MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So it is now 7:30 am on Christmas morning & Braydan & I have been up for over an hour now just waiting in anticipation for our kids to wake up (pathetic, I know). We, as parents, are so excited this year. Apparently Ains & Addi still don't quite get the whole "butterflies in your tummy, gotta wake Mom & Dad up at 4:30 in the morning because we just can't stay in our beds any longer" excitement. Oh well!!! I guess we should be enjoying these years just for that reason.

Anyways...

We hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

OFFICIALLY "THE BOSS"

Well it's that time of year again at Burns Saddlery, NFR (National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas). That means a few things...
1. I am officially "THE BOSS" since everyone else, & I mean everyone is in Vegas.
2. My sweet hubby is included in the "everyone" (sad, we miss him ssssoooooooo much).
3. My poor, sweet, adorable, awesome Grandma gets to spend almost every single, long, cold day couped up in her house with Ainsley & Addison (THANKS A MILLION is completely an understatement!!).
4. I am & will be a complete blogging slacker for the next couple of weeks (sorry everyone, I am just WAY too busy).
Anyways, I just thought I would give everyone a heads up & apologize beforehand for being a LAMO!!! Enjoy your pre-holiday fun & festivities. Wish me luck!!!

I'M SO GLAD I'M A MOM

I must say that I think I have the most adorable little girls ever!! The past few days have been filled with so many of those "I'm so glad I'm a Mom" moments. For starters, Ainsley & Addison were absolutely hilarious while we were watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning. Anytime one of those blow up balloons would come on the screen they would squeal (yes, just like little girls) so loud. They were jumping up & down on the couch too. Braydan & I were cracking up at the expressions on their faces while they enjoyed the cheap entertainment. Then while we were at Grandma Red's for dinner, Jacy & Addison were playing so cute together. They had all of Grandma's toys scattered about building castles & pretending to be princesses. (Ains & Rylan, on the other hand, not so much. We literally had a knock down, punching, kicking, screaming, crying fight. NOT GOOD!!! Needless to say, they were both in trouble for their little display of awesome behavior.) Alivia was also adorable at Grandma's (by the way, she turned six months old on Thanksgiving day). She sat in her little high chair & talked to us the whole time. After dinner, we returned home & immediately started putting together Ainsley & Addison's Christmas tree. Again, they were so excited they were squealing with delight. I seriously could not get the tree put together & lit fast enough for them. They did such a great job at decorating their tree. I love how the majority of the ornaments are on the bottom half of the tree, so cute.

On Friday, the girls & I ran a few errands. I had to go to Country Keepsakes (our local scrapbook store) & I am still shocked at how well Ainsley & Addison behaved. They strolled straight into the "play room" & stayed in there the entire time. Not once were they loud, obnoxious, or tearing the place apart. I was & still am so proud of them! That night Braydan took me to Twilight again. I actually enjoyed the movie more the second time, probably because my expectations were a little different this time. Brayd loved it too which I was excited about. He said he will definitely go to the next three movies with me (Yay!!).

On Saturday Addison performed on Main Street with her singing group. Oh my, she looked sssoooo darn adorable & she sang Up On the Housetop so well. While waiting for her turn, she looked somewhat nervous so I didn't know if she would actually sing once she got the microphone. I was very happy that she did & she was seriously so cute. (Check out how long her dress is compared to everyone else's in her class. She totally takes after me, poor thing.)

The girls also got to sit on Santa's lap that day. They were so brave. Braydan & I found out that Ainsley would like a doll house (that is exactly what Santa brought her last year) & Addison would like a pony (hello, we already have plenty of ponies). What are two parents to do?!?

Seriously, what would life be like without little girls? I'm so grateful for mine because I just love them to bits. I'M SO GLAD I'M A MOM!!!!

"I SWEAR IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

Last night we celebrated the Holiday Season with our employees at our company Christmas Party. My Grandma Buchanan watched Ains & Addi for us while we went. When we returned to Grandma's to pick up the girls we found poor little Addison zonked in Grandma's arms with a bloody, bruised eye. Of course the culprit (aka Ainsley Marie Shaw) was quick to tell us just what happened to her little sister. Supposedly they were playing with Grandma's flashlight in the dark when Addison was "accidentally" hit in the face with it by Ainsley. Those of you who know my adorable little Ains know this could very well have NOT have been an accident. So I immediately looked directly into Ainsley's beautiful blue eyes & asked her calmly & quietly what happened. She looked at me with the most sincere look on her face & said, "Mom, I told Addison I was sorry, I was sorry, I was sorry, I was sorry. I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I'm sorry Mom." Whew!!! I really wasn't looking forward to taking care of that situation if it hadn't been an accident. Thank goodness it was. Ains felt so bad & Addison never said that Ains did it on purpose. Yay, I guess. Poor Addison!!! If she lives through her big sister, I'm sure she will be able to live through anything.

V..A..G..U..E.....VAGUE

On Friday, November 21st I was able to go to Twilight with Britt, Rochelle, Jordan, Salena, & Rochelle's Mom (sorry Mom, your name has escaped me). We decided to see the 9:30 movie. We met each other in Gunnison at 9:00 & there was already a giant line outside the theatre & the foyer was jam packed. Needless to say, we were some of the fortunate ones who were able to wait OUTSIDE in the chilly, cold weather. I really don't think any of us cared much because we were all so excited to be there. Before I left, I told Braydan that I hadn't been this excited about something so silly in a very, very long time. I compared it to that feeling I used to get when Braydan & I were first dating. You know what I'm talking about, that can't wipe the huge grin off your face, heart pumping, on the brink of laughter at any given second, happy feeling. That is exactly how I felt (ridiculous, I know). I really kept thinking, "It's just a movie Mist, stop it." The wait was finally over & they started letting us OUTSIDERS in, yay!!! Of course we rushed in & found us some pretty decent seats in the the center rows, about 3/4 of the way back. When the movie started everyone cheered, literally. It was so fun! Then it started. I loved it...at first. But as the movie progressed I just kept thinking, "Where are all the details? What about the love story?" The disappointment was beginning to settle in but then I immediately thought, "The movie is NEVER as good as the book silly!" That is sooooo true. After that, I began to love it again.

So my final analysis is this...

a) I really liked the movie.

b) The characters did an awesome job.

c) I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked Edward. All along, I've thought he needed to be much more (for lack of a better word) beautiful.

d) For a low budget film, I thought they did a great job. I LOVED the landscapes, gorgeous!!!

but...

e) It was sssooooooooo VAGUE (again, for lack of a better word)!!!

I guess I was longing for that intensity that is found in the books. Oh well, I still loved it! I know I will own it & watch it many more times.

GORGEOUS GIRLS

Last night I gave all the girls a bath before bed so this morning I decided to curl Ainsley & Addison's hair (that is a rare occasion around this place because we usually don't have time to blow dry & curl both heads of hair). They looked so adorable, I couldn't help but take some pictures of them.

Told ya!!!

GO JAZZ!!

On Monday night Braydan & I were able to go watch the Utah Jazz play the Phoenix Suns at the Energy Solutions Arena with our friends Dustin & Chelsea (thanks guys). We had a ton of fun!! We dropped the girls off at my Mom's on the way up which they were totally pumped about. They always love spending time with Grandma Mick & she's always very willing to have them (thanks Mom). The game was awesome (those of you who were watching know that though). It was exciting & had us jumping out of our chairs screaming. I love games like that!! Who doesn't love sitting on the 21st row with good friends, watching the Jazz while eating grasshopper ice cream?!? I know I sure do. We hope we get to go again soon. It was definitely a much needed break for Brayd & I.