I have been a bad girl!

Seriously, I shouldn't use this as an excuse - but I have been so busy that I have fallen gravely behind in my blogging! So I am taking time out throughout the next few days to catch up all our December activities. So please scroll down and update yourselves with our holiday festivities! (Some are even added before my "Wicked" post.)

Even if you may not be that interested - PLEASE humor me & read on - feel free to add some commetns too! I have put alot of work and thought into some of them...really!

Come on, is this the face of someone who would lie to you?

Home for the Holidays?

This seems odd...but I have been thinking about something lately. Since we have been in our house, we have been asked many times how we like it & things like that, but lately I have been hearing "So isn't it great to be in your home for Christmas?" It is said in a way that makes it seem like I am supposed to feel different, more excited, about it.

That is the question I just can't get out of my mind. Honestly, I feel no different this year than I have any other. I loved our last apartment, our last home. A home isn't just the structure - it is the feeling inside. I have always thought of our various apartment dwellings as "home" and I have been grateful to be with my family wherever the place may be. So, yes I am grateful to be in a house, but I would be happy no matter where I was...as long as I had my family.

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Our day was filled with wonderful memories. We shared Christmas with uncle David again this year. Our day started early, about 7:23 - but not nearly as early as I used to get up as a child. The girls were so excited. We started with the stockings then moved onto the other gifts. The girls received new purses from the Aunt Jennie, Uncle Dallas & Ethan, Rory & Emma, cute High School Musical tops from the Aunt Crystal, Uncle Tom & Alex, jewels from their Daddy & the cute chef wear from Mommy. Grandma & Grandpa sent a super awesome bean bag game. They also received books and other treasures & trinkets, including that easel - they played "Art Festival" all day!

The best part of the morning was when Chris had to go on a scavenger hunt for the gift I was so excited to give! It was a "Major Award."

I had him search through the house and the clues eventually led him to the front door. Where I had the box & myself, armed with the camera, waiting.

You see, "A Christmas Story" is a Fairall family favorite - meaning, he has loved this movie since he was a kid & it was something I married into. So when I saw the leg lamp ornament, I knew I had to get it for him! You know me, I couldn't make it simple - this deserved some major pomp & circumstance!

Did the girls get their most asked for & desired gift of all??

Yes, they did and they were so excited!!

Another holiday tradition is finding the pickle ornament on the tree. Uncle David really wanted to get it this year. He actually did find it first, but when he went to grab it, it fell and he couldn't see it anymore. Victoria ended up with it!

After the gift giving was finished, I made a yummy pancake breakfast. We then took time to remember why we celebrate Christmas. There were little papers on the bottom of the figurines with scripture references and questions about the story of Christ's birth. It was a great way to bring it all together. We then gathered in the living room and read the account of the Savior's birth from the view of the people living in the America's at that time.

It is found in The Book of Mormon another Testament of Jesus Christ. (3 Nephi 1) It is a companion to the Holy Bible that accounts the history of the people living here in the Americas during the times of the bible.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with the love of our Saviour.

Happy Birthday Christianna!

Today my "baby" turned 6. It is so hard to believe how time flies. It seems like it hasn't been that long since December 23, 2002 when our little one came to our family. It was a busy time of the year...it was almost Christmas! On top of that, Chris had just graduated from POST days earlier. I had gone in to the doctor for a regular check up and he gave me a couple options:

1: We could wait until she was ready to come & possibly be there on Christmas with some other Dr. (boooo) OR

2. Walk over to the maternity wing and have the baby...well, sign me up! I was ready!

She was born later that day at 4:31 PM weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz & 21 inches long.

She has definitely been the one to keep us on our toes. We love her! She has been compared to a handful of everyday items:

The Energizer Bunny

A Pill

A Mule (stubborn)

A clown

No matter how you say it, she still is a SWEETHEART!

A few of her favorite things are:

color: blue (make it pink)

toy: Sleeping Beauty

Food: Beef Stroganoff

She likes to play games & play with her dolls. She loves playing with Victoria and her friends too!

She also loves to do artsy stuff, like drawing & painting. Plus - her favorite thiung to do right now is snapping her fingers - ALOT! She snaps as she talks to you...it's really cute.

The birthday girl received flowers from her Daddy. She was very excited to finally have her very own vase! (She was seriously ecstatic to have one in her "childhood.")

We had a little family celebration after Dad was home from work. We had raviolis for dinner - the meal of her choice. We then moved into the living room armed with her baby book. We told her all about the day she was born & then went through the book and told many stories of things she did as she was growing up. She loved learning more about herself.

After presents, we went to the kitchen for some "Pinkalicious" cupcakes. They were fashioned after cupcakes in one of her favorite books: Pinkalicious...in which this cute girl, who LOVES pink, ate way too many pink cupcakes & eventually turned COMPLETELY PINK! It is a must read.

A special gift from Victoria - a picture of Christianna as a princess.

Happy Birthday honey! We love you very much!!!

Comic Corner

I totally had to add this one! Some of you may remember our calendar post for December & my sister's lack of good behavior judgement....well, wouldn't it have been received differently if we had been coal miner's daughters? Even funnier to me since we were from major coal mining country - Northeast Pennsylvania!

And a little side note: Victoria said the funniest thing to me the other day....

"Mom I want to get coal for Daddy this year."

"Why?" (Thinking she was mad about something.)

"Because he is so excited for Christianna to get some so he can use it in the fire! So, I really want to get him some." (What a caring kid!)

(Christianna had received 2 black dots her first week, which had inspired that initial conversation - but has actually been super good since.)

Note to Santa: Can you bring some coal for Chris, he will NOT be upset.

I PROMISE!!!

A Christmas Carol

This year we hung up our ballet slippers and went to see "A Christmas Carol - a Broadway Musical" instead of our traditional "Nutcracker" performance. (I know Chris was very excited to have a break this year...not too excited with the guys-in-tights thing.)

We drove all the way to Provo to see it. It had been snowing there for most of the day but it the roads were fine by the time we had to leave.

The show was great! I had never seen the musical one before - unless you count the totally awesome "Muppet's Christmas Carol." I did actually participate in the play when I was in High School. I was one of the ladies who went to Scrooge to ask for money for the poor orphans. Yes, I know it was a small part - but, if you think about it, most of the parts are male ones. Anyway - on with the show!!

We had great seats too - front row in the center! You couldn't ask for a better place and to top it off, it was a FREE performance. It was bittersweet though, you see...this was the last year that the Center Street Theater was doing it. In fact, the theater was closing up shop and this was their very last performance.

Thank you for a wonderful show!

Game Time

One thing the girls absolutely LOVE to do is play games. So when their Aunt & Uncle decided to play something with them, they were ecstatic!

Here they are playing the cool FHE game that was actually a gift from them last Christmas. It has turned into one of the girls' favorite games.

They tried to get a little LIFE in before their Aunt & Uncle before they headed out to go down to Provo.

Uncle David is a riot! I don't even know where he found that eye thing, but it was hilarious! "ARRRRRRRR, whatchou looking at???"


Then, what is an evening without the Wii??? This was a highlight of their entire stay! We took turns boxing each other. Do you realize that it is really hard to box someone when you both are totally laughing hysterically? I almost plastered Auntie in the head with a vicious left hook! The guys totally got a show!

Temple Lights

Today we all took a trip downtown to see the lights at Temple Square. Apparently many others had the same idea and we had to park a good distance away up in the avenues. It was a fun walk and to top it off, it was also snowing!

Chris's brother and his wife were in town visiting. He is going to be deployed in January so they wanted to visit before he left. We were so glad to see them. (For that very same reason, I am not including their names or anything too personal as a matter of security, not that I don't love them.)

The girls were loving all the time they could spend with their uncles & aunt!

Chris's youngest brother & his wife. Can you believe that Chris insists that they look nothing alike??? He has a serious case of DENIAL! A funny side note: after they came with us to church on Sunday, people had also thought that his wife was my sister...actual sister! Apparently that does happen in some families - but not ours!

Look at this handsome group of Fairall's! The only one not named yet is David, he is right in the middle. David is down at BYU, so he is able to visit us often - which we LOVE!! Their oldest brother, Todd is still back home in PA. They are actually standing by age - oldest from the right. (We ran into my friend Kayla & her family while in the Visitor's Center. She was such a gem to take the picture for us.)

Wicked SAWEEETTT!!!

psssst.....guess what.....I am going to see....

So it is 12:30 pm and I am finally home. You see, I have been standing in line since 6:15 am this morning for my chance to get some tickets to WICKED. If you think that is a little nuts, there were people there who had been camped out since 10 pm last night!

Kayla - an awesome friend - came with me and I am sooo glad! Armed with a mug of hot chocolate each, we started our adventure waiting in the very long line around the Capital Theater block.

We had fun chatting and laughing as we waited for HOURS in the very COLD weather - it even flurried a little off and on. By 9:15 we had only traveled just under 3/4 of the entire block perimeter! Then we found out that I was #700 in line and that about 50 people are getting serviced per half hour...so we put our heads together & decided to move to another theater a couple blocks away. Why??? Well, they were opening up the admission at 10 am online, by phone & at 2 other locations. We found out that there was a much smaller line over at the Rose Wagner Theater, about 60 people or so. Better odds getting through the door when there is a shorter line! We hustled over there & I am so glad that we did. We were given a "consolation prize" in case we didn't get tickets - 2 free tickets to see some other performance & I also sold a Food Chopper to a girl in line with us!

Just about an hour before we got into the ticket office, Kayla's hubby came to pick her up. Poor fella had to get to work - what is THAT all about??? ( j/k Andy) I, on the other hand, was very lucky because Chris had today off.

See how lucky I am??? I was able to get tickets!!! I was even able to get 4 all together and another group of 4 for Kayla and her family. Last time I heard - Wicked is SOLD OUT!!!

(Now all we have to do is wait.......wait for the beginning of May to actually see it.)

Trim -A-Tree

Today we finally gathered together to decorate our tree. We actually picked it out a couple days ago, but it was snowing so we had to let it dry in the garage before we could set it up.

We are of the few remaining families who insist on a real tree. No one can convince me that a fake one is better and that all you have to do is light a pine scented candle to get that new tree smell. Seriously, anyone trying to tell you that is EVIL! There is no substitute.

Chris has turned into a fire machine! There is always an occasion to build a fire...like, when it's cold, when he wants to set "the mood," when we are trimming the tree, or trying to get FHE started. (I am so glad that he is getting better at it too - no more need of spraying on an accelerant to make the flames bigger.)

Ta-Da!!! The tree is all done. Who doesn't like a good pose? This year as we were hanging the ornaments, I was reminded of different things. As is tradition, every year we were given an ornament. Sometimes it represented a life milestone, or it related to us some way. I wanted to share a few of my favorites.

This angel was given to me by my Grandmother Call Dec. 1982. I love it because it is the only ornament I have from her and the fact that I still have it intact is wonderful. It is always placed near the top of the tree to insure it's survival.

This angel was from my Grandma Lyndaker. As far as I know, it is the only one I have from her and it is even more special since she passed away and I only have a few things from her. It is so beautiful when the light sparkles through it.

This is awesome! It was painted by a very famous artist at the ripe age of 2, my sister - Jennie! We don't have many old family things since our family home burned down back in PA. I am lucky to have this still. It was a gift from her to me in 1981.

The last one I am including in my walk-down-memory-lane is this one from my mom. It was from 1984. I started Kindergarten in 1983, but since it wasn't all day, I was picked up in a little van. In 1894 I actually started 1st grade and rode the bus to school, so my theory is I got this because it was my first time at a bus stop, waiting for a bus to get to school. (Mom, if I am way off here, let me know!)

2nd Ward Santa Breakfast

I know we moved out of the 2nd Ward, but it was like leaving home! We decided to still go to the Ward Santa Breakfast and see our friends. I love it - a breakfast that I don't have to prepare. That is a wonderful gift in my book.

Victoria's big Christmas gift wish is for a #47 Jazz jersey - her favorite player: Kirilenko.

Christianna's big Christmas gift wish is a Sleeping Beauty doll that she can play with and hold.

(She got a porcelain one last year, but she stays nicely atop the bookshelf and is NOT played with.)

Both the girls recognized Santa's Helper - aka: Santa - aka: Travis. But they know how things work. He just relays the info back to Santa so he knows what they would like for Christmas. They are so hoping to get what they really want this year. I guess only time will tell!

Pass the pickle juice, please

Don't adjust your screen, you are seeing things perfectly.

These girls are, indeed, drinking down pickle juice. First of all, they love pickles. After they finished them off, they figured - why stop there? I couldn't get too upset or grossed out. I mean, I have chugged my share of pickle juice in my day.

Naughty or Nice??

That is the question!

It is December 1st and I have been thinking about family holiday traditions. I am going to share some through the month of December & would love it if you shared some of yours!

Tonight we made our calendars. This is something that I have done ever since I was a child. We would make our Naughty & Nice Calendars for the month of December and hang them as a reminder where we would see them. Then each day we are held accountable for our actions & we would either earn a fun sticker or a BIG BLACK CIRCLE. I am sure you can figure out what we didn't want to get. If Santa feelt that we had too many black dots, then we got coal in our stocking. I honestly don't remember getting any, but I DO remember Jennie getting some one Christmas. She had a rough December that year!

Anyway, we have stuck with this tradition and I really like it. The girls behave so much better, even if it is mainly for 1 month....which makes me wonder....how effective would it be to have a black dot YEARLY calendar???

We had Lacey over for FHE and we made our calendars. We talked about charity and read a wonderful book together called "A Christmas Dress for Ellen." It is a beautiful story to help kids remember others during the holidays & not worry as much about what they are going to get. We even discussed it together!

It was a great night & I am happy to report that we all earned a sticker today!

Any turkey can TANGO!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We had a second one here, actually, where I did the cooking. In case you were wondering...I DID remember the sugar in the pumpkin pie! (Victoria actually asked me if I remembered it this time. What a gem.)

I had to post this video. This is a song that each of the girls learned in Kindergarten & it seriously is the cutest. This is the first video posting attempt for me so I am hoping it turns out. It is sooo funny when Christianna coughs towards the end & covers Victoria's singing mouth...she just wanted her to wait until the coughing was over to resume their song...but it just ends up throwing the whole thing off...I just wanted to share with all of you! (BTW: the extra girl is our neighbor & best friend to Victoria. The girls are practically inseparable!)

While I am waiting for it to upload, I think I will share a few things I am grateful for.

• My dear husband: He can be really funny & I love it when he laughs...he has the cutest crinkle eyes EVER. He is a great worker and loves his job - which makes it easier for him to go out every day to provide for his family. He knows the "signs" - so when I am stressing and in my "relaxing zone" he knows to keep the girls away.
• Victoria: She is a good little leader as are many firstborn children. She loves everyone and is always trying to make friends with all kids. She has an independent spirit which makes me sad sometimes...my little girls is getting so big! She is beautiful and caring.
• Christianna: (aka: The Rebel) She likes to see how far she can get with things and loves to push the boundaries. She is a HILARIOUS little girl. She just has a knack for finding humor and helping us find it too. She is a cuddle bug and definitely a Mama's girl.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: I seriously have no idea where my life would be if not for the gospel and it's teachings. I know I am a better wife, mother and friend because of it. It is wonderful to have the knowledge that you are never alone, that I have a Heavenly Father - as do you - who loves us for who we are and wants the best for us. I am a daughter of God! That makes me feel so great and I am truly grateful to know it.
• My family, friends, our country, our health...there are so many blessings in my life and I am grateful for them all.

Comics Corner

I love reading the Sunday Comics every weekend! Seriously, I laugh out loud - and as anyone who knows me knows, I have a loud cackle of a laugh. I normally serve as the comic monitor because Chris is more interested in all that serious, boring, dreary stuff that is in the rest of the Sunday paper. As I come across a great hooting comic, I share it. My big idea is to do the same for all of you & when I come across a "worthy to cut out & post on my fridge" comic - I will share.

"According to the Indiana University School of Medicine, laughing helps relax tense muscles, lowers blood pressure, and even burns calories. Humor and laughter is also becoming increasingly popular as a form of psychiatric therapy."

So get reading & laugh until your sides hurt!
(I think that should be my new motto.)

Fooseball is the DEVIL!

Go BYUTES!!

I am hoping that I don't offend the masses with this one...but I HAD to!

Last night I witnessed a VERY sad thing. We all went over to the Kenner's home for some football fun. Armed with spinach artichoke dip & tortilla chips, we entered the insane fans' world. You see, I am not a particular fan of any team - whatsoever! I can watch sports every-so-often, but I am not a follower. So that is why I showed up wearing this:

I LOVE IT!!
I have a couple questions resulting from my evening watching the very dissappointing game.

To BYU: How are you feeling about your quarterback? Why was he kept in the game after all those turnovers?? How does that make you feel?

To Utah: Do you really feel good about that win? The game was literally handed to you!

I am sure you'll take that win & run, but I see it like this: If I am going to spend an afternoon watching a game, I want it to be a GOOD game...one where you are on the edge of your seat, where the teams are neck & neck and intense. Sad to say, there was dissappointment all around, but the company was GREAT!!

Sugar: My Nemesis

Hey! What can I say? I am ALL ABOUT the FOOD!!!

I love Thanksgiving dinner & all the fabulosity that comes along with it. Some of you may be thinking....maybe you should lay off the food a little Nicole, maybe that would help you drop a few...you're right...but I don't normally eat stuffing out of the bowl. In my defense, there was too little to put away as left overs so I just finished it off.

I am sure you have all been waiting to hear this one. What's with the sugar???

Well, we all did our part for the feast. Mom started on the pumpkin pies, I made the mashed potatoes, Jennie made the most wonderful rolls & twice baked sweet potatoes, Crystal made this yummy appetizer cheese dip. There was much more to make so the kitchen was a flurry of activity. I even kept up with the dishes as we went along - something, I think, I have never done in my life! Once it was all done, we all gathered around the tables. (Side note: Victoria had an emotional moment when she was tired of always being with the little kids and just wanted to sit at the adult table. Hey we know how it feels, we've all been there. But normally it is when you are a teenager with little kids....she is only 8 people! Mom was great & gave her her own little table complete with candle....I would have just told her to suck it up...way to go Grandma!)

Now we are getting to the meat of this story - so to speak. After dinner was done, out came the dessert. In my opinion, the BEST part. Well, it turns out that Tom & I LOVE pumpkin pie. So we agreed to go ahead and take one for ourselves & go horde it in the corner. We got out the whipped cream and forks & we were ready to rock and roll!Here we go! Getting it all ready to eat. Note: Who needs a plate?

Getting the first bite...noticing that they are now taking pictures of the entire event. I love Tom's face in this one! I am thinking that he really didn't think I would just eat it like that.

OOPS - it slipped off my fork. What was I thinking anyway? An entire piece doesn't just sit on a regular fork. I should have grabbed a serving fork or small spatula.

Here it is.....the whopping finale......quote:

I FORGOT TO TO PUT THE SUGAR IN THIS PIE!!!!!

I had finished putting the pies together because Mom got started on other things.

Alright, dry your tears. There is no crying over pumpkin pie (even though I wanted to crawl under a rock.) We just added more whipped cream, poured about a tablespoon of sugar on the slice & mashed it all up together. I have no doubt that it will be a family story for years to come.

• Gas to travel to Grandma's $40.00
• Thanksgiving diner with the entire family $150
• Movie for the kids to watch $15.00

• Nicole the "chef" having a little "Humble Pie": PRICELESS!