Christmas Traditions {5 Days of Christmas}

Since it was our first Christmas together, Jose and I had 5 days of Christmas! 

On our first day of Christmas, we went to Payson for dinner with the Belnap family. We watched "A Wish for Wings that Work" and let Sadie and Landon open the presents we got them. 

On our second of Christmas, we had a lovely Christmas dinner together, followed by opening our Christmas pajamas and watching The Santa Clause. 

On our third day of Christmas, we woke up and opened our presents to each other and our stockings from Santa. Even Sky had one. We had a great time opening up our gifts and just being together. We spent that day playing our new games and then went to see Star Wars for the second time. Overall it was a very fun day for us, but Christmas was not over yet! 

On our fourth day of Christmas, we went over to Jose's parents for the evening. We ate dinner and then I pulled out the sugar cookies to have the girls decorate. We decorated the cookies together and had such a good time doing it! I hope to make it a tradition for years to come! After decorating cookies, we waited until midnight to exchange gifts. Then Jose and I drove home in the first bit of what would be a lot of snow. 

On our last day of Christmas, we woke up early and drove through terrifying snow and ice-covered roads to get to my parents house. One we arrived we ate, and then opened our presents. My family had set up a secret santa gift exchange so we got to exchange our gifts then and watch Nephew S open all his presents. Since he is 1 1/2 he is actually pretty entertaining to watch. Then we opened a present from Garrett and Caisa to everyone... pink and blue balloons, announcing a baby! It was a great surprise (that wasn't very surprising because Caisa seemed tired and nauseous at Thanksgiving...) Then came our favorite part of the day, Skyping Elder Ben! He was happy to see us and meet Emalee. We talked about everything coming up this year and about how crazy the last year was for us. He also bore his testimony in Mandarin for us to hear and we recorded it too. 

It was such a wonderful first Christmas for us! I look forward to many more together! 

{Rehab} starts for Sky

Our sweet Sky finally started rehab this week! First, we went and met Tena and Annette at Alta Dog Rehab. They showed us exercises and stretches that we could do to help our girl get better faster. Then they helped her walk in the underwater treadmill to help build strength in her leg. She did so good!

Then a few days later we took Sky swimming to help her with strength and range of motion. She did amazing! Almost didn't need any help getting in or out of the water. After only 12 minutes though Sky was so tired! Annette was very proud of her and so was I! Sky is getting better!

Christmas Traditions {Festival of Trees}

One of my favorite thing we did this year was go to the Festival of Trees. We went on the last night when our nieces were performing on the main stage. So after watching them perform, Jose and I enjoyed the festival together. We had scones, and enjoyed walking among the beautiful trees. Our favorite was the Legend of Zelda tree, but we also enjoyed the Star Wars and the Harry Potter trees.

Christmas Traditions {Lights at Temple Square}

On Thursday, December 3, Jose and I went to see the lights on Temple Square with some of my family. It's something I had always dreamed of doing with the man who would be my husband. This year, I actually have a husband to go with! So we bundled up and walked around Temple Square. We saw the statue of Christ and listened to the nativity story on the lawn. As I looked at Mary and Joseph, I admired how supportive and understanding Joseph was to Mary. And then it hit me. My Jose is supportive and understanding too. My Jose is caring and kind. As I stood watching the nativity, I felt so much gratitude and love for my husband. I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to visit the temple grounds and reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.

Also, it's so much better with a husband to keep you warm. 

Hip {surgery} for Sky

Our sweet 6 month old Border Collie, Sky, injured herself while playing on November 10th. We immediately knew something was wrong and took her to the emergency vet. An x-ray revealed that Sky had dislocated her hip and would require surgery to put it back in place.

On the morning of the 11th, the surgeon reviewed the x-ray and told us that it was worse than just a dislocation, Sky had broken the head of her femur as well. Now rather than a hip placement surgery, she would receive a Femur Head Osteotomy (FHO) surgery. This is the surgical removal of the head and neck of the femur. In simpler terms, it is the removal of the “ball” part of the ball-and-socket that makes up the hip joint.

Once the femoral head and neck are removed, the surrounding muscles and developing scar tissue work to support the area, and act as a false joint. This means that now when the limb is moved, the forces are transferred to the pelvis rather than the leg itself.

We picked up Sky on the 12th from the vet. She was trying so hard to be her happy, active self but it was obvious she was in pain. The vet estimated it would take 6-8 weeks for her to be confident walking on it like normal. On our way home we stopped to pick up an e-collar (cone of shame) just in case and she was a champ walking three-legged into the store. As soon as we got home and she went potty she hobbled into her crate and fell asleep.

Now Sky is healing so well! We took her to visit the vet on Saturday and she said that Sky is doing great with her rehab and her incision looks awesome. Sky still needs to wear the cone of shame until she gets her sutures out. She tries to run and jump but we have to keep her calm and lying down as much as possible. Her activity is limited to four 5 minute walks a day, and she is all smiles when she does get her walk.

It's been a tough week trying to keep this girl contained and making sure she gets everything she needs to heal properly. Next week she will get her stitches out and hopefully then we can increase activity and stop using the cone of shame.

Sky learned to {Swim}

A couple of weeks ago we discovered Barley's Canine Rec Center in Salt Lake. It's a place that not only boards and has daycare for dogs, but also has a dog pool! So we signed Sky up for a swimming lesson. I couple weeks ago she had her first lesson and did awesome, but just to be sure, we did a second lesson this week. This time was so awesome! She was jumping in the pool and swimming around like a pro. The only struggle is that she gets distracted when other dogs are around so we are going to do some reserved swims before trying open swim again. Just for memories and your enjoyment, here are some pictures of our "Otter Collie".

Coming up the ramp

Jumping in for the ball

Swimming with Mike (the instructor)

Halloween {Weekend}

My family has never really been into Halloween. I always liked the idea of dressing up in costumes, and having parties. So this year, Jose and I decided to throw a Halloween movie night with friends. So on the 30th, we had friends over to watch "Wait Until Dark". No one had seen it but me, and so I did have some fun with one jump scare. I made some extra special treats, including drinks. One was a "Witch's Brew"- lime sherbet with Mountain Dew, and the other was "Vampire's Blood"- cherry 7UP with red food dye to make it more blood-like. It was a fun evening but I forgot to take pictures. 

Then on the 31st, Halloween, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Oliver kids (our nieces and nephew). Jose took Sky and I was stationed with the second youngest who, about halfway through, got too much of a headache to keep walking and she took the youngest's stroller. So then Snow White and I walked a long way collecting candy. The older kids were plowing on when sweet Snow looked at me and said, "I'm done" and refused to continue. So Jose and I walked her home while the other kids finished. It was a different experience for me, as I have never taken a child Trick-or-Treating, but I LOVED it! I had so much fun! 

On Monday the 1st, we celebrated Dia de los Muertos with the McBrides. We invited them over to watch the Book of Life and enjoy some popcorn and sherbet floats. The girls told us all about their Halloween with their cousins. It was another fun evening! 

We had so much fun this weekend! We loved spending time with our friends and family this Halloween weekend!