Well, another Christmas has come and gone. It’s crazy how fast time flies these days. It seems like just yesterday we were moving into our home and now it’s five years and the twins later. With 4 kids, we’re getting closer and closer to needing the basement done just to have somewhere to put all their crap. And as the kids get bigger, their crap gets bigger too. We had a fun Christmas though. I especially had fun picking out boy toys for Jack. In the past I’ve been a little indifferent to which toys were on the Christmas list because none of them interested me, but this year I got to let Santa know all the fun toys that Jack needed. I’ll admit that it was a little difficult to restrain myself cause there were just too many sweet toys. All in good time though.

This year Hailey and Mallory both got new scooters to cruise the neighborhood on along with Meebas and some new clothes. Annie got a new dolly with some fun accessories and a new car to ride on and Jack got a bunch of Tonka trucks, a Shake’n'go race track (which has become the most played with toy so far) and a giant Tonka dump truck (that he can currently ride in). We also got a few new movies including Sleeping Beauty and luckily the Rinquests decided to replace our destroyed Tinker Bell movie (see here for reference).

After getting up at 5 am thanks to Hailey, we spent a couple hours opening all our presents and making a huge mess of the front room. After that we ventured out into the crazy Christmas storm to see lots of family. We had breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa Laursens and the kids got to spend time playing with Wally, Will and Georgia. Around noon we drove to Sandy to see Nana and Papa Haymond and play with Dallin, Weston and Porter. We got to have yummy Hawaiian pancakes and I got to steal a short nap. Eventually we made it back home and after being away all day and having not shoveled any of the snow that had accumulated all day, we ended up getting stuck in our own driveway as we tried to pull into the garage. Luckily the neighbor was also just getting home and offered to let me use his snow blower which I thankfully borrowed and dug out the van. It was a great end to a fun day, but as Emily said, I’m glad it’s done with. Now to start preparing for next Christmas cause it’ll be here before we can blink.

We went to Bear Lake for Thanksgiving this year and while we were waiting for the women to finish up with dinner Mallory and I cruised up the canyon with Grandpa and Tony and Janis and family for some shotgun shootin’ fun. We shot some clays and then pulled out the pistols for some target shooting. Mallory even took a couple shots with the shotgun and uncle Ben’s .22 revolver. After some clean-up (the kids collected all the used shotgun shellls) we headed back down to the cabin for some turkey. Unfortunately we had to be back in town the following day so Emily could be to work so we drove up to the cabin early and came home late the same day. By the time we got home we were all ready to crash, but we always have fun at the cabin.

So, just like last year, Emily and I had one night again this year where we got to get all dressed up for a night out on the town thanks to Omniture. Once again I went and got a tux and Emily found a fancy dress and we went uptown to the Grand America hotel for the annual Omniture holiday party. This years party was a bit more financially conscious (no more open bar), but it was still out of control. The food was pretty good and the atmosphere was fun and the entertainment was “uncomfortable” according to Emily. We had a good time seeing everyone all dressed up and listening to Josh James’ fairly comedic monologue. We played a gigantic game of rock/paper/scissors and didn’t win anything once again. It was a fun just to get out for the evening though. Thanks Omniture for a fun night out.

That is all for now. More tomorrow.

Well, it’s a little late, but here’s the Halloween update…

Halloween was quite an adventure again this year due to the crazy Omniture Extravaganza. The kids got to trick-or-treat first at Grandma’s work and then on Halloween day then came down to my office to wander around and see all the decorations that had transformed the building into something that would rival many of the haunted houses around the valley. It’s quite a site to behold. Unfortunately, it’s typically dark enough that it’s hard to get good pictures. Also, the way that things are laid out makes it impossible to get any sort of wide angle shot to really give an idea of the true scale of it all. Basically though, it’s pretty much impossible to tell that you’re walking through an office building. It’s nuts. And to top if off, there’s the midgets. Every year our CEO comes up with a costume that incorporates a troop of midgets that he hires out of Vegas. Two years ago he was Willy Wonka (oompa loompas). Last year he was Prince Charming and his Secretary was Snow White (7 Dwarfs). And this year he was the Wizard of Oz (munchkins). The kids love it and so does our CEO. Fun stuff.

After the craziness at work we stopped by Nana’s and Papa’s house to visit for a bit and see their new puppy Daisy (which is where most of the pictures were taken) and then off to home. Needless to say, the ride home was… “energized”. Our kinds haven’t trick-or-treated in our neighborhood for a few years now, but they get enough candy everywhere else that they don’t seem to mind.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the kids in their costumes. Just in case you’re not sure, Hailey was a witch, Mallory was Tinker Bell, Annie was a fairy and Jack was just a furry green monster. And there’s one picture of Owen in there as well as a spider.