Merry Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas

As 2007 comes to a close, we are so thankful for a happy family and a comfortable home. We have been blessed with wonderful friends and a loving family. We are so thankful for you! May we each feel the love of our Savior Jesus Christ this holiday season.

Here are some of our favorite things about 2007:

Tyler turned 2 this year. He is growing up so fast! He likes outings to the library with Mom and Justin to pick out books and seeing the ducks and geese afterwards. He loves to play games, ride on trains, and play with Justin. Tyler is quite the artist and we find his masterpieces on the walls, furniture and the kitchen floor. He likes to wear his “nursery clothes and nursery shoes” each Sunday for church. He gets so excited to help Mom cook and to wrestle with Dad.

Justin turned 5 this year and enjoyed a birthday party at his favorite park. He loves everything about kindergarten! He likes to ride on the bus each day with his friends. Justin’s favorites were eating pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving in Utah, feeding Gunnar treats in Montana (Grandpa Guptill’s black lab), flying on the airplane and getting “Oregon water and Oregon snacks” and “One more thing, I love you Mom!”

Kayelynn loved to see snow falling in Oregon on December 1st! She enjoyed trips to the Oregon coast, visiting family in Utah and Montana, blogging, teaching primary on Sundays and planning for the activity day girls. She looks forward to many more lunch hour bike rides and picnics with Travis and the boys.

Travis liked going on a father and son campout with Justin, fishing with the boys and both grandpas, giving the boys bedtime rocket rides up the stairs and horseback rides around the house. He enjoyed celebrating both an anniversary and a birthday in Hawaii with Kayelynn, snorkeling for the first time, family outings to the zoo, Fourth of July fireworks and business trips to Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year,
The Guptills
Travis, Kayelynn, Justin and Tyler

Remarkable!

I didn't realize really what a miracle that snow was for Justin on Christmas Day. Travis told me that the news station reported that there has not been a measurable snowfall on Christmas Day in the Portland area for 70 YEARS!!!!! The last time was in 1937!!!!! Now that is remarkable! The fun part is that the forecast shows 4" of snow in the valley for tomorrow. We were planning to go on an outing to the aviation museum with grandma and grandpa. But now we are all excited to stay here and PLAY IN THE SNOW!

A Christmas Wish

Justin wished and wished for a white Christmas this year. He was so disappointed when I told him we would be here in Oregon and that it would probably rain instead. He really wanted to go to Utah or to Montana to have a white Christmas.

Well, that cute little boy had the biggest smile on his face when we looked out the window Christmas morning and saw big flakes of SNOW coming down! The boys were both so happy to watch out the window and talk about the snowman they were going to build. Too bad that it didn't really stick and we woke up this morning to freezing rain instead. But, he'll always remember that his Christmas wish came true....

Tis the Season!

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know me. Okay here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy this entire post and paste into a new e-mail or post on your own blog. Change all the answers so that they apply to you...Tis the Season to be NICE!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper and sticker tags.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial.

3. When do you put up the tree? Maybe even before Thanksgiving! :)

4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years! (I'd keep it up longer if Travis wasn't plotting to take it down the day after Christmas! We compromise!)

5. Do you like eggnog? Love it with a little milk mixed in!!

6. Favorite gift received as a child. Baby Alive.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, many. I try to collect a new one each year. Last year Travis brought me home an olive wood set from Jerusalem.

8. Hardest person to buy for? my parents.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Travis. He makes the longest Christmas list out of everyone in our whole family! And he usually buys his own gift. And he's happy about it. How's that for a surprise?

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail. But Justin is the designated stamp putter-oner.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? An Easter egg colored Christmas ornament cookie jar for a wedding gift in October! We finally used it for a white-elephant exchange and filled it with good chocolate!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Mr. Kruegar's Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I start plotting in January, but this year I started buying in October.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, but with the best of intentions!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? mandarin oranges from a can. Santa left me one in my stocking each year while I was growing up.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? clear.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Depends on the year. We trade off between my family and Travis' family for Christmas. This year his parents are at our home for Christmas.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes, even with my eyes closed!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A glittery snowflake.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? One present Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas Morning!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Busy stores and lines.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Christmas colors. It's fun to look back on ornaments collected through the years.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Smoked Turkey and all the "Thanksgiving Dinner" fixins'.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A digital picture frame and a new dress.

Night Hawk

Do you know any 2 1/2 year olds who think they can stay up all night? It's 11:21 and Tyler is STILL AWAKE! I've put him into bed at least 20 times tonight and just sent Travis in to finish the job! G & G Guptill arrived from Montana tonight and the boys were so excited to climb all over grandpa and play games with grandma. It will be a fun week if we get any sleep!

New

I was just set apart today as 2nd counselor in our ward's primary. Seven years ago I was primary secretary, so this will be something fun and new for me. I am excited about this calling because I can still work with the kids in my Valiant class and activity days. Justin is happy he will see me even more during primary each Sunday. He had the biggest eyes and mouth when I told him I'll be teaching sharing time for Jr. Primary. I may even be over Nursery with Tyler. So much to look forward to....

Magical

We gave this as part of our "neighbor" gifts this year. The boys had a ball mixing colorful birdseed with red/green/silver glitter. We put it in small zip bags and attached this poem:



The Legend of Magical Reindeer Dust

It has once been said,
That right before you go to bed.
You should sprinkle magic reindeer food,
To quickly bring Santa and his brood.
For many years the legend has been told,
To boys and girls, both young and old,
Sprinkle the food throughout your yard,
Then finding your house won’t be so hard!
The reindeer can smell the food for 100 miles;
Just do not leave it in big piles!
After you do this you must go to sleep very fast,
So Santa and his reindeer will not pass!

Christmas Parties

Christmas time is so much fun! I love that everyone just wants to get together and have fun! We have gone to several fun parties and wish there were more coming this week. We went to a fun friends party this weeked that has been going for 7 years. It was so much fun to catch up with friends who have moved away. How many times did I just say "fun"?

After a HUGE potluck dinner, we played a game of filling in christmas carol titles to very wordy descriptions. It was right down my alley but I didn't win. :) We had a fun gift exchange and we ended up with one nice and one pretty goofy gift. I came home with a dog clock that wags it's tail. Travis' gift was a sparkling juice drink from France and some French chocolate wafers.

We are excited to be home for Christmas this year. Travis' parents are coming out from Montana to spend over a week with us. We love to have them visit and are really getting excited!

Every single day Justin tells me how many days are left until Christmas and it's funny that I'm always surprised! It is coming so quickly! He is going nuts because all of his THREE countdown to Christmas calendars are getting closer and closer to the big day and we have no, count it, no gifts under our tree. I have a hidden stash but haven't had time to wrap them yet. I think I'll get out something for him to wrap this afternoon so we can start filling up all that empty space!

Diagonal

"Mom, when I woke up this morning the ceiling was diagonal and I felt like I couldn't walk for 5 days."

Justin isn't feeling well today and woke up dizzy. Little guy! He is doing better now and is enjoying a lazy movie/project/storytime day. Luckily, he didn't have school today anyway.

Gingerbread Houses

Our big Activity Day Recognition Night for the primary girls was on Thursday night. We had 12 girls and their dads or moms.

Each girl brought a 1-2 minute story to share about an ancestor of theirs. They also brought an item to show that belonged to that relative or related to the experience they shared. These girls really came prepared with some great tales to tell. One girl is related to the man who wrote "Twas the Night Before Christmas". After the girls were finished sharing, I told about my Grandma Jolley and gingerbread houses.

Then we began our graham cracker gingerbread house activity. I had made 12 batches of royal frosting (It took me 3 hours before the activity! I finished with minutes to spare!) Papa Murphy's donated pizza rounds for the girls/dads to build their houses on. They had a great time and several told me afterward that they really enjoyed this activity. They were so silly during the activity. The dads were so funny and the girls even glued candy on their faces with the frosting. We got some fun pictures of the night.

Makin' Woopie!

I made these on Friday for a cookie exchange at my friend Melissa's house today and we LOVED them! She made the best treats and we had a fun ornament exchange, too. Mmmm...I'll be making these again for sure!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Silvana Nardone and Christina Stanley-Salerno
From Every Day with Rachael Ray
October 2007


Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.
3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
5. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake. Enjoy!

Make ahead...they can be frozen for up to three days.

Number Of Servings:MAKES TWELVE

Preparation Time:Prep Time: 35 min
Bake Time: 10 min

Up on the Housetop!

Friday night, Travis and I went on a DATE to a Christmas party and had a wonderful time with friends. We played a game called "Worst Case Senario". We got to put our Bear Grylls expertise to practice and I won a cell phone! It can only call 911, but still! I was a great survivor when caught in a car on an opening drawbridge. :)

Travis was WONDERFUL to put up all our outside Christmas lights and decorations. It looks great! He had fun because he got to use his new ladder. We have two lighted deer with moving heads in one corner of our front yard. Icicle lights across the eaves and lighted wreaths and snowflake lights on our front porch. Now we just need some snow! Saturday night, we went for the first time to see the Zoo Lights.



It was amazing and now counts as our Oregon version of the Temple Square lights...sort of! It was FREEZING and even the hot chocolate didn't help. But it was dry and the boys loved all the lights and especially the ride on the lighted zoo train.



Tonight for FHE we made a gingerbread house out of graham crackers. It was a trial run for the daddy/daughter activity day recognition night on Thursday. We'll be making 11 gingerbread houses that night and I wanted to make sure it would all work out.



Tyler and Justin had a great time eating the candy and Travis and I built the house as fast as we could so there would still be some candy left to decorate it with. We may have started a new tradition!

Last Christmas

I just came across an email draft that I had saved from a year ago. I never replied...sorry to whoever sent it to me. I put a lot of thought into it, though. I'm posting it because I thought some of the answers were funny looking back. How true they are. Actually, I'm stalling so I don't have to take out the garbage and load the dishes...really.

1. FIRST NAME? Kayelynn

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? One of my Dad’s old girlfriends!

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last week…watching Disney’s “Eight Below” I know, I’m a softy! But those dogs…

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes! I practiced and practiced all through 6th grade to give it just the right touch!

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Turkey-with cheese in that sandwich somewhere!

6. KIDS? Two boys.

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would, wouldn’t you?

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yes…somewhere…empty since we got married!!! Bad, bad, bad…that’s where my emails to family come in…I save them for a journal-of-sorts.

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not so much.

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes and don’t they look lovely!

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Thought about it…um, no!

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PASTA? Anything stuffed with cheese!

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No. I’m a kicker! (off with the shoes that is!)

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Mint Chocolate Chip, please!

17. RED OR PINK? Red

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I have a selective memory. :)

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Jeri

20. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Love that wireless mouse! My knee, the couch, my laptop, Justin’s head…I could go on and on.

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Charcoal and no shoes.

22. LAST THING YOU ATE? Yummy chicken avocado wrap!

23 WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Justin asking me “Why on 23 do you have my name on it, Mom?”

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Green

25. FAVORITE SMELL? popcorn

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My main man.

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Happy eyes.

28. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? How the Grinch Stole Christmas

29. FAVORITE DRINK? Whole milk

30. FAVORITE SPORT? Softball.

31. EYE COLOR? Hazel.

32. HAT SIZE? Bigger than Travis'...really.

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Thank goodness!

34. FAVORITE FOOD? Taco salad, pizza, Olive Garden’s Tour of Italy, popcorn, maple yogurt, granola and most any Rachael Ray recipe!

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy ending...love that big kiss!

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Oh gosh, we really need to get out to the movies...does Netflix count? Then I’d have to say Disney’s “Cars”

37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Charcoal and Gray striped sweater

38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter…I love to cozy up!

39. HUGS OR KISSES? Both!

40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Something fruity.

41. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? East Coast.

42. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I love to play my guitar!

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? I just read “A Banner is Unfurled” – about my ancestor Joel Hills Johnson. He wrote the hymn “High On the Mountain Top”

Happy Elves!

Have a Holly Jolley Christmas! Tyler keeps wanting me to sing that song over and over. It's a family favorite because my mom's maiden name is Jolley! Jingle Bells has been Justin's favorite since he could say "Jingle Bells".

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1163813429

Too funny...