Yep, we're covering all that and more in just one little (or not so little) post! To begin with- Tommy did survive his last week of the fire-fighting academy, and I couldn't be more proud of him! He has been on shift now for about a month, has already seen some crazy things (crazy like he needs to edit the gory details before sharing them with me), and LOVES his job.
I have to admit, I love it too- we get to spend a lot of time together, and he has time to do some awesome projects. Remember that before picture of the backyard- aka the wilderness?
Here it is, all completed!
And, I asked Tommy to leave me a little space for a garden in the back corner. I can't wait 'til it gets warm enough to start planting.
Another reason I love the holidays- seeing old friends! Heather is enjoying her new life as a Texan, but we love when she gets to come back to visit!
Christmas lights at the temple: Tommy and I went over after some last-minute Christmas shopping, and our not-so-patient selves couldn't really stand the thought of waiting until it was really dark to see the lights. So, we can tell you- they are pretty at dusk too!! We were glad we went and got a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
Tommy and I had fun opening presents at his parents house on Christmas Eve. His mom is so awesome, and loves to get the girls in the family matching PJs.
I especially love the attention to detail- we even get matching socks! It really makes you feel like part of the family.
Tommy and I headed home and opened our own Christmas presents that night too. He was working in the morning, and anyone who knows me, knows that it is best, if at all possible, to let me have my morning beauty sleep! So, a 5 am wake-up to open presents was out of the question- we took care of those presents the night before.
Even Zoey got to open some presents. She loved her treats! Perhaps a little too much. At her last visit, she weighed 59.4 lbs, which is officially overweight!! The poor little girl has been sentenced to a diet. I guess she gets to take part in the New Years Resolution weight loss game too!
SNOW!! I can only remember a few times of getting to watch it actually falling, and it was so graceful and beautiful. The cabin looked so serene and perfect!
My older brother Damon just hit the big 3-0. Holy moly! But, he rang it in in style, and the kids LOVED breaking open the '30' pinata. Here is Princess Gracen taking a whack at it.
The boys:
McKinna has great form!
Grandpa and Skinnie Minnie
Happy Birthday Damon! Hope you have a great 30 more!
'Til next time- goodbye!
But, we really did go to the Suns game Saturday night. It was between the Suns and the Wizards, and we stomped them! Really, the final score was like 128-96, and Jason Richardson (I'd never heard of him before the game) scored 30 points! It was super fun, and was actually Tommy's first time at an NBA game! We were hoping we might score some free stuff, but had to laugh when the entire section to the right of us won free shirts, and the people sitting just on our left had a visit from some important guy in a suit and won a backpack full of goods. Really, what's the deal? Just kidding, it was still a lot of fun, and an excellent date night!
...make that most of the kids, anyway. 
Make that 2 pictures- Edward looks really cute in the second one (not as cute as Tommy Boy, of course!)
It took a little while for me to get used to how the characters looked in the movie versus how they looked in my head, but once I got over that it was great! Well, this post has successfully helped me procrastinate studying for finals long enough...I'm out!
