Christmas Party

Our Christmas party was so fun this year. Jill invited us to have our annual party at her parents cabin in Deer Valley. It is such a great place for a big family and lots of little kids. With the bouncy house in tow it turned the lower level into a playground, all the 2 year olds were totally entertained. The first night there we hit the midnight shopping at the outlets, we were not the only ones with that idea. It was crowded but we had so much fun. Shopped until 4am, crazy.

Nate and Jay serving up the turkey.

We loaded our finds into Jill's Tahoe and it really was after 4, we decided it's much easier to just stay up than get up that early.

On Friday night we went over to the Heber Valley Railroad and caught the Polar Express.

The magic moment on the Polar Express was when Santa gave Kennedy and Tayler a bell from his sleigh.

Hudson knew how important is was to be brave and talk to Santa.

Even Preslie was unafraid

Mrs. Claus handed out recipes for her chocolate chip cookies.

Frostbite, the elf, taking names and giving all the kids a name tag. He really was Santa's helper.

Hudson, Shelli and Mrs. Claus

Jami and Cortnie

Ready to go

(Ya, these are out of order, still don't get it)

The little boys loved the old train.

Hudson and Dustin

Jami gave all the kids a little train necklace.

Will and Jill

Finding our coach

Tayler and Jeff outside the station

Waiting for the train.

Jeff, Jill, Cort, Tay and Will

Nate, Preslie and Jenna

Trulie, Jace and Garret

Dustin, Shelli, Kennedy and Hudson

I took every opportunity to get a group shot with all of us together!

The little boys got a Cars track.

Jace

The girls and their dolls got matching aprons and little kitchen tools.

Cute Cort

Kennedy and Tayler using their new little muffin tins.

For the talent portion of the party....and we are such a talented bunch....

Jami demonstrated her blood pressure taking talent on Jeff, she's almost a CNA.

Jenna's feet (and butt) are off the floor, try it, it's harder than it looks!

They sing, they dance, they play the piano. Good job, girls!

This was so adorable, Preslie and Jace singing

Hudson showed us some gymnastics/martial arts combo moves

Garret juggles, it was a coveted talent.

Just ask Dustin what his talent was, didn't get a picture.

Go Jeff.

And he had back surgery this year...

Time for a new talent, gram. Jace was impressed.

Will is doing his Buzz Lightyear impersonation. And he is good.

And the most exciting, wonderful news was announced at the party. We will have 2 more little ones at the party next year! Congratulations, Shelli and Jenna!

Merry Christmas!

And yes, I know it's the end of January.

Paris

Our first day in Paris we went straight to the Eiffel tower. It is so breathtaking to see it for the first time. Much bigger than the one in Las Vegas :)

We waited in a long line to take the elevator to the top so we had plenty of time to appreciate the architecture.

As we came down it was just getting dark and the lights came on, so pretty!

Every morning started out at this little bakery around the corner from our hotel. Crepes and chocolate croissants were my faves.

Shopping on Champs Elysees. Everyone was friendly, everyone wears black. Look at that sea of black down on the street. Everyone can speak english, Harlan says they learn it starting in kindergarten.

The Louvre

So huge, so ornate and beautiful. And all the famous art pieces of the world are pretty much here.

Remember this from Davinci Code?

The ceilings are unbelievable.

Mona Lisa

Napoleon

Whistlers mother

Arc d Triumph on Champs Elysees

The arch that Napoleon had built in his honor for his triumphs at war.

Harlan and Jay on the Alexandre III bridge.

It is the fanciest bridge in Paris, and there are a lot of them. It has these big pillar, statue things with lights on top all across it. They were photographing a wedding while we were there.

Cobblestone everywhere that has been there for centuries. On the streets they have put asphalt over it but as it wears you see it. cool.

Sacre Coeur

A Roman Catholic church that sits on the highest point in Paris so the view is awesome. And it was the best souvenir shopping we found.

We took a tour of the city in this double decker bus, Harlan would rather have walked it all but Jay's knee would never have made it.

The little island on the Seine river.

All the buildings look like this, old, ornate carved stone. The buildings just go on forever, not an ugly one anywhere. We did see some ugly ones about 10 miles out on the train ride.

The Seine. See that tour boat on the river, we did that at night. It was really pretty.

My favorite of all the Paris landmarks. The Eiffel!

The thinker (middle left), don't blink or you'll miss it.

Invalides, the hospital for wounded soldiers, built in the 1600's, still a military facility. Lots of uniformed young people around.

The dome over Napoleon's mausoleum at Invalides.

The mausoleum

carved marble every step

fleur de lis everywhere, love it.

A really big coffin thing for a little man.

Versailles

Harlan saved it for our last day because it's his favorite place.

He had us watch a documentary on Marie Antoinette before we left so we would be would have a better appreciation for what we would see.

We took the train about 15 miles outside of Paris to get here. We took the subway everywhere we went, Harlan really knows his way around Paris. It was like having an art history professor/tour guide every day.

Unfortunately, it rained all day and we didn't get see all of the beautiful, expansive grounds at Versailles. Harlan was disappointed because the same thing happened last May when he was here. He actually stayed longer than we did, I was freezing and Jay's knee hurt.

I really found these stairs interesting, you can see the stone has worn down over the years. I felt really off balance, more than it probably looks.

Restoring the gold facade.

I like everything about this moss covered stone window.

Harlan told us the artist that painted this and then put it on the ceiling, killed himself from the stress of it all.

The king's bed chamber, the room was huge, I didn't capture it.

We waited in that long line and it was raining and the wind was blowing. Blowing hard enough to turn umbrellas inside out.

Paris was really beautiful in the fall. Jay thought the city was old and dirty :) I loved it and thought everything was gorgeous and ornate and amazing that it is so old. I have lots more pictures.....just call me :)