Christmas 2013

Our first official married Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. Green was quite the success. Spending a week in Utah County was the perfect (not too overwhelmed with family) getaway from work and Cedar City. When Sunday rolled around though, both of us were ready to go home. There's just something about being in your own home with your husband, being able to walk around naked, that is freeing. ;) Just kidding. 

We ended up in Lehi just in time for dinner on the 23rd. We watched some movies and talked about our plans for the week. The next day, Christmas Eve, Trev and I woke up, got ready, and headed to uncle Layne and aunt Denise's house to deliver a muffin mix and to visit. They are building a house so they're temporarily living in Lehi, making it a lot easier to go and visit them and the kids. Unlike the rest of Trev's family, I still don't know Layne's family that well, and I like to take every opportunity to get to know them better. We spent an hour with Layne, Denise, and the kids before we headed home to get ready to go to a movie. Every Christmas Eve, ever since my uncle Mike died in 2007, my mom's siblings, their families, and us go to a movie before Grandpa and Grandma's Christmas Eve party. This year we watching "Saving Mr. Banks." It was yet another amazing movie put out by Disney, and Tom Hanks made a fabulous Walt Disney. Highly recommend it to all of you. After the movie, Colton came home with me, Trev, Big T, and Tedo and we hung out until we left for the party. Trevor was excited to come to my family's Christmas Eve party and had been looking forward to it for weeks. This year we ate brisket for Christmas dinner, and I vote we always do that instead of freaking ham. Our traditional White Elephant game was a hoot and a half like always, and Trev and I ended up with gift cards. Shelly and I even managed to convince everyone to participate in family photos. It was a Christmas miracle, I say! Mom and Dad gave us the traditional Christmas Eve jammies when we got home, and then Trev and I stayed up for another couple of hours talking about marriage, people, and Christmas until we decided to go to bed to allow Santa Claus to work his magic. That night as we lay on our air mattress in Tedo's room, I couldn't help but let the warm happy feeling spread throughout my body. Last Christmas Eve I was so sad that I wasn't with my love. This Christmas Eve, I got to curl up next to him and fall asleep in his arms.

Seeing "Saving Mr. Banks" with the family.

2013 Barnes' family picture; just missing Blaine's family and cousin Dallan.

We're a crazy bunch of people.

Most of the grandkids (only missing four) with Grandpa and Grandma.

Christmas Eve 2013

Traditional Christmas jammies (:

Thanks Mom, for not getting us tacky matching jammies. (:

My candy cane parents. Dad: "Look! These hang off of my glasses!"

Trev and I woke up before both of my brothers on Christmas morning. And let me just add that I loved waking up on Christmas morning next to my best friend. Anyway, with an 11 year old and an 18 year old who are still both eager for presents, it was like a Christmas miracle we all slept in till 8:30. Big T drove next door and picked up Lela, who came and watched us open presents and who brought goodies of her own. It was weird not having Max in our living room on Christmas morning for the first time in forever. Everyone loved their gifts. My parents gave Trev and I a Costco membership and each of us a Visa gift card to buy whatever we needed. Tedo gave us cookie sheets, drying racks, cookie mixes, and a snow shoved. Big T gave me twenty dollars, and Trev a ZAGG screen protector for his, you guessed it, new iPad that his AWESOME wife bought him. When he opened up his iPad, the look on his face was priceless. My sweet husband almost cried because he was so surprised and grateful. Trev gave me a Walking Dead "I love Daryl" shirt because hello, I do love Daryl. After gifts were open, we spent the day hanging out playing with our new gadgets and gizmos, eating snacks, playing with Big T's puppy Copper, lounged around in our pajamas, and visited with Grandpa and Grandma when they showed up. We wrapped up Christmas by watching The Lone Ranger.

Us kids with Lela.

My family, 2013.

My gifts

Trev's gifts

My happy husband with his iPad mini.

Copper, the hyper active puppy that can open doors and run into the house.

My boys playing with Legos.

Friday night Trev, Tedo, and I headed to Jack n Jill's Bowling Alley in Lehi to meet up with the Penovich's and Grandpa and Grandma to do a little cosmic bowling. Cousin Colton even brought two of his friends to join in on the fun. We had all been joking about going bowling when Trev got a $25 Jack n Jill's gift card during White Elephant on Christmas Eve and then we ended up making it happen. For $15, we could bowl as many rounds as we could in three hours. We didn't leave the bowling alley till 12:30 in the morning, and we loved every minute of it. Trevor loves bowling, and is really good at it when he wants to be. Found out that my Grandpa and Grandma used to be a part of a bowling league in their younger married years. Maybe Trev and I will join a bowling league here in Cedar to get our weekly bowling fix in.

Saturday and Sunday was spent babysitting the cutest girl in the world, our little flower girl Cora. Cora's parents left her with our family for her first sleepover, and I'm so happy that Trev and I got to be there. Babysitting Cora was a lot of fun, and cured all of my baby hunger immediately. ;) Really though, if you want a baby, just spend 24 hours with a three year old. They're adorable, but damn. We are totally not ready to be parents yet. We're totally content with borrowing other people's children until my IUD comes out in five years. Cora was all over the place, playing Legos and Lincoln Logs, to Polly Pockets and Elmo. Cora has a crush on Tedo and followed him everywhere like a little puppy dog. I discovered that it's easy to keep a three year old entertained, and it's really hard to paint their nails.

Playing with Cora's LeapPad that she got for Christmas.

Snuggles with Tedo while watching Tangled.

XBOX with the two Trevors.

Painting Cora's fingernails "pretty pink."

All in all, Christmas was fabulous. We are blessed to be surrounded by amazing family and friends who spoiled us rotten. It was a nice Christmas, and we probably spent too much money on each other. I loved spoiling my husband, and I appreciated the thoughtfulness of his gifts. Trevor enjoyed Christmas with my family, and we made calls/Skyped with his family Christmas day. No, we didn't do the typical Utah Christmas traditions, like go to Temple Square, but we never had a dull moment. Driving home from Lehi back to Cedar was an adventure. We gave Adam a ride back to Cedar, and the man brought his own fair share of Christmas goodies. We had to stuff things under seats, filled the trunk to full capacity, and stacked things in the backseat, too. We crammed Tedo and Adam in the backseat and away we went. I've never been so grateful to see the Cedar City welcome sign. Next Christmas we'll be in San Diego with Trev's family, and I'll miss my family and Tedo's Christmas morning antics.