Remember Christmas?

I don't.

And, since it's officially autumn and The Holidays will soon again be upon us, I thought should finally post some photos from 2010 lest I forget it forever. Here goes...

This Christmas was spent in Utah with my side of the family.

Christmas morning:

The Grandparents in their new snuggies.

My baby when she was still a baby. And not the tantrum throwing, opinionated, teething, running creature she is now. (She's a cute monster, though.)

Just woke up faces

Looking lovely. No makeup and bed head. Enjoy that unknown blog stalkers.

Ryan and I in our blanket/ponchos. That blanket was my savior during my two bouts of mastitis btw. Nothing like a quasi-sleeping bag to get a girl through feverish chills and burning boobs.

A tired Ryan tries to to wear everything he received.

Mom and Becca.

(For some reason I don't have photos of my dad or Anna...not that my dad minds, I'm sure.)

Then we met up with my dad's family at the cemetery visit with his parents. Or at least to stare at their graves. We all then gathered at my Uncle Greg's where there was a pinata, lots of food, some football, and some drinking games (minus the drinking):

Brett, Anna, Becca

Daxton...

Me and my girl...

Dad and Megan (I think)

More cousins

Sweet Dee and her Grandpa

Kenny helped Lola take a swing at the pinata...

she did NOT like it.

Kenny and Ryan

Dad and Aunt Pam.

Again, no pictures of Anna. Weird.

We then met up with my moms family for more food, games, and a talent show. I don't have photos. Bummer.

And finally, a few days later Kenny and I went up to Logan to visit the Parkinsons...

Steve and Lori (with Lola)

Dallin

Riley

Steve.

Casey.

More Riley.

Drew.

And Madi.

This is where I'd put the photo of Laura - if I could find it on my hard drive.

I was worried that in taking this long to post about this I would "lose" photos. And I did. Somewhere on a hard drive is pictures of Laura P. and Anna N.; I can imagine the photos I know I loaded and yet...they're gone. And they were good photos, of course. They're pretty girls, after all. Someday I'll find them. (I hope.) I also wish I had photos of all the friends and cousins we got to visit and of our trip to Park City for some wonderful snowboarding. THAT was wonderful (even if it did lead to one of those bouts of mastitis mentioned above). Ahhhh, memories.

Anyway, There's Christmas! Finally! It was pretty jam packed, but awesome. Just today Kenny mentioned that he's looking forward to Christmas. I had a minor panic attack at the thought, but after looking at these I can breathe a little better. Yes, it's super stressful, but in the end it's all about the people we love. And it's good.

A late night and the cops.

Dear college-aged neighbors.

I'm sorry I called in the cops to end your little gathering this morning. And by morning, I mean the gathering that began at promptly 2am. Like clockwork. Every Thursday nigh. I know that's when the bars close and that your apartment, given its proximity to downtown, is an ideal gathering spot after bar-hopping.

I'm not sorry, however, that the noise has finally stopped. Perhaps we wouldn't have this problem if you'd simply close the doors/windows of your apartment while continuing your party. Perhaps if you reminded our friends not to YELL to you from the parking lot we'd be cool. Perhaps if you'd kindly keep the gathering in your unit rather than letting it spill out into the courtyard, I'd let it slide. We'd definitely be on better terms if your pals would refrain from hanging out directly outside my bedroom window to make phone calls, have arguments, or conduct inappropriate conversations.

I remember college. I remember the joys of late nights - specifically Thursdays as there was seldom class held on Fridays. And I well remember rolling my eyes at the crazy old people who'd yell at us. I forgive you for your youth.

I can't, however, forgive that you've turned me into that crazy old lady. The one who actually made a noise complaint with the local PD this morning. for thee first time after putting up with this 2+ years. The crazy old lady who then sat up an hour drafting a strongly worded letter to our property management addressing your many grievences. The crazy old lady who then has to rant about it on her blog. The crazy lady who will stew about it for a while yet until sleep finally returns.

I wish you could understand that Friday still means early mornings and responsibility for the rest of your neighbors. I wish you could understand that it's difficult to sleep at all in this heat. I wish you knew how much I struggle to sleep at all these days. I wish I believed that if you understood, you'd be more considerate. But I don't. Every Thursday it's the same. I'll forgive you for carrying on on Friday and Saturday nights, but not Thursdays.

So while I'm sorry I ended your soiree, I'm more sorry that it's 3am and I'm still not asleep. So while I sit here cursing your existence as I watch that clock tick ever closer to my 5:50am alarm, I hope you enjoyed your visit from the Men (or Women) in Blue.

Good night.