"Hooked" on Christmas - 2018...

Christmas 2018 was errrrr thing!

Look at our little pajammied elves!  :)

Every year they race like nutballs to fit in all the pre-bedtime things so they'll be tucked nicely in bed before the Big Man in red comes a callin'.

Such as decorating cookies...

And writing their final pleas... :)

Then we open a couple of family games and if I do say so myself, this girl NAILED IT!

This game is called Connect Four Shots.  Everyone who has played LOVES it.  It's like rated G beer pong with a purpose.

Boone is shockingly good.

We moved on to "Hearing Things" and it was funny but too hard for most of our crowd.  The gist is a player puts on sound cancelling head phones and watches someone mouth words and they try to guess what the other person is saying.  It's wicked hard, but still pretty dang funny.  

My favorite part of the night was reading the scripture story with the boys. 

 Boone was the official "People putter outer" as we talked about the Shepherds an Mary and Joseph and even Baby Jesus.  He did a great job.

And then it was morning....

I got a couple of those "faces filled with delight" caught on camera and I'm SO glad.

Boone got his much anticipated "Maui Hook with lights and a button"  After that we were all hooked on Christmas!  :)

The boys were such thoughtful gift givers and gracious gift receivers.  It was a good year for our hearts to burst right out of our chests.

 And then of course in the aftermath of presents and clean up - the dudes found giant boxes of cardboard.  Which is every little lad's love language no matter their age...  :)

We got to spend time with all our loved ones close to us over the course of the break and we loved having so much time to sled and play and work together.

Last night we met as a family and wrote up our big goals for 2019.  Lemme tell you what... Gardner Guys will change the world.  Watch out, everybody!  And Happiest Holidays!

A Little Christmas Dress Rehearsal at Little America...

T'was the weekend before Christmas and all through the house,

Every suitcase was full of swim trunks and kid chow. 

The white elephant gifts were tucked in the trunk

And we hoped Grandpa hooky with a new goldfish would get stuck.

(Why yes we did gift a live goldfish and a toilet seat #winning)

When we arrived at the hotel we saw with delight

All our cousins were there to spend a Christmasy night.

We posed for family pictures in the freezing cold air

Then walked to the restaurant for halibut and rolls to share.

In the pool - how we dominated...

The kids were so merry

We knew in a short amount of time

The other guests were hoping we'd make ourselves nary.

The white elephant gifts - oh how they sparkled!

How they left our hearts glad

Except for Havenator

She was sad.

Then off to the hotel rooms to sleep barely a wink

Six folks, two queen beds and Mom in the sink (fine the tub)

We arose and got dressed for the big Santa buffet

And everyone guffawed at our receipts with dismay

The smorgasbord we passed on the way to our spot

Made us realize the brunch was magical even if the prices were not

With crab legs and prime rib piled high on their plates

Every dude's heart grow three sizes that day.

The kids visited with Santa

He gave them a treat

And even Grandma & Grandpa took a seat

It was an epic party - not soon to be topped.

And with all that rhyming I'll now try to stop.

WHEW!

Thanks for the epic Christmas weekend, Albrecht fam.  

We'll keep y'all.  :)

Thanksgiving 2018...

This year we gathered just up the road at Mike & Michele's house with his family, Lynnett and Robert & Janice.  It was a cold day and just as we sat down to eat our delicious smoked turkeys, the snowflakes began to fall.  

It was so pretty.

We stayed here in town for the entire break taking a day to bake and host a zillion little ballers in a turkey bowl or two.  

(The boys played non stop from 11am to 4pm in the field behind our house and it was dreamy.)  

Another day to decorate for Christmas and fully deck the halls.  

And then a day to go sledding as a family in the first big snow of the season.  Then we snuggle in to watch a movie and relax together.

We didn't hit a sale.  We didn't hit the road.  We totally hit the jackpot.

We are excited for the holidays and all the magic the season brings.  Between wrestling and basketball for all three of our big boys we sure hope to fit in some tradition and some new celebrations in the coming month.

Thankful for this crew of Gardner Guys

And this life we get to live together in the beautiful Utah mountains.