Merry Christmas!

7:00 am

Waiting at the top of the stairs...

Jax took a peek over the balcony...

Then rushed to the presents....

This is Jaxon playing his new Paper Jamz Guitar...

YEEEESSS!!! Santa got my letter!!

Jaden got everything on his list and then a few surprises!

Jessica got everything on her list too.

(and of course some surprises!)

All presents were open and being played with by 7:45 am!

After which we went to a lovely Christmas Breakfast at Grandma Jo's and got even more presents.

Later in the day we saw Bryan and Ashton.

Ashy was super excited for Bryan to open his gift from him. He even offered his assistance in opening the present!

The present was this picture in a frame....

Two Vikings!

Then Bryan opened his present from us.

Ashy did a happy danced because he loved the shirt so much!

Ashy's present from Grandpa... a NERF gun! YES!!

(he also matches the boys with a U of U hoodie and D. Williams T shirt!)

We had a Great Christmas and look forward to 2011!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is one of our favorite days of the year. The excitement, the smells of yummy food cooking, the Christmas music playing... it the BEST! This year we hosted dinner at our house with my dad. It was delightful. As we were trying to keep the house clean and the children from being put on the naughty list.... Ty decided that if they were good until 3:00 pm, they could open the present under the tree to all three of them from me and Ty. SURPRISINGLY they were really good and 3:00 arrived and they opened a Kinect for the XBOX. That was the best idea.... it has kept them busy for days!!!

PRESENT TIME!!

To: Jaxon and Bentley

From: Grandpa

"Oh SWEEEET"

Matching U of U Hoodies and Darren Williams T-shirt's!!

An automatic shooting Nerf gun with a tripod set up!!

Thanks Grandpa....

Mac got 2 new babies.... she wouldn't stop looking at them!

Presents under the tree...

Tradition to open them on Christmas Eve...

I'm happy to report, even though there is not a picture, that everyone LOVED their new Pajamas!!! (another tradition on Christmas Eve)

DECK THE HALLS....

Arriving at our house for the Holidays...

WELCOME... Come on in!

The "RASCH" Christmas Tree...

(we actually have 8 trees decorated in all)

Magnet board overflowing with Christmas Greetings...

The "KIDS" Tree...

Please pay special attention to the stockings....

For the past 7 years we have only had 4 Christmas Stockings. Reason being when we got married Ty's mom so graciously bought us 4 matching handmade ones. When Jaxon came along I tried to contact the sweet lady who made them to see if I could get one more. She had passed away.... therefore leaving us with 4 stockings. This year I bought 5 new beautiful Christmas Stockings. I was so excited to have finally found some I liked. I switched them out with our "old" ones only to have Jaden FREAK OUT and Jaxon start crying. UGH!!! What's a mom to do? So we compromised.... Ty and I would have 2 new ones and the 3 children would keep the "old" ones. I guess some things aren't meant to be changed.

hApPy HoLiDaYs!!!!

Sunday Dinner at the Rasch House

Just about every Sunday we go to Grandma Jo's for Sunday dinner.

This time of year with all the Christmas parties, Grandma Jo takes some "time off" which means we are on our own for Sunday Dinner.

Today on the menu...

Pot Roast

Mashed Potatoes served with gravy

French Green Beans

Artichokes served with lemon butter

Bread Sticks

and for dessert...

Banana Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

We had a beautiful candle light dinner on my

great grandmothers dining set,

which she received for

her engagement in 1917.

We are so grateful for our family this

holiday season.

WeLcOmE bAcK JOLLY...

December 1st we welcomed "JOLLY" to our home for

the Christmas Season.

This is the second year he has visited our house.

Jolly is a Christmas Elf sent from the North Pole. He keeps an eye on us all day and then flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa how we've been. Then he comes back to our house... and sits in a different spot every day.

Jaxon is LOVING Jolly this year... he's always the first one to find him. Jax tells him where to hide, what he wants for Christmas, and he's really good at letting him know when he has done something good. Jolly has been fantastic to have back.... wish he could stay all year!!

The Year of the "STICKY" Snow....

Time for our annual Christmas Tree Adventure! Cars were packed, everyone was ready to go at the usual meeting spot (The Jeremy Store) at 8:00 am the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had a lovely, not very exciting, hour and a half drive to Christmas Tree Meadows. We purchased our Christmas Tree tags from the Ranger Station and started up into the beautiful snow covered Mountains. We have a spot that we like to go to... great trees are found there.... but this year we encountered some seriously STICKY snow. We were unable to make it to our normal spot. In fact, we were unable to make it up the last big hill.....

So we stopped... pulled out the Suburban and the Truck and decided that we were in the new perfect spot! Each of the four families spread out and went to find the perfect family Christmas Tree. We hiked and hiked... at times being waist deep in snow! Jaden, Jessica and Jaxon all got tired and decided to take a break...

That's when we spotted it.... THE 2010 RASCH FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE...

As Ty and Jaden walked up to this grand tree ready to chop it down, Jaden began reciting those famous lines from Christmas Vacation...

Jaden: "Dad, that tree won't fit in our yard."

Ty: "It's not going in the yard Jaden, it's going in the living room."

The tree always looks great and full when it's laying down!!

4 guys... that's how many it took to load our tree onto the car!

Our adventure was over and we headed out of the wilderness with trees on cars...

Until we got stuck!!

Ty was backing up trying to help pull the Peabody's out...

again...

Both the Truck and Suburban !

Next year we are renting this!!!!!!!

We got everyone "unstuck" for the 10th time and we thought we were free and clear until we ran into this......

At which point we spent another hour pulling out that truck and it's trailer, the other truck and the car behind them!!

It never fails that we always have such a fun and exciting adventure. We laughed and laughed this year at the "STICKY" snow!!

P.S. There's an open invitation for anyone that wishes to join us next year!!!!