Early Christmas with the Baer's

We were lucky to be able to head to Roseville early in the month and spend an early Christmas with my family. We normally visit for a few days over Christmas vacation but made the trek early this year.
It was a three day weekend for us and it was busy. We drove up Thursday evening and got home Sunday afternoon.

A few year's ago my parents were asked to be Mr. and Mrs. Claus at their ward Christmas party. My mom made all of the outfits by hand and even made a Buddy the Elf costume that my youngest brther Bert wore for a few years. They are quite popular. This year my nephew Cooper donned the "Buddy the Elf" costume and had a good time.

While we were visiting this weekend we attended a ward Christmas dinner and another ward's pancake breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. It was quite entertaining.

Grandpa Baer adopted a beagle named "Rufus" a week before we got there, so we were all very anxious to meet him....especially Wiggy. They became fast friends and played together all weekend.

We also picked the right weekend to visit since it was the Big Baer Christmas party. All four of my dad's siblings were there this year so we had lots of cousins to visit with. It was lots of fun...and we took lots of pictures.

My mom made all of the younger grandkids Christmas vests/dressses too. So we got all of the kids dressed up before the Baera Christmas party and snapped some pictures. There were two two-year olds so it was a little unpredictable. But....we were very thankful for the time and effort Grandma put towards the adorable outfits.

 My favorite sister-in-law Lindsay! :)

 

 

The Big 3-5

I found this quote recently:

That being said, There are things I love about my birthday and there are things I dread.
I love hearing from friends and family. Its so nice to be remembered and thought of. In my head you like to think the people you are care about think about you from time to time. But a birthday gives them a reasonable excuse to tell you they are thinking about you. I love the phone calls, the phone texts, the singing of "Happy Birthday," messages on Facebook, and the emails. I wish everyday was like this. I wondered who I would hear from next.
My day started shortly after midnight with text messages from my mom and dad. I wondered what they were doing up so late....or early....but it was nice.
When I left for work there was a balloon and Sephora bag on my front porch. I could wake up to these treats everyday!

Luke's parents called me before 8am and sang a duet for me. Very nice!
No one at work knew it was my birthday, so it was just business as usual. Work-work-work...and more meetings. I was happy to leave and head home to the "party." :)

What do I find on my porch!?
A Sweet Surrender bag and cupcakes from Luke's parents!! 10 cupcakes! I guess that meant I had to share? Or could I manage to consume them all myself?!

In the bag was a cute beret. The boys thought I was silly taking a picture for the giftor, but Wiggy loved the hat. She stole it as soon as she could get close enough to swipe it.

After a few cupcakes were consumed we headed to dinner at BJs. A lot of food was consumed! I think we tried one of everything.

For dessert the kids had mini-pazookies and I had the beignet with ice cream.

This is how the meal ended. Wiggy spilled water on herself about 15 minutes into dinner. We took her shirt off since she was shivering and put on her jacket.

After we got home from dinner there was ANOTHER delivery: See's Truffles.
My friends know me so well. It was another nice treat. I was just contemplating if I should shove one down in addition to all my other birthday treats today! The answer was of course...yes.

My last birthday treat was today: a gelish manicure and spa pedicure with my dearest, oldest friend. It was soooooooo nice! I was glad the manicurists took a long time so I could sit and chat with her next to me in the spa chairs for over two hours.
Happy Birthday to me! 35 is looking pretty good so far.