Christmas Part Two: the Real Deal

The Grahams love Christmas! There is no half-way doing the festivities, it is all out.  It was so much fun to be there for a week and enjoy the time together.  The hour after I arrived with Taylor at the house it started to snow. I always joke that I bring that weather with me (mainly because I am NOT a cold weather person). So Taylor got to wear lots of layers and see some snow for the first time in his young toddler life. Tyler and Duane got to Oregon on the 24th, Christmas Eve morning, after having driven all night from California.  Tyler took off within a half hour after they got there to do his Christmas shopping.  One of the most memorable parts of that day was when Tyler got back and tried to hide the presents by running like a maniac from his car to his room so that no one would peek at his bags. 

After that we ate lots and lots of food and enjoyed some Christmas videos. We also helped Tyler and Duane finish up some wrapping (which was no small feat!).  The next morning we got up with Taylor and I got to organize all the presents! I was itching to dig in.  We took our time, each of us taking turns, until we reached the end...the biggest present of all.  Edna, "Grandma Edna", got a new laundry room with new countertops and cabinetry. It was beautiful and I was so impressed by Tony and the work he had done.  

After we opened presents (5 1/2 hours later) we got ready and went to Grammie Graham's to be with Tony's family.  What a party! We always have a potluck dinner and white elephant gift exchange (these presents are actually nice!).  The best part of the process is when a present gets "hot" and is stolen a bunch of times. Without the possibility of a steal it would be boring, right? Then we went home and dreamed of all the goodies we had collected throughout the day.

On our way back to Nevada we stopped in Burns to visit with more family and more gift exchanging. Duane was able to get a massage for his birthday as well.

 

the tree..11 ft. Nordman Fir..Gorgeous

 

Taylor on Christmas morning

 

getting anxious

 

Duane and me

 

Tyler, Duane, me, and Edna

 

Tony's huge elk looking on with satisfaction

 

trying on his Oregon gear

 

Tyler and his pug, Xena

 

presents organized and ready to go

 

Yeah!! We love Christmas!

Christmas Part One

We own and operate Christmas tree lots so we HAD to have a Christmas tree, even if it was only for 4 days. So I drove up with a small Grand Fir (they smell the best...just FYI) and we decorated it simply and put the Fishback presents underneath.  Then the day before we left we had a little Christmas celebration with just our little family. Taylor loved the presents he got and we enjoyed seeing him fully realize what presents are...he hadn't tried opening any of them under the tree. The decorations on the bottom half of the tree didn't last long. The ornaments were shaped like balls...not a good idea on my part. Next year, I am just not going to decorate the bottom half. That half will sport the natural look. We celebrated Christmas day with the Grahams in Oregon this year (Christmas Part Two).  P.S. Don't ask me why Taylor is pantless in these pictures. He usually is clothed but lets be honest: all boys and MEN like to be naked whenever possible. :)

 

our little Grand Fir and Taylor "helping"

 

Taylor enjoying some of his loot and Duane holding up the rest :)

December= tree harvest= time away from home= stress= a living

We had two Christmas Tree Lots to run this year in Chino and Walnut, CA.  It was a race against mishaps and rain but we came out alive.  I stayed down with my folks while Duane drove back every weekend after he finished a week of teaching.  I am tired just thinking about it. However, the good things about this time were the special explorations of Papee and Taylor.  My dad, Papee, and Taylor really hit it off because all Taylor wants to do is be outside and Papee likes to "wander" around discovering new things too. He also didn't mind going out ALL the time (as opposed to Mommy who wants to stay inside especially during inclement weather). These are a few pics I got of them together in the rain, like I said..inclement weather. 

 

pushing the bin around the back porch

 

I LOVE this picture but I can't clean it up anymore (I was far away and let's face it, I need a new camera)

Soooo Cute

 

I love my Papee!

He is hitched!

That's right my little brother, Bradford Leland Fishback, married Catherine Parker in the Los Angeles temple on November 24, 2009.  It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. We enjoyed the lovely weather that only southern Cali can have right before Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see family.  Taylor loved spending time with his cousins although he did throw himself (literally) into his port-a-crib at the end of the day. It was a tiring but exciting turn of events. 

 

the bride and groom!

 

lovin life

 

Ty just hanging out with a cheesy smile for the camera

 

enjoying some snacks (Brianna especially enjoyed them)

 

Family Group Shot #1:  FAIL

 

Family Group Shot #2:  FAIL

 

Family Group Shot #3: SUCCESS

 

my whole family together!

 

Ty thought it was really cool to match Taylor..whose shirt we took off because it was already REALLY dirty and it had to be worn again later that day

 

Cousins enjoying some tub time at Nana's

SYTYCD Tour November 2009

This was so much fun to see the tour and my favorite dancer from this season, Janette. I will always love you Janette!!! You are the sexiest Miami Latin ballroom dancer. You so deserved to win!! (that sounded a bit dirty but I promise I am not a Lesbian). We had a little dinner get together at my house to kick things off. Yum, stuffed chicago style pizza from Papa Murphy's and some salad and fruit, of course.  Then on to the show and back again with Julie in her truck who drives like a pro! She said Columbia helped her with that.  Afterwards, we chatted a bit more at the house and ate some more fruit. Mmmmm, fruit.  Enough said.

Disclaimer: I stole all of these photos from Tiffany Fagan. So if you are reading this Tiffany, you don't need to go any farther because there is nothing new here for you. 

 

Allison, Julie, and Sheri partaking of the goodies

 

Julie and Me

 

Amanda, Allison, and Megan

 

Sarah and Sheri

 

Got our tickets and ready to go!

 

Our seats!

 

Brandon, the true winner of the season 

(Janette didn't make it to the top two...)

New Moon Premiere November 2009!

Yes, we did the midnight showing..and let me just say that it was totally worth it! This was right after I got my wisdom teeth out so it took me an hour to eat this little 6 inch sub sandwich but it was a blast to chat with everyone and share the experience of seeing Jacob's abs for the first time together.

 

Misty, Amanda, Megan and me

 

Sarah! Gotta love it (and the faces in the background)

Taylor's New Little Friend

Here is Taylor and his new little friend (a cute pug), Xena, the warrior princess. This is the dog that Tyler (Duane's brother) received after his mission. Taylor has so much fun running around and trying to share his snacks with her.

I'm too sexy for my shirt

but not too sexy for SOCKS!

Why are there always things stuck on my bum?

Who knows?

 

P.S. Don't tell Daddy I was playing with the plunger and the toiler brush again!

Distracted much mommy?

So I typically give Taylor something to play with while I am changing his diaper so that he will STAY STILL during the process instead of try to wiggle and turn over naked. Usually it is a cord because Taylor loves cords of any shape or size.  So I remember giving him a cord but I didn't notice this until about 20 minutes later..it was a good laugh. 

 

How did I not notice this when I was putting the diaper on???? Always good for a laugh and it didn't bother him in the least.

Halloween!

We had a great time giving out candy to the kids in our neighborhood.  Some business came up so we make a quick trip to California and back just before it was dark on Halloween night.  We ran out of candy a couple of times and resorted to giving out fruit snacks and goldfish until we were really cleaned out of everything trick-or-treat worthy. Our street rocked in decorations and festivities. We can't wait for next year. As for costumes...Duane and I were official candy dispensers with no costumes. Taylor was a different story. He sported a pair of overalls he already had and a red bandanna. You wouldn't believe the possibilities....we couldn't decide between:

 

a farmer or a...

train engineer or a....

 

bank robber or a...

 

half-blind gangster or a...

 

crazy dancer or just a...

 

a really cute boy who is sick and tired of his mother dressing him a million different ways!

Walking and Church

I forgot to post that Taylor is walking around now. He started to take his first steps about a week before he turned one and now he is unstoppable. It is so cute to see him "toddle" around the house. We are still working on him wearing shoes. So far we just put on socks. It is better for his foot development, right? These are some pictures of his most recent church outfit and him pondering the depths of his book on his way home...

BYU Football Game= Date Night!

This post is not about Taylor. I know it is a shocker. Duane and I were able to go out sans Taylor to the BYU vs. UNLV football game and we loved it! BYU defeated the Rebels soundly and the weather was perfect. Yeah, to date night.

Just Throw It

Taylor is like any boy his age..throwing things and loving it. He especially loves to throw objects off the stairs or off our loft to the downstairs (through our wooden railing). These are his videos to prove his prowess to the ladies when he is dating years from now.

Homecoming and the Monkey Party

We had a trip a little while ago to Oregon so that we could see Tyler (my brother-in-law) give his homecoming talk. Two years has gone by so fast and we are excited to have him back with the fam. He served in the Detroit Michigan mission so you can imagine some of the stories that he told us... pretty crazy! While we were there we had a little monkey birthday party for Taylor. Allan (cousin) was nice enough to take some photos of the party and they are awesome! Click here if you would like to see them (there are a lot so feel free to skip around... this is more for the grandma's)http://alanmusson.smugmug.com/Als-Weekend-2009/Oregon/Grahams-Sept-09/9728121_nWvJ8#658319936_S4WEy