christmas '09

This year we spent Christmas in Sandy with the Bell's (We also had a mini Christmas at home with the gifts from G&G Nimer). There was much movie watching, a new nutcracker friend, amazing food, new jammies, lots of mimmys, sweet gifts, and Halle antics. There ar

en't many pics of Halle with her presents because 1. She didn't like unwrapping things and 2. She would much rather run around then play with toys. She did however, love the farm we got her. I had been showing it to her almost everyday hoping she would be excited about it on Christmas day. My little plot worked because it was the only toy she sat and played with for more then 4.2 seconds. Cue the pictures:

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

And enjoy ringing in the New Year!

We will be eating a bunch of junk food and playing with Halle and maybe I'll even stay awake until midnight to meet 2010.

an almost perfect night

To celebrate our anniversary '09 style, we dropped Halle off at hotel bell to spend the night with her favorite people while we spent the evening in Salt Lake City.

Our first stop was Kyoto, a Japanese restaurant with the best and most authentic food I have ever had. We sat at the counter and were served by the sweetest woman in a kimono. We talked about what we remembered from our wedding day while eating the best tempura and miso soup I have ever had.

We drove through the city holding hands and listening to songs that reminded us of each other. Our next stop was temple square to see the Christmas lights still on display. It was freezing but beautiful, and I found out just how big of a wimp Wes is about the cold.

After a lovely stroll around the temple grounds we stopped at the Salt Lake Roasting Company for completely divine hot chocolate. We have been coming to the SL Roasting Company around the holidays every year since we met. It holds so many fun memories for us and has the best seafood chowder around. We sat at our usual wooden table by the drafty purple windows on the top floor with all the maps. We drank our hot chocolate and looked at pictures of the highlights from the last three years starting with our wedding day. The people sipping coffee and using their laptops all around us faded as we laughed about our honeymoon, working at BYU laundry together, all the trips we took, graduating, being an elephant (aka pregnant), and our silly baby girl.

You could say it was the perfect night.

But to us, it was almost perfect.

It would have been perfect if we had Halle sitting in a high chair eating rice and making faces at the taste of the orange at Kyoto. It would have been perfect if we had been listening to "If you're happy and you know it" on Halle's children's cd and were watching her kick her legs in her car seat. It would have been perfect if we had bundled up Halle in her puffy coat and pink hat and gloves into her stroller while she said things like "whoa" and "tree" and "touch it" as we looked at all the lights. It would have been perfect if we went home and played "bah-nee-nee" (her way of saying let's go bounce on the couch). It would have been perfect if she kept asking for pretzels. It would have been perfect if we were chasing her around trying to get her jammies (or boots, as she calls them) on. It would have been perfect if we could kiss her goodnight and watch her get comfortable in her crib and roll onto her side to settle in for the night.

That would have been the perfect night.

But, every parent needs a night off right?

happy anniversary

Three years ago today we sealed the deal and were married in the St. George Temple.

It was a beautiful sunny day (too bad the day before was a huge blizzard, so most of our family risked their lives to be there.)

Before that day I thought I cared about my hair, the dress, the reception, the flowers, the colors, the food, the makeup, etc.

But on that day all that frilly stuff meant nothing and took a back seat to the simple and beautiful ceremony that sealed me to my best friend forever.

happy anniversary husband of mine!

"i love us."

risky business

tom cruise has got nothing on halle bell

the life and times of weston bell

Now that we have enough storage space to fit all of our stuff from the lives we had before we got married, we have been getting ready to transfer Wes's stuff from his parent's house to our new house. In the process we have found some priceless treasures his mom kept along the way. My favorite find has been his diary he kept when he was ten and eleven years old.

On every page he wrote how old he was, the day of the week, and the page number at the top. It is mostly about basketball and playing video games and being the best at things. But there are some pretty sweet entries.

Here are a few excerpts from some of my favorite entries. I am leaving spelling and punctuation as is because it really is cute.

"Kendyl, my sister got to have a sleepover. They wanted to change Kendyl's room around and draw things and I spiyed on them and they didn't even know that I was doing and then I played with them."

"Tonight we went to my cousin Tyler's for New Year's Day. We played a lot of games and I played the best. We played Gesturs and I was the best actor there. Tyer's grandpa was there but he didn't want to play very much."

"I scored a point for the other team and they were happy but they would have won anyway"

"This week on Tuesday we were playing football and a gangster type guy was driving in a 1991 Bonneville. He chased us for awhile then we went to Rich Walkenhorst. The guy came and tried to chase us again, but Rich came out of his house and helped us. P.S. we're probably going to sue."

"Sunday I stayed in my church close the whole day and I boar my testimony it was fun."

When he was eleven years old he started signing off with "buy" (supposed to be "bye") and always something extra with a P.S.

One day he wrote, "P.S. No p.s. this time."

Wasn't he just the sweetest little boy? I love how simple life seems to children. I think all children should be forced to keep a diary. It makes for some big laughs once they start a family of their own.

it's really santa

Yesterday we took Halle to South Towne mall for her first visit with Santa. I predicted that she would sit on his lap for a few seconds and then wiggle her way down and start running around the mall.

Things went a little different then expected.

She sat on his lap and started looking at us for help. Immediately her bottom lip stuck straight out and her little face crumpled and she started crying. Santa started singing "jingle bells" softly in her ear and she calmed right down. She sat with him for a while just looking around.

He must be the real Santa.

His beard is real. His cheeks are rosy. He had amazing magical calming powers over Halle.

Must be Santa. Just look at him.

how i spent my tuesday night

I was laying on the floor by our Christmas tree tonight.

Wes was at his desk working on finals.

My little Halle was sitting by me and climbing all over me.

Naked, of course.

She was eating pretzels and giving kisses.

She was telling me where my eyes were, where my ears were, where my nose was, and where my mouth was.

I was looking at her beautiful hazel eyes and her wispy baby hair.

I saw my button nose on her round face.

It's probably the only feature she inherited from me. The rest is all dad.

I was thinking how I just love her adorable cheeks.

She kept asking for more pretzels.

I am forgetting everything about her so fast.

I do not want to forget this night.

And then, as usual, disaster struck.

happy birthday

Aunt Jan!

We hope you have a wonderful birthday with lots of love and much spoilage.

Halle knows you as Jake's mama and it got me thinking about all the wonderful roles you have. Think about it. You are:

a wife

a sister

an aunt

a mother

a daughter

a friend

And not only are you all of those things, but you do them all so well despite the busy life you have. And not only that your house is always spotless. Wonderwoman is what that is called.

We love you!

i am webster

and this is my definition of love:

and also this:

typical

wearing minnie footie pajamas with a minnie nightgown over them and one of mom's shoes all while playing with dad's belts and taking all of his clothes out of the closet right before bedtime.

very typical.

african nativity

Since we are a young up and coming family (going on three years at the end of this month!), we have very little in the way of holiday decorations. We have started our own collection of Christmas decorations over the past two years and have also received many sweet gifts from our families to help fill our home with Christmas cheer.

One of my favorite decorations came as a gift from my sweet sister-in-law Kendyl that she picked up for us in Zambia, Africa where she was serving with the Mothers Without Borders Organization. I think this African Nativity is absolutely gorgeous. It makes me remember we really are brothers and sisters with all the different people around the world, no matter their culture or beliefs. (Now I just wish Wes would have thought a little bit more about his future family while he was on his mission and had picked us up one from Brazil...You're right. It was probably good he wasn't thinking too much about his future family out there.)

Halle also likes it, the donkey part anyway. I am afraid she is going to carry it off somewhere and we won't be able to find it until next year.

i'll spare you

I know you are all tired of hearing me go on and on about sunshine and how I am addicted to it and how I could eat it if it could sustain life like that, so, I am just going to let you see the pictures from our thanksgiving holiday in st. george. I will spare you all the sunshine commentary and sunshine love poems. But I will say this: it was fabulous.

Psyched about you know what.

Thanksgiving day was wonderful. I miss being close to my family. The only thing missing was Ryan (not for long!). Mom seriously outdid herself. I forget how amazing her mashed potatoes are and really all of her food. Simple meals she makes that I try to recreate never taste as good as hers. I guess I leave out the love. We also spent part of the day with the Ashman side of the family. Imagine having Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of hilarious, crazy kiddos in the gym of an elementary school. Oh, and a fart machine. Yes, it was out of control. Aren't those some of the most fun family memories? We managed to send a few ceiling tiles askew and knock down a very large poster of Taylor Swift with a milk mustache.

We spent the rest of the week sleeping in, relaxing, and playing with this little master chief.

He is the only kid this little girl will share with.

happy birthday

Aunt Kendyl!

Wish we could spend all day eating three bags of chips and watching Gilmore Girls.

Can't even tell you how much we love and adore you.

You are an amazing example of service and determination.

So glad Halle has an example like you in her little monster princess life.

We love you!

happy birthday

Uncle...I mean...Elder Ryan!

*I just realized I don't have any of your mission pics on my computer. So we are left with this pre-mission gem. Let's fix that mom.

Can't believe you are already 21.

Can't believe you have not met Halle.

Can't believe you are coming home in 4 months.

Can't believe you have a British accent.

Can't believe you teach Chinese people in England.

Can't believe you were obsessed with Grandpa's letter opener in this picture.

Can't believe you were also obsessed with his weird ring.

Can't believe you ever stopped doing your Phantom of the Opera Hand Flute.

Can't believe how much fun we had when you were at BYU.

Can't believe you invented the golden tickle.

And definitely can't wait till you come home.

We love you!

*Get ready for many birthday posts. Not only is it the Christmas season, it is birthday season in our families.