Letter to Santa

Ooooohhhh!
Brinkley's first letter to Santa Claus.
It went like this:

Dear Santa,
I want a computer.
I have been a good sister.
I will make you cookies.
My favorite Christmas song is Jingle Bells.
Love, Brinkley

I know what you're thinking "A computer? She's like 3."
Yeah, I know.
But she only meant the little play ones in the toy isle. No worries.
If it were an ipad, then you would have good reason to judge my parenting.

She told me what to write and then she drew a picture of a computer.
I just love it. SO CUTE!!!!
And getting so big.
:(
:)
I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
I guess both.

Tim Tam Slam

Oh Tim Tams.
One of the highlights of Christmas time.
At least for me and Josh.
We are trying desperately to make this a tradition with my family.
I'm not sure they feel as passionately about Tim Tam Slams as we do, but we are sure trying our darndest to make them love this decadent treat.
But whether they actually love them or not, they are kind enough to play along and made fools out of themselves by sticking their faces in cups of hot cocoa and letting me snap a picture.

The Lights

The Layton City Lights: A Johnson Family Christmas Tradition.

Piled into the back of my dad's truck, bundled up and covered in blankets, singing at the TOP OF OUR LUNGS (very beautifully by the way, not a bit off key).

We are proof to the world that you don't need alcohol to act completely crazy.
Or have a good time.

Seriously, I was laughing so hard I almost peed.
And sang so loud that my voice hurt the next day.
And sang so many words wrong it probably would have bugged me if I weren't laughing so hard.
And got so many strange looks from my husband that I thought he was second guessing marrying me.
That's just what happens when I get with my family.
And so we when a second time around.

Besides, what's Christmas without a flying lit up horse?

What Happens in Vegas.. will wear you out

While in Utah, Josh and I were able to steal away a little time for ourselves in Las Vegas.
He had an interview there at the hospital for a residency position.

So, we drove there.
I forgot how nice it is to take a road trip with no kids. Just sayin'.
We stayed in the Stratosphere. But we never made it to the top of the Stratosphere.
Here's why.
We left Friday afternoon and only made it to Mesquite before we were too tired to drive anymore. So, Saturday morning we headed to Vegas. By the time we got there and checked into our hotel, it was probably noon-ish.
So we busted our butts walking the strip to fit in every free thing we could, since we only had that one half a day to do it.
We almost made it. We saw all the free shows we could, walked through the coolest hotels, went to the M&M factory, saw the Bellagio fountains, the Mirage's volcano, the chocolate fountain in.. another one (it's all blending together, it was such a blur). And so much more I can't even remember.
The highlight for me was the splurge we made on eating at the 'Le Village Buffet' in Paris. I played it right. I tried a teeny, tiny bit of everything. I tried almost everything they had (except the stuff I knew I wouldn't like). It was awesome. But we also both got these AMAZING crepes. Mine was fruit topped with nutella. I think I moaned with pleasure with every bite, even though it was making my pants tighter and tighter.

Anyway, enough about food, back to my story!
We had to keep in mind that Josh had an important interview the next day, so we turned around and headed back, thinking it would only take about 30 minutes.
Wrong!
To walk the length of the strip took us about 2 hours. I didn't realize how far away the Stratosphere was. My feet felt like they would fall off. By the time we got to our hotel, we were so exhausted, we couldn't muster the energy to see the strip from up above in the Stratosphere tower. How lame are we?
Yeah, you know the phrase 'what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas'
We did nothing to keep secret.
We were too worn out.
The craziest thing that happened to us was getting mooned by a bunch of girls in a hummer limo. Yep.
(p.s. we both agreed that we would never take our kids to Vegas. There is a lot of naked going on there...)

We got to our room and I immediately collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.
Poor Josh had to prepare himself for the next day, so he forced himself to stay up a bit later.
The next day (Sunday) while he was at his interview I went to church with strangers and read a book in the church parking lot until he finished.
Then we drove back.

I know it sounded a lot like complaining, but I really had a wonderful time. It was so great to spend all that time with Josh and no kids. Thanks to my mom who watched them for us!
Though I'm not going to lie, I thought about my girls a lot while I was apart from them.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder. :)

Let's pray that Josh wowed the faculty in Vegas. We need to MATCH!

The Sillies

Grandma and Grandpa are so lucky to have these sillies to keep them company: