Merry Christmas!

I have a lot of catching up to do! We were both sick last week - Jon stayed home from work and I came home early one day. We've both slowly recovered. Just in time to head to California to celebrate an early Christmas at my sister's place on Saturday. Our family pulls names, so it was fun to see what we all got from whoever had us. Jon got his new razor and Band of Brother DVD set he had wished for from Kevin. I got a fantastic pink candle and Old Navy gift card from Fred- woohoo! Does it get any better? Of course Camden was overwhelmed with all the presents he got from Mimi and Poppy and Auntie Holly and Jon Jon.

Mom and Fred left to head back home and the rest of us headed over to the Irvine Spectrum to get out of the house and try to get Camden to burn some energy. He got to ride the carousel with dad and Auntie Holly and Mom took him on the "big wheel" much to Dad's horror. We made it through safely, and Camden did a great job of making Auntie feel at ease-- especially at the high parts. And I found out today he told Kevin's mom that I was scared and I cried. Funny kid. We came home and said goodnight to Camden and the four of us played one of my gifts to Wendy - Trivial Pursuit 80's edition. Finally the girls were redeemed after their sorry loss to the boys at the last game (I Love the 80's) because we kicked their butts!!! My advice to anyone looking for a rematch: Don't mess with the Winslow gals and their 80's music knowledge. Finally a use for all of that stuff stuck in my head!

We got to sleep in the next day and said our goodbyes and had lunch with Hedder. Jon was thrilled that she gave us a gift card for Bed, Bath and Beyond so he could put it towards a new set of pots and pans that we've been waiting to get. yay! Then we went over to Harvest for the 4:00 Christmas Eve service and really enjoyed being there at a familiar place that felt like home - for me at least. Great to see Hanz and Debbie and their girls... along with everyone else of course! Made the drive safely home and picked up the pups and came home and CRASHED.

I was so excited for Christmas this morning that I woke up and could not fall back asleep, so I woke Jon up--and I've been exhausted all day! We opened presents - he got me a gorgeous "right hand ring" just like the kind I was looking at when I was looking at engagement rings. We need to get it sized and I can't wait to get it on! I made Nanny's apple cake this morning, but it wasn't exactly right because I used whole wheat flour in an effort to be a little more health conscious. Doesn't work and I need to re-make because you can't skimp on things like Nanny's apple cake. :) I'll try again this weekend, though Jon said this batch was just fine. (It wasn't). We love to go see the Belagio's conservatory decorations, so we got dressed and headed down there. It was awe-inspiring as usual, and from there we headed to Lake Las Vegas to see the Christmas decorations. Not much to see there as just about everything was closed, but it was still a great outing. And that's been pretty much our day!! Mostly enjoying the day off.

Last week we received our gifts from Jon's parents, which they asked us to open early so we could enjoy them. We discovered gift cards to Target, Buca di Beppo, AND Bed, Bath, and Beyond - which guarantees we have enough to look for a nice set of pots and pans. Such a blessing and we're looking forward to treating ourselves thanks to them. Along with a huge puzzle of Las Vegas that is guaranteed to begin as soon as the Christmas decorations are put away and we have a little more room. Can't wait!!

I've been putting in a ton of hours at work and Jon had an exciting week last week (great news!!! - hopefully more information on that SOON!) so we're pretty exhausted these days.

We hope everyone had a fun Christmas like we've had. And of course we must remember what Christmas is all about and celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. The greatest gift of ALL. Tons of pictures posted below. Enjoy!

Camden and Kevin on the carousel. Camden was VERY focused.

Sisters!! She's getting a belly finally!!

Soon to be big brother and mommy.


Cute guy at the Bellagio.


That tree was amazing surrounded by TONS of poinsettas.




At Lake Las Vegas.

Looks like a real Italian street!

Birthday Boy!

Yesterday was Jon's 31st birthday! I tried to make the day very special and memorable for him. Unfortunately for him he had to work in the morning (7am - yuck!). But fortunately FOR ME it allowed me a few hours in the morning to arrange for a few special surprises.

Because we celebrated with Brad Paisley last week, I didn't get him anything big and exciting. But I DID get him his own "Stinky" (feather pillow) so that he would stop stealing mine every night! :) I think he liked it. I also surprised him with a ton of balloons and his very own cupcake cake all decorated for him. He was tired, so we took a nap, then got up and got ready to go where he requested to go for his birthday: The Rio buffet! He's so easy to please! We stuffed ourselves pretty good, then wobbled out and drove to Red Rock to catch a movie. But we got there a little late, so we killed 2 hours people watching and trying to continue to digest our dinner so we could sit through the movie comfortably. We saw "The Holiday" and really liked it. Very cute movie.

All-in-all, I think it was a fun day for him! You know, except for the working part. It was the first birthday of his we got to spend together, so I tried to make the most of it. Pics below!!


With his hat! Hadn't shaved yet....


Cupcake Cake. He's 31, not 37. It's a 1, I swear.


Cute.

Make a wish!


At the buffet with his favorite meal - dessert!


At Red Rock, waiting for our movie to start and for our bellies to deflate!

Sneezing, Playing Dress-up, and Silly Sarge

I came down with a good bout of allergies beginning on Sunday. It's actually a mild case compared to what I've dealt with in the past, but apparently living in Vegas for a over a year now is beginning to strengthen me a little bit. I still feel like my brain is leaking out my nose and probably by tomorrow I will be ready to trade in my nose for a new one that is not red and raw. I feel pretty good for the most part - just congested and sinus pressure which makes me sleepy. Hopefully I start feeling better soon. I really hate waking up with a sore throat after having to breathe through my mouth all night.

Saturday night was my company's Christmas party. it was at Red Rock Resort, which we really love. We had a fun time, and as always, Jon was a good sport while we spent time with all the people I work with. Of course, he got to touch base with a few people he used to work with as well. And he LOVED the food. Here is a picture of us from the night:




Here are a couple of pictures of Sarge being a weirdo. We know how much Don loves these pictures.



This is one of Sarge's favorite places to lay. We're not sure why he loves to stick his head under the bed, but it apparently makes him happy.


Sarge sat in this position for a few minutes. It looks as though he's about to lie down but he got stuck. And that's how he stayed. Weirdo.

Baby, you are the world

Jon's birthday is Saturday. We don't have any real plans, except to spend the remainder of the day together after he gets off work. The rotation of Saturdays wasn't kind to him, so he's got to wake up early on his big day.

We did get to celebrate 9 days early. I treated Jon to go see Brad Paisley, aka "My Man" as Jon calls him. My favorite thing about getting him the tickets was when I was asking questions about who he might want to see if we went to a show for his birthday. I said "there are tickets I want to buy you for your birthday, but I want to make sure you really want to go because they're kind of expensive." His response was, "is it like, Brad Paisley big, or what?" I couldn't believe he used it as a comparison to determine if he'd want to go, so I blurted "well, it IS Brad Paisley". So that was that.

We had a really great time. Until I met Jon, I hadn't listened to country since high school. I've mostly enjoyed getting back into it, though it's still weird to me. Brad's music is great and his live show is a lot of fun. And a bonus for BOTH of us was that Carrie Underwood opened the show! She sings AMAZING live, I couldn't stop being impressed by her.

It was a late night on a work day for us, but well worth it. Fun to do something different and to celebrate Jon's birthday doing something he really loved. By my calculation, his birthday has already lasted about 3 weeks and it hasn't even happened yet! I hope he keeps that in mind next time mine rolls around. :)