Christmas, Finally!

So I am finally getting around to doing Christmas pics. Christmas was so fun this year! My brother, Jordan, my sister-in-law, Shannon, and their two kids, Luke, and Ava, came here from St Louis. It was so fun having them here! On Christmas Eve we spent the first part of the day at my parents house visiting and eating. Then we went to my in-laws for our annual Christmas Eve dinner. It was so delicious! When we got home that night, we all opened our pj's, and then it was time for sleep. Brad and I didn't end up going to bed til about two, and lucky for us, Kassi didn't wake up til about eight. She even forgot it was Christmas. We then told her Santa had come that night. She was so excited! Kassi's big presents from Santa were an adorable rocking horse that neighs and makes horsey sounds, a box full of princess dresses and accessories to go with them, and a leapfrog reading game,(thanks again, Kristen!). She also got a bunch of clothes, movies, and books. We then went over to my in-laws for Deanne's yummy breakfast casserole. Then headed over to my parent's house for the rest of the day, then we went home, and my in-laws came over to our house to see what Kassi had received from Santa. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas, but I have to say that I am glad it's over. I am not a procrastinator, and this year I felt like I was doing things at the last minute, and it totally stressed me out! Can't wait for next year, though!

Kassi got a cute doggy from Uncle Troy and Aunt Wendy.

Kassi got a baby Ariel from Grandma and Grandpa Clegg.

Collin, Grace, Eme, and Kassi as we read in Luke II.

Our tree Christmas morning.

Kassi riding on her new horsey, and yes, once again her eyes are closed.

Kassi, sucking on a candy cane, with her eyes closed, with all her presents. And yes, Brad got me the Twilight series for Christmas. YEA!

Grandma and Poppa Swanson got Kassi this cute princess outfit, a doggie that wags it's tail and barks, and a Sleeping Beauty video game. So spoiled!

Jarom, Me, Jordan, Laura, and Justin.

My cute family. We did this picture of just my parents, and siblings, cause the next day we were going to get a professional pic done of all the family. Kassi ended up getting the stomach flu, so we had to cancel them. I am so glad we got this pic done on Christmas, because Justin is leaving on his mission in a couple weeks, and this is the only pic that my fam will have together for the next two years.

My little family.

You're a pretty princess

Tonight Kassi and I were watching the People's Choice Awards while I was getting her ready for bed. Terri Hatcher comes on screen and Kassi says, "Oh mom, she's so pretty like a princess." I agreed, and then she said,"Mom, you're pretty like a princess, too. You be on the show, and you can dance and dance." (She thinks that dancing is the only thing princesses do.) I told Kassi "thanks", and smiled, realizing that my 3 year old just boosted my self-esteem.

Clegg Family Christmas Party!

I know, I know! I am sooooo behind(as usual!) But I am catching up, slowly, but surely! We have a Christmas Party with the all Clegg side of the Family every December. It is something I look forward to the whole holiday season. We go eat tons of food, socialize, sing Christmas Carols, and see Santa and Mrs Clause. It is so fun! Kassi has LOVED Santa this year. The first time she saw him, she just ran up and gave him a big hug. She is at such a fun age right now. Here are some pics:

Kassi getting ready to go outside to play after the first(of many)snowstorms.

Kassi trying to make a snow angel.

Kassi waiting for Santa to come!

Mommy and Kassi

Kassi and Santa

Our little family

Twilight!

Ok, I am so late in posting this! I just haven't been making time for blogging lately. So I will be reading all of yours soon, too! So I know, I know, I am totally crazy! I went to the midnight showing of Twilight at Jordan Landing. They don't have reserved seating there, so my sister-in-law, Kristen, and my friend Karey got there at five to get in line. I got there around sixish, and we had a blast! And let me tell you, it was worth every minute of waiting in line! I'm sure alot of you reading this have seen the movie and were disappointed, but I just loved it. I guess I wasn't going into it with really high expectations, though. I love the books so much that I knew the movie was not going to be as good, and I was right. But I still loved it! The first time I saw it (yes, I have seen it twice!)the first half seemed kinda like a blur. Things were going by so fast and I felt like I was trying to compare everything to the book. The second half, I got used to the characters, and was able to enjoy it more. The second time I saw it I went with my best friends from high school who are also huge Twilight fans, and I enjoyed it even more. I guess I just love it for what it is. It's Twilight, and anything Twilight I love! Anyway, here is a pic of us girls at about 2:30am after we saw Twilight.

Wendy, Kristen, Taralee, Karey, and me. You couldn't wipe that smile off my face! AHHHH......Edward............

Halloween

Ok, I am so behind on my postings! I need to get Halloween done, cause Thanksgiving is this week! AHHHH! I feel like my life is constantly one catch-up! Anyway, this Halloween was so fun! Kassi loved it! We had our Clegg family Halloween party the day before, and then we went over to my parent's house on Halloween to do some trick-or-treating. I thought Kassi would be scared to go to some of the houses with all the scary decorations, but she loved it. In fact, she wanted to keep going back to look at the decorations. I was glad she had so much fun. Here are some pics:
This is Kassi and Grace. Kassi was Belle this year.

Kassi having fun decorating a piece of paper with Halloween stickers!

Adam and baby Ty.

Collin was Batman!

All the Clegg grandkids.


Kassi making her haunted house.

Kassi and her cousin Lana.

My mom is so cute! She dressed up as a witch! Some of the grandkids were scared, but Kassi loved it!

Kassi, Zachy, Danny, and Lana.

Our little family!

Our Cruise/B-day Pics/Aaron Eckhart

Ok, so right now I should be packing, but I'm not feeling too great so I thought I would finally post my cruise pics. Brad and I had so much fun! We needed to get away for a week. A week with no stress. I swear if every couple in the world with take a week out and go on a cruise, everyone would be so much happier! It was so hard leaving Kassi. I got a little emotional at the airport, but was able to keep strong, and she was fine with me leaving. She was with Grandpa, and nothing is more fun than spending time with Grandma and Grandpa! So we flew in to LA and got on our ship there. Then we sailed out that night. It was so fun to go to sleep and wake up in another country! I totally got seasick. I didn't think I would, but I got really nauseated and dizzy. I was shocked with how much you could feel the rocking in such a big boat.

We went to Cabo San Lucas first. By far my fav place on the trip. The beaches were absolute heaven. It was just this white sandy beach with crystal clear water. And suprisingly very clean. There were a ton of Mexican "Salespeople" walking up and down the beach. Some people got annoyed, but I mostly just felt really bad. It was blazing hot, and these people would just walk up and down the beaches trying to sell little trinkets. I actually bought a pretty bracelet from one guy. Man, the bartering is crazy, though. Brad and I have never been to Mexico, so this was all a pretty new experiance for us. This is also the place where I am pretty sure my credit card number was stolen. Yes, last week I went online to pay my $100 bill, and found my balance to be about $6,000. I was very shocked and upset, but I'm sure everything will work out. Just an FYI for those who are planning to go to Mexico in the future. Only use CASH!

Anyway, the next day we went to Mazatlan. We actually didn't go very far off the boat. We docked into an industrial area, and the beach was too far to walk, (and Brad didn't trust taxi drivers) so we just did a little shopping and then went back on the boat. The next day we went to Puerto Vallarta. It was pretty, but not as pretty as Cabo. We had to walk to the beach through kinda a scary area, but it was worth it. We went to a hotel that was right off the beach and hung out there. The next day was my b-day. Brad made it extra special for me. He got me roses and a beautiful necklace. And another couple in our group that we became friends with also got me a rose. And at dinner everyone sang Happy Birthday. It was so fun, but so embarassing. That night I even got Brad to go dancing with me. That was fun except for all the drunk people. There were a couple days I got emotional being away from Kassi, but she was having a blast, and didn't even miss us, so that made it easier.

When we boarded our flight to go home, I was just sitting down minding my own business while Brad was using the potty when I looked up and standing right to the side of me was AARON ECKHART!!!!!!!!!!!!(For those of you who don't know who he is, he was two-face on the last Batman, and was also in the move No Reservation w\Catherine Zeta Jones)Anyway, I totally started freaking out. He was sitting right in front of me! Brad came back and I told him who was sitting in front of us, and he didn't believe me at first. Why would a big movie star fly to Salt Lake in a Southwest airplane where there is no first class? Well, come to find out he has family here, and he went to BYU, AND he served a mission! He has since seperated himself from the church, but has no hard feelings against it. Anyway, (this is going on way too long!)When Brad finally realized it was him, he said, "Scarlett, you better leave him alone!" I never thought I would be one of those people that would get all crazy when they got close to a movie star, but for some reason, something came over me, and I just couldn't control myself. I was all giddy, and when I got up to got to the bathroom,(which I didn't really need to go, I just wanted a better look at him)I totally hit my head on the ceiling! TWICE!!!!!! I felt sooooo stupid. Brad told Aaron looked at me like I was an idiot, but all I could think was, WHAT? He looked at me???? I felt like a giddy school girl. So I told Brad I would only stop him if I saw someone else talking to him. We get off the plane(being very careful not to hit my head again) and I see some people talking to him. So I yell at Brad to get the camara out, as I race over to him. Just as I got over to him he turned to walk away. All I could think to do was to call his name. "Aaron!" He actually turned, but very reluctantly. "Can I get a picture with you?" He hesitated. "It'll be really quick, I promise!" So he came back over and stood there. I put my arm around him(he did not return this gesture)And while we were waiting for Brad to take the pic, I stupidly said,"I loved you in Batman." He didn't respond. Then it was all over, and he walked away. I felt pretty dumb, but I can say that I met Aaron Eckhart. All in all this was an amazing trip. I think cruising is SO the way to go. Preferably without kids. And meeting Aaron was like the icing on the cake. Sorry this turned into a novel. Here are some pics:

Just chillin in our room.

Our state room attendent would make animals out of towles every night for us. So Cute!

Cabo San Lucas

Brad and I on a water taxi in Cabo

Our Ship

Me at the beach in Cabo.

Brad with a frog in Mazatlan.

Mazatlan

At the hotel in Puerta Vallarta

Brad swimming at the hotel, and yes, that is a bar in the swimming pool!

My birthday dessert.

Brad and me on my birthday.

The roses and gorgeous Lia Sophia necklace Brad got me for my birthday.

Brad and I on one of our formal nights.

My picture with AARON ECKHART! I have a dumb hat on so you can only see half my face, but I'm sure most of you won't be looking at me anyway. Isn't he a hottie?

Danny and I share a b-day. This is our birthday party at my parent's house.

You break my heart.......

Ok, I have been horrible about posting lately. I know alot of you are waiting to see my cruise pics, and I will get them out ASAP. I move into my house next weekend. After that, things will calm down, I hope. I feel bad I don't post more stuff on Kassidy. She says the cutest and funniest things, and I always forget them. So I am making a goal that whenever she's says something extra memorable, I will do a quick post so I will be able to remember these cute(and sometimes not so cute) things she does.

Kassi is going through kinda a hard stage right now. She is so sweet and loving, and when she was younger she would hardly ever hit or push, and she's never been a biter. I am really lucky that way. BUT, lately she has been hitting and pushing. Her poor cousins. She is bigger than all the ones that are in an 18 month range of her. They used to pick on her,(as all older cousins do)and most of the time she would just take it in stride. Now I think she realizes that she is bigger and probably stronger, and if they do anything to upset her she gives them a nice ole' push or a slap. She has also been hitting Brad and me. When she doesn't get what she wants she takes a swing. She NEVER used to do this! This seriously has been happening for just the past 2 weeks. Well, tonight after like her 3rd time in time out, I was trying to get her in the bath, and she wanted to be upstairs with daddy to watch the UofU game. I started getting her bath ready, and she decided to take a swing. So off she went to time out once again. I stood there wondering where I was going wrong with this situation, when she looked at me and said though her tears, "Mommy, your mean!" And to make matters worse she then said, "Daddy's nice." WHAT!!!!!! Did my 3 year old just tell me I am mean! Aren't they supposed to wait to say that til they're like 12 or something?!?!? Then she said, "You break my heart." Ok, that did me in, and I started to cry. What do you say to a little 3 year old to make them understand that they are breaking your heart? Right now Kassi is the only child, and I want so badly for her to grow up with a good heart, and to not act like a spoiled little girl. I think sometimes I blow off the handle a little too easily. I am mean sometimes, and it is sad that my little girl has to remind me. After Kassi said she was sorry, I scooped her up in my arms and told her how much I loved her, and that I just want her to be nice and not hit. She seemed to understand that. I guess this whole motherhood thing really is a constant learning uphill battle. For some reason I thought I would have perfectly behaved children, who were always obedient. I guess I just need to realize that all I can do is try my best, and hope that my children will turn out better than me........
Just a side note. I want to say that Kassi is a very good girl most of the time, but she definitely is a lil' spitfire. Hmmmmmmmm, I wonder where she got that from?