Anderton Christmas...

There are always fun times to be had around the Anderton Homestead...here are a few of our favorite pictures of being in Morgan (or as Brett calls it, "Zion"). We were excited to have pics of people other than just us... (and i'm sure you all are too)!

Dipping pretzels in chocolate for neighbor gifts...doesn't Brett's dad look so excited!!! ha ha

Wrestling with Brooks and Ruby. Just a warning: 2 year olds(namely Brooks) can pack some power, especially when they come plowing into you at full force when you're not looking!! 

Ruby posing in her cute "soccer outfit!"

We had fun with the annual decorating of gingerbread houses! 

The Ellis fam...minus a sleeping Courtney!

Evie had more fun eating the frosting than decorating!!

Dex and Ev proud of their masterpiece!

Lil' Rubster...i think she might be able to fit inside one of the houses!

Willa...she's so pretty and photogenic already!

At the extended Anderton Christmas party it's tradition for the kids to re-enact the manger scene while Grandpa Great reads the story from the scriptures.

The kids love to dress up and wait to be sent out for their special part! Kenzie and Ev were Mary and Joseph...

Liam, being the newest addition, played baby Jesus...he was so sweet and just chilled in the basket while everyone giggled and took pictures!

Santa brought presents for all the kids...this is Kenya and i'm not sure what she got, but as long as it has to do with Disney Princesses she'll love it!

Some of the girls from Brett's side: Megan (married to a cuz), Mindy (sister), April (married to a cuz), Lisa (cuz), Meg (sister)---all very photogenic wouldn't ya say?!

Gma and Gpa Anderton...two of the sweetest people i've ever met! It was fun to live at Brett's parent's over the summer and be right next door to these two! We miss seeing them all the time. Brett likes going home...Grandma always has special taks for him to help with and she's always so appreciative of the help!  We love you Grandma and Grandpa and can't wait to see you again this summer!! Thanks for the wild par-tae!!

Old Friends...New Memories

How cute is this little family?! Angi, Luke, Claire and Jane came out to mom's to visit us! I wonder what Angi does in her spare time?! She amazing...when i grow up i want to be like her!
A small part of the O-Town crew...Brooke, Brieanne, Erin, and little Luke.The annual post-Christmas high school crew shin-dig. Here's the girls anyway...the guys gathered around the tv in the other room (big surprise) and the kids stayed busy in the basement!One last lunch date until summer... Jami, Tiff & Derek,
then Katie, Angi and Me

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!

We were so lucky to be able to go "home" to Utah for Christmas...we actually spent 2 1/2 weeks there! I had so many reasons to be excited for the trip...Besides the usual family and friends we got to enjoy, here are a few of the highlights......CREAM-O-WEBER Egg Nog...it doesn't get any better than this. I could drink it by the gallon...all 16grams of fat per cup!!(weird, but that really was my #1 thing to do when we got there...drink eggnogg!)My close cousin Braden returned from his mission in Italy in September and i was so glad to get to spend some time with him!2 of Brett's sisters had kids 6 days apart from eachother (in September) We got to meet the little ones for the first time! Meet Courney Jean Ellis...she's a chunk! And below is Little Liam Wright...he was born only 6 days after Courtney, but was a month early! Of Course we were excited to see all 15 of the little ones...not just the babies! They are so full of energy...it's quite the task to get them together for their jammies picture by the tree, and pretty amazing they sat there for more than 7 seconds...you should have seen all the parents making noises and faces to keep their attention for the photo shoot! I've always been a sucker for scenery and sunsets... I've missed the mountains so much. They are so beautiful and i couldn't stop staring and taking pictures of them while we were home. How could i not...winters really are amazing in Utah. The snow-capped peaks and gorgeous blue skies after a storm sure beat flat gray Columbus! (don't get me wrong, we really like it here, but it isn't because of the scenery!)
The picture above was taken Christmas morning on our drive from Morgan to Ogden, the main mountain is Snowbasin from the Morgan Valley side.
This is from my mom's front porch in Bluffdale...the South Hills of the Oquirrh Mountains. It's so nice and empty, but as you can see they are starting to develop the land for a new subdivision.This is what i love about my mom's house...a great view of the Wasatch Mountains. This is a sunrise taken from the deck...the clouds are covering Mt. Timpanogos, the little part you can see is "point of the mountain" in Draper. And below is also the Wasatch Mountains, just looking a little further North.The other big thing we had to look forward to in UTAH was SNOW......SNOW.....
AND MORE SNOW!!!!
We were glad to have a white Christmas...and snow that lasted! This last picture i took on Christmas Eve. We went to a matinee movie and the weather was clear...when we came out of the show this is what we had to drive home in! It really brought the spirit of Christmas with it!!

Columbus Blue Jackets...

A week before our trip to Utah our friends Sarah & Brandon invited us to go see a NHL game, the Columbus Blue Jackets! I've been to WSU Hockey games and i think even a Utah Grizzlies game, but this was much more intense! The Blue Jackets beat Colorado Avalanche (weird names) in the last few minutes of the game! They came from behind and scored a few points to win it!
Hockey is a sport that Brett and i know very little about, but we still had a good time!! I think the main reason people go is to see some good fights...the best part is that as long as the players are towards the middle of the rink and not pinning eachother against a wall...the refs just let them go at eachother until someone hits the ground!
There were little kids all around us yelling "fight, fight, fight!!" I think my brothers would make good hockey players....well i don't know about the iceskating part, but i'm sure they'd make the crowd happy!!
One thing i think we'll enjoy about Columbus is being so close to a lot of pro sports teams...hopefully we'll get to experience some basketball, football and baseball while we're here!
And of course...a classic Brett photo! Thanks Brandon and Sarah!!

Girls Night...

Girls night out is always welcomed here! This was a much needed night out...i think more so at this time of year for mom's with kids than girls like me! It was the end of the quarter...finals were finally behind the husbands and they were able to take the kids while the moms got out. Brett enjoyed a night of "Settlers" with the boys since he doesn't have any kids to watch~We went to dinner then back to my house for a movie and girl talk, and lots of laughs! I really love these girls! They are all in our ward here. When we moved in we had a ton of instant friends!
From L-R--Kara, Kiki, Erin, Sarah, Tanya, Tricia then Amanda Mindy, and Meg. (Don't mind the plain white walls...i'm workin on it!)