After our tour, the guy there gave Zachary 3 train cars (no doubt to peak his interest so we would go home and buy a locomotive, track, transformer, etc.)!  🙂  Zachary was really excited and first thing when we got home, he wanted to go out and buy a train set!  🙂  It was very cute.  He wanted us to take pictures of him with his new train cars…

The girls went with Grandma and went to see “The Princess and the Frog” at the movie theater, while Angela was able to enjoy some quiet at home with Benjamin sleeping.

When we all got back home, Angela and I went shopping for a new faucet for the kitchen.  Our old one had been leaking and it was about time.  We finally found one we liked, and after all of us going out to eat at Sweet Tomatoes (thanks Grandma and Grandpa), we came back and installed it.  No more leaks!  🙂

Today it was snowing when we woke up (a far cry from the rain of yesterday and the day before).  It continued to snow all day non-stop!  We ended up shoveling the driveway and sidewalks (and those of our neighbors) 3 different times!  In all, we got about 8 inches of snow.

The first time I shoveled, Zach came out with me and brought his new shovel to help.  It was cute watching him try and lift the snow.  The second time, Angela and I brought Ben outside with his new sled.  We pulled him around the sidewalks and down the unplowed road.  He had a blast but by the time he went in, he was freezing cold!  🙂  During the day, it only got to about 25 degrees (-3 celsius) but most of the time, it was down at 18 degrees (-8 celsius).  With the frigid wind blowing, it felt like -2 degrees (-18 celsius).

Merry Christmas everyone!  What a wonderful holiday!  I can’t believe that it’s already been a year!  We had a wonderful day today spending time as a family and enjoying relaxing!  The kids got up very early and were very excited to see if Santa came!  We finally let them go downstairs at about 7am and they had a ball!

The kids had a great time seeing what Santa had brought them inside and outside their stockings!  🙂  Zachary had to set up all his things he got and stand by them so we could take a picture.  It was actually quite funny.  🙂  Ben, in the meantime saw his new red sled and sat right down in it ready to go!  Kirstyn got a Nintendo DS which she couldn’t be happier about, and Sarah and Brittany got a bunch of country music, jackets, and other things they were very excited about!

After we enjoyed Santa presents, we ate breakfast (Santa brought each of us our own box of our favorite cold) and then went into the living room and opened presents from each other and from family and friends.  We had a wonderful time enjoying all the things we received.  We even got a package from Spain from Carmen and her family.  🙂

After opening all the presents, the kids played for the rest of the day, and we just relaxed and enjoyed our time together!  We ate when we felt like it, we snacked when we felt like it, and we didn’t have to put together a big Christmas dinner!  🙂  By the end of the day, however, we were very tired!

We feel very blessed, because we have a warm house to live in, a family who loves us, and many other basic conveniences that so many around the world don’t have.

We love Christmas and hope that you all enjoyed your day as well!

Christmas Eve!  It’s hard to believe that another year has flown by!  We worked hard today to clean the house and get ready for our annual Christmas Eve party. It was sleeting most of the day and the trees were all covered with ice!  What a crazy bunch of weather!

This afternoon we went over to the Oscarson’s house for dinner.  We had a great spread of amazing prime rib, potatoes, salad, vegetables, layered jell-o, and awesome rolls!  After dinner, we went out caroling to 7 families.  It was cold and rainy, but we had a wonderful time!  The families we visited, sang to, and gave treats to very much appreciated our efforts!  🙂

After caroling, we went back to our house and had hot wassail, acted out the nativity, and had dessert.  This is something our family has done for years, and this is the 3rd year we have done it with the Oscarson’s.  We all dress up in costumes and act out the birth of Christ.  It is humorous at times, but we all feel the spirit of the season.

For dessert, we had white chocolate peppermint cheesecake, chocolate turtle cheesecake, pecan pie, cookies, mints, wassail, and other candies.  We ate until we were stuffed and then talked for awhile.  It is so much fun to have this activity with friends.

After the kids put out reindeer food for Santa’s reindeer, we all went to bed, very excited about what Christmas morning would bring!  🙂

Today Grandma and Grandpa Halliday arrived to spend Christmas with our family!  They took the Amtrak train out from Salt Lake City (34 hour ride)!  😐  We picked them up from the train station and went back to our house for a nice, relaxing evening.  We weren’t sure if Benjamin would take to them very well because he doesn’t know them (the last time they saw him was when he was only a couple of months old).  We were wrong, however!  Ben went right to them and acted like he’d known them forever!  Zachary was the one that was a little shy which is VERY NOT like him!  He’s fine now, however.  We have a big Christmas Eve day/evening tomorrow and are very excited!

Today was COLD!  It started out cold and ended the same way.  Winter is here to stay, we think!  During most of the day, the temperature hovered around -1 degree (-18 Celcius) and with the humidity and the wind, it felt like -22 degrees (-30 Celcius)!  🙁  All of the after-school activities were canceled, and the kids were told to stay in the house.  Did Ben and Zach stay in the house?  NOT TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!  They were out rolling in the snow and having a GREAT time!  We didn’t let them stay out too long due to the cold, but they had a blast!  Every year when it gets like this we ask ourselves why we live here!  🙂  We always make it through with the help of a warm house and cups and cups of hot chocolate!  🙂