CHRISTMAS '08

New Christmas jammies!

Christmas has come and gone for yet another year. This was one for the memory books. We had our second green Christmas and although it is hard to be away from family at this time of year we are soaking in the sun and the atmosphere as much as possible. Madi was the first to wake up in the morning and waited patiently in her room as she was told. We finally woke up Rylee and although she wasn't sure what was happening at first she seemed to really take in all the excitement. First everyone ran to their stocking and piles of gifts to see what Santa had given them. At our house Santa and I have a deal. He brings three gifts to each of us to help us remember Christ and the three gifts he was given by the wise men so long ago. Each of these gifts represents something: gold - something you want, muir - something you need, and frankincense - something educational.

Madi's Santa pressies:

gold - beados

muir - school supplies (lunch box, colored pencils, and a pencil case)

frankincense - another set of fairy books

Cooper's Santa pressies:

gold - two remote control cars

muir - school supplies (lunch box, crayons, pencils, and a pencil case)

frankincense - one story book and a book of mazes for the kid who loves mazes!

Rylee's Santa pressies:

gold - a play kitchen

muir - a cover up for the beach

frankincense - two picture books

Not only that but there stockings are stuffed with little goodies as well. These are my favorite pictures from the morning. Santa always leaves an orange and an apple in the toe of the stocking - you would have thought they struck gold when they all got to that point.

Then we got to the wrapped presents under the tree. Madi got to play Santa's elf this year and wear the new hat I bought just for the occasion (a new tradition I think!). She handed out all the presents and we all watched what was opened. Rylee got a little overkill and towards the end didn't want to open any more just wanted to play with what she got. All in all it was a wonderful morning.

We then got ready and headed to the beach. We were a bit nervous as the morning was full of clouds, but decided to go for it anyway. By the time we got to the beach it was fabulous!!! We went with some good friends of ours, the James family. They are from Canada so it is a green Christmas for them as well. Jackie's mom, sister, and step-father were in town so we all decided the beach would be a fun place to spend our afternoon. It was the perfect afternoon. When we got into the car I told Kev that it was really hard to remember that it was actually Christmas. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures to prove that we actually went to the beach. I didn't want to bring my good camera for fear of getting sand in it and ruining it forever, so I grabbed the point and shoot. However, when I pulled it out at the beach the batteries were dead. I took a few pictures with Jackie's camera so hopefully I will get those soon and can post some.

After spending a long time at the beach we all met up at our house for a really late Christmas dinner. We had the traditional dinner this year complete with ham and baked potatoes. It was so delicious. We had great company all day which made up for not being around family and truly you can't beat going to the beach on Christmas day. Memories to last a lifetime!!!

Today is boxing day - so as Kev says we are practicing up on our boxing moves! We spent the morning talking with family on the web cam and were shown the signs of a white Christmas - a couple feet of snow. It sure makes for a nice Christmas, but a cold and icy one as well. We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas as well! Remember if you want to go to the beach on Christmas you can always come and visit next year!!!

ONE MORE DAY TO GO...

The last pocket of the advent calendar has been emptied and under the Christmas tree waiting are all the pressies just waiting for tomorrow. The excitement can hardly be contained. We have always reserved Christmas Eve for just our family - therefore we have many things that we do on this day. However, they don't start until later in the evening, so we have to keep the kids busy and occupied so that the excitement doesn't reach a boiling over point.

Our Christmas Eve traditions:

Make sugar cookies for Santa

Eat breakfast for dinner - we have a huge dinner filled with breakfast foods

Read Luke 2 and watch the Nativity (the movie put out by the LDS Church)

Read the 3 trees book

open our one present under the tree - new jammies!

Talk about why Santa only brings three presents and what each one represents.

If there is time sometimes we watch a Christmas movie

Try really hard to get the kids to bed and asleep at a reasonable hour - this is getting harder and harder each year.

I love hearing about everyone's traditions - so what are some of yours?

Also, as side note, I made the best cookies this year. I found this recipe on the Internet and decided to give it a go. They were so good! If you want a printable version of this let me know and I can send it to you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This is for those of you that I didn't have e-mail addresses for. This year saw us visiting a few new sites in Australia and flying home to the States. It was wonderful to see family and friends and catch up. We realized how much we miss seeing the mountains every single day and how much we miss family and the conveniences of the States. However, we wouldn't trade our experiences in Australia for anything. We have grown so much as a family and have seen and done so many thing that we won't have otherwise. We are falling in love with the beach, much like we feel for the mountains, and will definately miss that when we move back home. We, okay maybe just me, dream of a white Christmas at times, but also love the things that a summer Christmas has to offer. We are trying to make as many memories as possible in our short time here.

This is our second "green" Christmas and we are trying to make the most of it. We are so excited for this time of year to celebrate the birth of the Savior and to remember the sacrifices he made for each of us. May you and your family be blesssed in 2009. Thank you so much for your friendship and love.

Love,
The Hutchinsons
Kevin, Stacy, Madisen, Cooper, and Rylee

Weekend of friends

This weekend was so much fun and so full of friendships and love. I am starting to get into the Christmas spirit (good thing since there are only three sleeps left) and only have a few things left on my list to get done!Friday night we decided to go see the Carols by Candlelight at the temple. It was the night our Stake was assigned to go and even though they went all weekend long we decided to go the first night. It was such a treat. Kev was a bit disappointed because he thought it would be more like last year where we all got to sing the carols. It was more of a performance this time around, but I thought it was wonderful. It was nice to hear some beautiful music and enjoy a nice evening with the temple lit up behind us. (I really need a tripod - I tried to get some good shots of the temple all lit up and they were all blurry. Some day.) Madi had taken to heart our Stake challenge of inviting non-members and less active members to all things Christmas in the month of December and invited her friend Jamiee to come with us. Because the carols were late we decided a sleep over was in store. That meant two giggly girls all night long - Madi's first sleep over in Australia and Jamiee's first sleep over ever so it was pretty special.

Saturday afternoon we were invited by some friends, the Guy family, to go over for a swim and a BBQ. We have meet the Guy's from school. Two of their daughters are in the same classes as Madi and Cooper and we have formed a great friendship. Unfortunately Saturday was actually a cold day so we thought a swim wouldn't happen. The kids didn't seem to mind and jumped in anyway. They swam until they were shivering and then we decided we better go get warmed up inside. It was a great evening. I forgot my camera so no pictures....

We have made so many wonderful friends while here in Australia. I had a mom comment to me a few weeks ago when I went to pick up Madi from a play date at her house that it must be really hard to make friends knowing that we won't be here permanently. I had never thought about it like that. I have noticed that some of the moms at school don't seem interested in building a friendship with me, and maybe that is why they know I am leaving in a short time. Well, it's their loss I say - I'm a fabulous friend, LOL!!! The friends that we have made I hope will last a lifetime.

Wii are a bit sad....

We have one bit of sadness to our Christmas season this year - stupid Nintendo (I know harsh words). Apparently they weren't supposed to make the Wii with country codes. This means that you can buy games in the U.S. for example and still play them on your Australian bought Wii. Well, not the case, as we found out upon our arrival back to the land down under. We had bought a few new games for Christmas pressies for the kids - one that was only $10 US we decided to just open up and play now. Good thing we did because it doesn't work. Kev searched and searched the internet - Google got a good work-out. He found a few fixes, but apparently since we have had to reset our Wii recently (Cooper hit some button and it all disappeared - that is another story entirely) they don't work. In fact if you use some of the fixes Nintendo has made it so that it sets up bricks on your Wii and you can't even get it in English anymore. We even paid an Aussie company for a disc that was supposed to fix everything. You just put in the disc and then put in your US game and it should work - well apparently not if you have reset your computer recently (good to know). So what does that mean for us? Well those few games that we bought in the US can't be played here (sad since they were for Madi), and we have to sale our Wii along with every thing else when we leave. Also means we won't be buying very many games either. We were hoping that it would be our investment piece and we could just move it over and change the plug - no such luck. Why do the big companies have to be so greedy? Just make it universal and everyone would be happy.

Sluffing the last day of school

Today began earlier than normal for most of our family members as we went into the city for a day at daddy's work. Madi sluffed her last day of school for the occasion since they were just cleaning and moving furniture. After getting on the train at peak hour with three children - I don't know how Kev does this every day, I think I would go crazy. We got to go inside the elusive orange retro AMEX building complete with badges for the kids to wear. They had snacks to eat, face painting, and balloon animals. Best of all, yep you guessed it, Santa paid a visit. The kids had a great time.

Then we decided since we had already made the long trek to the city we might as well check out Santa at David Jones. The magic cave was pretty good - although not what I thought it would be. Although the talking tree was amazing. That tree answers every question the kids ask it. The kids had a great time, but I am not sure the hour and a half wait was worth it. All for the adventure of seeing Santa - who we didn't even get pictures of because they are too expensive for me and they won't let you take your own (what is up with that?). Oh well, check that adventure off our Sydney list...

We are off to carols night at the temple that should definately bring the Christmas spirit.

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL

It is hard to believe that school is coming to a close for another year. Last week Madi had her presentation day at school and received her award for EXCELLENT APPLICATION AND PROGRESS IN ALL AREAS. She also got her school report - which is pretty much her report card (but they only get them twice a year). Her teacher. Mrs. Pritchard, said many good things about her and her progress this year. Her final words are as follows,

"Madisen is to be commended for excellent work habits and makes wise use of all avaliable time. She is consolidating knowledge and making excellent academic progress. Madisen has been a delight to teach."

Hopefully this will last forever...LOL!!! After the presentation we went out where the kids were having lunch and got a few shots of Madi and some of her friends.

Pat, Sarafina, Jamiee, Sarah, and Sophie

Yesterday Cooper had his last day at preschool - I can hardly believe that my little man will be starting kindergarten next year. They had a little musical presentation where they sang lots of fun songs. It was great to see Cooper concentrate so hard to get all the moves and words right. After all the songs were sung a special visitor came.....Santa brought each of the kids a book. Then they had a party and ate fun foods before saying goodbye.

(Julie and Sally)

The day before Cooper had brought home is portfolio (or as he calls it his cookfolio) which was full of pictures and work from throughout the year. What a great thing for his teachers to do and what great memories for us. We will put it in Cooper's special box when we get back to Utah. They also gave us a CD of pictures they took through the year of Cooper hard at work and play at school. Here are a few of the pictures of Cooper this year at preschool.

CHRISTMAS FEELING

I have to admit that I am having a really hard time getting into Christmas this year. It may be because I have a big U mowed into my back lawn (see the below post) or the fact that I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt right at this very moment. Last year we had a green Christmas as well and I was still excited, I think it was the novelty of being in a new place and experiencing new things. Well this year I am not excited at all - in fact I wish that Christmas would just come and go.

Well thanks to my friend Carli who spoke in Church today. I was totally touched by the Spirit as she spoke about the true meaning of Christmas. Carli is such an eloquent speaker - I am sure that comes from the fact that she has a degree in literature and really should write her own books (hint, hint). I was touched by her words, but mostly by this quote she read from President Hinckley,

"Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and baubles of a hundred varieties. It is love. It is the love of the Son of God for all mankind. It reaches out beyond our power to comprehend. It is magnificent and beautiful. It is peace. It is the peace which comforts, which sustains, which blesses all who accept it. It is faith. It is faith in God and His Eternal Son. It is faith in His wondrous ways and message. It is faith in Him as our Redeemer and our Lord. We testify of His living reality. We testify of the divinity of His nature. In our times of grateful meditation, we acknowledge His priceless gift to us and pledge our love and faith. This is what Christmas is really about."

I was reminded that Christmas has nothing to do with the weather outside - whether the ground is covered in white stuff or the grass is green and soft. It has nothing to do with all the things to do on my list. Christmas is so much more than that. It is about the Savior. I know we teach this to our children, but it is good to be reminded of it as well even as an adult.

A Utah Fan Am I!

I may be just a couple thousand miles away from my home town but I am still excited for my team to be playing in the Sugar Bowl on January 2nd!

Since we were away for a while in the states it has been a while since our back lawn got mowed. Today was the day that I finally had some time to do it. The front lawn had gotten long again (had time to mow it just after we got back from the states) as well so I had to do it too. One problem was that I missed the last garbage day where they took the green can and mowed the next day. So that means the can was already full. Not a good combination when your lawn is almost a foot tall.


Here is a picture of how bad the back lawn was. Yes, there were a couple of times when the lawn almost ate the mower -- It's not a very powerful one!

You may be wondering why I all of a sudden stopped talking about the Utes (who are going to win Alabama on January 2nd!) and started talking about the lawn. Well, let me tell you.

Being in the land down under and just being recently off a trip back to the US I was having withdrawls of seeing the beautiful Salt Lake mountains and that wonderful U that you can see blazing on the mountain behind the University of Utah. So, being so far away and not being able to see that U, I decided to make one of my own!

The picture didn't turn out as good as I would have liked but it was getting dark by the time I got to this point.

Much to Stacy's chagrin both of the garbage cans managed to get full at the same time that the U got finished (Wonder how that happened?). So I had to stop. So yes, right now if you were to come out to our house on Sunday you would see a big U in our back lawn. I hope all the people flying into the Sydney airport enjoy it this weekend!

Just so you know Stace made me promise that I would finish mowing as soon as possible next week! Those Cougar fans just don't know a good U when they see one!

Go Utes!

WEEKEND WANDERING

First off Janae I have to show you what I did with that fun picture you took - what do you think? Now for a recap of our weekend. Saturday I decided that I wanted to take the kids to a green area by our house and take pictures of them. Here are a few of my favorite shots - to be honest we took almost 200 pictures and not many worked out where they were all looking at the camera and smiling. Oh well.Later that same day we headed over to Bicentennial Park to play in the fountains. It had been a really hot day, but by the time we got to the fountains to have dinner and a play the wind had picked up and a it was a little cool. That didn't stop the kids from having heaps of fun!!!

After playing in the water we changed their clothes and ate some dinner. Then we found our little secret garden and played around in there for a while. This garden is right by the fountains and reminds me a bit of a garden back home. It has so many of the same flowers my mom plants in her yard. It makes me feel right at home!