The 12 Pictures of Sundstrom Christmas 2009

The 12 Pictures of Sundstrom Christmas - in no particular order

The first picture one of our two Christmas Trees -

The Second and Third Pictures of Christmas - Steve and I went to dinner at Trolley Square and since there was no Santa there we thought it was the perfect spot for a Christmas picture.

The Fourth Picture of Christmas - is a photo of one of the two Cheesecakes Steve made during the Holiday's - one for a dinner party early in December, and one for Christmas Eve - Yummy!

The Fifth Picture of Christmas - was taken on my surprise Christmas Present/Trip from Steve - Kim also surprised Dave - and we went to Las Vegas the weekend before Christmas, this is us in our cool 3-D glasses prior to the screening of Avatar - As we left the Theater Steve stated that it might be the

"Best Movie Ever"

The sixth picture of Christmas - also comes from our surprise trip to Las Vegas - Chicken and Waffles at Hash House a Go Go - very yummy!

The Seventh picture of Christmas - Old English Pudding - that we served on Christmas Eve! - It had been a goal of Steve's to find a recipe and make it, on December 23rd as we were finishing some last minute shopping at Gardner Village we found some at the Naborhood Bakery and prepared that instead - much easier than finding our own Beef Suiett... not sure that we will add it to the menu every year but it was fun to try.

The Eighth Picture of Christmas, Evan, on Christmas morning with his new guitar... What more could you ask for.

The Ninth Picture of Christmas - Christmas morning before the sheet came down at my parents house. CJ, Mark and Aurora - getting excited to in and see what Santa has brought.

The Tenth Picture of Christmas - Grandpa and Aurora, watching everyone open up their presents, and maybe taking a little nap :)

The Eleventh Picture of Christmas - Uncle Steve and Aurora resting up after so much work opening all the presents.

The Twelfth Picture of Christmas - we finally went to see the Christmas Lights last night ... it was a great way to wrap up a joyous Holiday Season.

We hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas as Well !

Aurora

I'm so sleepy why are you taking my picture?
MMM... Daddy's Thumb

Christmas is Coming

Check out this ornery look... I got it from my Daddy..

Can't believe that our little niece Aurora is already one month old... so precious!

A few of the many reasons I love Steve

I got home from work on Wednesday and Steve had not only cleaned the house but he had this little Christmas Flower arrangement and some of my favorite cookies waiting for me.

But I love him for a lot more reasons than the fact that he is thoughtful and buys me flowers often. One of the other many reasons I love him is for his talent and love of music.

So, if you didn't know Steve loves music, he likes to write songs, and collaborate on songs. Many years before I met Steve his brother wrote this song, and Steve collaborated in recording it. Take a listen I think it may be one of the greatest holiday songs of all time.



You may want to go to the bottom of the blog and pause the other music playing before clicking on the link.

Thankful for My Family

So today at work I had to sit through a conference call about Childhood Violence, and the effects it has on children. Things like abuse, kidnapping, sibling abuse, dating violence, sexual victimization, exposure to violence at school etc.... not much fun. Then we went on to talk about internet safety for children etc. Also I was talking to my good friend Kathleen about some of the kids she has been seeing in her new ward, and the challenges they are facing.

It is overwhelming to think how many kids have to struggle just to have a "normal" life, some of the horrors that kids see today are just overwhelming, and at work sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in all the bad... and forget the good.

So today, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and all I am grateful for I wanted to take a minute to thank my family. I have so many wonderful people that loved and supported me throughout my life, and I am so grateful to Steve's family and all the love and support that he received, and that we both continue to receive. This love and support has really made him a great husband, uncle etc.

In closing today I am particularly grateful for my little brother and his new family. Aurora is beautiful and truly represents all the hope that there is in this world. Congratulations Mark and Cera - good luck, I know you will be great parents.

Johnson Mill Inn

So when Steve and I got married we waited almost two weeks before heading on our honeymoon. But, we did want to do something right after we got married so we headed up to Midway for a couple of nights at the Johnson Mill Inn. This year we decided it would be fun to go back up for a night to celebrate our anniversary.

They have a paddle boat that guests can use, and while there three years ago, I begged Steve to go out and he said no, this year I prevailed much to his dismay.

In addition to the paddle boat ride we were able to walk around the grounds and see several deer.

And spend a wonderful evening together, followed by a fabuolous homemade breakfast of stuffed french toast.

Pumpkin

One of Steve's favorite things about fall is pumpkin. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie shakes, pumpkin bread... and yes even pumpkin pancakes.

So this week Steve and I had Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday off work. Partly to celebrate our third anniversary, and partly because Steve has a lot of time he needs to take off before the end of the year, and it is just fun to have some days off.

Tuesday morning we got up and went to the Original Pancake House in Sugarhouse one of our favorites.... and Steve got his pumpkin pancakes.

On a side note, I noticed that they are serving crepes for the Holiday Season!!! So we will probably be going back soon so I can get one of my favorites.

Halloween in St. George - October 31st, 2009

The past couple of years, Jill has gone down to St. George to help with a 5k Run/Walk that benefits the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah office in St. George, which helps match almost 200 at risk children with a volunteer Big Brother or Big Sister, someone to be a mentor to them.



This year, Jill persuaded me into joining her for the trip and we both decided that we'd participate in running and/or walking the 5k. For me, it really was much more walking than running, but it was a lot of fun and took place in a beautiful setting, with the rising sun coming up against the red rocks of the landscape.

We had a lot of fun spending a couple of days in St. George and are looking forward to returning there next year to do the 5k again.