Christmas Traditions

The whole reason that holidays are so fun and we look forward to them is because of traditions.

This year I'll admit that I have been feeling to sick to care (plus Kyle has worked every holiday), but I will save all the excitement and fun planning for next year when I will care even more!

I have been thinking about why I love Christmas so much and it is because I have amazing parents that have always tried to make it so special :)

These are some Christmas' that I remember:

1991

In Australia I got an awesome rainbow bike with training wheels! And if you look closely in the bottom picture, my first camera! lol

1992

My mom made that doll house for me.  I mean"Santa's elves" made that doll house for me AND my little mermaid blanket that I still have, but all the silk on the edges was rubbed off during the days that I sucked my thumb.

1998

I believe this is the beginning of the tradition to make gingerbread houses with my moms side of the family.  We even started making homemade gingerbread parts for them.

1999

Our first Christmas with Ben and Josh and the beginning of getting matching Christmas pajamas to open on Christmas Eve! Josh was a stud dancing with the cowboy Santa you see there.

2001

Matching pajama dog pile! (we also started doing pyramids this year too)

I remember we all got tubes that year and on Christmas day we all went sledding! It was so much fun!

2003

Matching footie pajamas!

Mom and dad always made us go into the family room to see our presents one by one so that mom could film each of us.  After a few years I finally convinced them to let me go first.

 2003

Still making gingerbread houses with the cousins.  The family also started making scrapbook calendars every year to give to each family for Christmas.

That year at moms house I got my first ever digital camera AND it recorded videos!  The first videos I made were of all of us sledding in Ogden.

2004

I got a convertible that year! So spoiled! Mom said I didn't have a heart cause I didn't seem excited enough, but I promise I was! lol

2007

Jake and I got snowboards and I tried to learn how to snowboard that year! I let Kyle try mine out and he picked it up a lot faster because he isn't as scared as I am to get hurt.  That was the time that Jake broke his collar bone on the mountain.

2008

This was the last Christmas that our family was all together.  We have had missionaries out ever since so our 7 year tradition will be talking to missionaries on Christmas!

Mom usually reads a Christmas book that night and we watch Christmas oranges and all get an orange to eat during the movie.  In the morning we read the Christmas story in the bible before we go downstairs to see our presents.

The other tradition we have is writing a note in a stocking we have for Jesus telling him what gift we will give him for that year.

That year on Christmas Eve we all played Rock Band together and Kyle was there with us.

2011

Our Christmas present from mom and dad that year was a trip to Disneyland and we left the day after Christmas! I love presents that are fun things to do :) and I love road trips! We all got to ride down in the Suburban and were driving back together on New Year's Eve.

2012

Our Christmas present from mom was a snowmobiling trip up in Park City! Kyle thought we just had to follow the guide the whole time, but when we got to the top there was a big bowl that we got to go play in! So fun!

Besides Christmas Day there are family Christmas parties we go to each year a couple times we even went and rode on the Polar Express!  With my dads side of the family Santa comes and we have usually played chimes and sang carols together.

Kyle's family goes to Temple Square every year to see the lights.

We have also started going to see Savior of the World for the past few years and have a big family sleepover.  I love sleepovers! Especially when Stephanie spills her hot chocolate in my sleeping bag.

Every year we would always get a new ornament for the Christmas tree to represent something we had done that year, it makes decorating the Christmas tree SO much fun when we remember all the things we have done over the years!

And of course it's not Christmas unless I have watched Elf, The Grinch and The Santa Claus sometime in December! My three favorite Christmas movies :)

Best Thanksgiving Ever!

Kyle and I are pregnant!

Today I am 13 weeks along and the last 7 have been MISERABLE!

I'm so excited though because we have been planning this for 2 years now.

November 14th we had our first appointment and got our first ultrasound.

Our favorite part was hearing the babies heartbeat (we have been calling her grape and assuming it's a girl) and seeing how much she wiggles around in there!

So we planned a big Thanksgiving dinner with everyone to announce it.  Kyle had to work on Thanksgiving so it worked out perfect to have everyone over on Sunday.  

The same time we were planning this dinner my dad said that he also had an announcement that he needed everyone together for and asked if he could do it the same day.  We were all making guesses about what his announcement was.  Either he was going to be the next bishop, he has cancer or they are moving.

Sunday November 23rd we got to dads house at 3pm for his announcement before dinner.

The rest of the bishopric was there so we were sure he was bishop!  But then so were some of the young women…

Dad said a prayer then said, "We have an announcement, go Emma."

She stood up, ripped open a white 8x10 envelope and read, "Dear Sister Forsyth", (this is where she started crying and I started sobbing!)

EmmaLee is leaving on December 31st to serve a mission in Lansing, Michigan!

WHAT?!?! It was pretty much like the day I saw my mom in the temple on my wedding day- the best shock ever.  I am so excited for her! Missions are the best things EVER!  Even though it means that since 2009 our family will not be together again until 2016.

Half way through dinner I gave my moms these cards and it was so fun!  All the announcements worked out perfect since we had everyone together.

Lots to be thankful for.

We hadn't been to one of Kyle's family dinners since August, so we tried planning one for Monday so we could see everyone while he was here, since we couldn't make it to Thanksgiving either and also tell his family the big news, but they weren't as easy to get together.  Everyone knows now though so the secret is out! Yay!

Now I just need to survive the last couple weeks of this semester!

Last month I got to Photograph Dakota and Natasha's wedding in Ogden and it was beautiful! They got married on the 16th too, just like Kyle and I and Jake and Kristi :)

I also got to go to another mission reunion, over general conference weekend, and see President and Sister Tanner!  These were pretty much all the missionaries I knew there, I had no idea who all the newer ones were.

Throw Back to Birthday

This year I was thinking about my birthday, the amazing people that make birthdays special for me, how I can do the same for others on their birthday, which were my favorites and why.

So these are my birthday memories and all the good reasons to get friends and family together!

September 28, 1988

12:30 pm, 8lbs, Layton Hospital

1st birthday mom made me a Winnie the Pooh cake.

2nd birthday my mom turned Winnie the Pooh into a Koala cake while we were living in Australia.

3rd birthday we went to Chuck-E-Cheese while we were visiting Utah!

To this day I deny ever liking the Simpsons! And to this day I give my mom a hard time about making a Bart Simpson birthday cake for a 4 year old little girl!

My 5th birthday was the first in Pleasant Grove.  I had a Barbie cake and Ashley Heil and Sariah Jurgens were there.

6th birthday- I'm awesome and blowing out candles. That is all.

My 7th birthday we went to Hogle Zoo with my cousins!

My 8th birthday was a big one because I got to be baptized on my birthday! That day I remember I had an Esmeralda cake and my parents told me we were going to Disneyland.  Later I had a halloween birthday party with my friends: Katey Shelton, Ashli Stringer, Taylor Both, Sariah, Ashley and Kamini.

The couches that were in our house were stylin.

9th birthday I went to Classic Skating AND I invited boys to my birthday party, including my cousin, Dakota, there with Katey and Ashley.

My 10th birthday happened back when I was a rebel and thought it would be cool to wear a 2 piece swimsuit.  I had a sweet pool party at the Cortland Ridge apartments where my mom lived right after her and my dad got divorced.

Amanda Berry, Katey, Meredith Jones, Alisha Olsen, Me, Sariah and Ashley

Number 11 was one of my favorites!  This was back when I was in love with horses, ya know with the horse wallpaper in my room and the horse blanket on my bed.

I got to have a slumber party at my Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's farm in Cedar Fort.

Not only that, but mom would get us the yummiest ice cream cakes from Dairy Queen that were SO good and became my favorites!

Me, Sariah, Katey, Ashley, Alisha and Taylor

12th birthday we went to the Haunted Forest in American Fork.

Sariah, Katey Taylor, Alisha, Lauren Dommer, Ashley

My 13th birthday I remember we were in Lake Powell and my parents got me a cell phone for my birthday! It was a brick, but I had a sweet blue hawaiian cover for it.

We also went bowling for my birthday party and had an ice cream cake eating contest!

Kayla, me, Alisha, Melanie Davis, Erin Perry, Katey, Natasha Love, Madeline Shelton and Ashley

I remember my 14th birthday was right when Stephanie had just been born.

My friends kidnapped me in the morning to take me to Sonic for breakfast.  I threw up at school though because Sonic breakfast burrito cheese is icky!

That night we slept in a couple hotel rooms that my mom rented for us and some boys came over to swim in the pool with us.

Heidi Mitchell, Mckell Wilson, Lindsay, Chelsea Yarn, Megan Meacham, Sariah, Madeline, Allyce Wilson, Whitney Warburton, Ashley, Katey, Brittany Ewell, Jessica Edwards, Mckenzie Edwards, Meagan Johnson, Krista Mortensen, Alisha, Carrie Jensen and Melanie.

This was right before a giant backyard party for my 15th birthday. 

There was lots of food and Karaoke!

Katey, Ashley, Megan, Sariah, Cali Cutler and a million other people including the BRPs and NKDs ;)

SWEET 16!

My mom sent a limo to pick me up at the high school and we went to the mall to get Cold Stone ice cream and then to see Cinderella Story at the theater.

That night I was driving home and got pulled over for not having my headlights on, right as my parents drove by.

Hilary, Ashely, Katey, Kelli Black, Kelsey Valgardson, Megan King, Carrie, Cali, Jessica, Ashely Davis and Bethany Brown.

I think my 17th birthday started my near tradition of going to Pizza Factory for my birthday! 

I got pulled over on the way to the restaurant, but did not get a ticket!

Kayla, Carrie, Ashley, Darren Hill, Brad Nichols, Josh Packer, Krista, Shanelle and Cali. 

For my 18th birthday I was already living at Branbury in Provo. 

My roommates had a pizza/karaoke party for me.

Jana, Meagan, Lyndsi and Sarah were there with Tyler, Ashley and Morgon.

The next night Katey and Ashley took me to Macaroni Grill!

My 19th birthday was SUPER SPECIAL! It was the first time I ever saw Kyle :) Hoo Doo

Although he was there with Erynn. lol

My roommates were amazing and decorated my car and we went to lunch at the Pizza Factory of course.

Becky Brock, Ashley Fausett, Erynn Neilson, Jaycee Turner, Cozette Ward, Kayla and Cali all came.

Number 20- Kyle and I got to celebrate our birthdays together for the first time!

I took him to the Mayan and Comedy Sports, then he had his first Dairy Queen ice cream cake!

He and my roommates planed an awesome surprise party for me on my birthday.  Kyle and I went to see Kung Fu Panda at the dollar theater and when we got home everyone was there!

Lyndsey, Nicole Fernuik, Maren Jensen, Ashley, Marilyn, Becky and Nick Strong.

For our 21st birthdays I took Kyle fishing at Payson Lakes with Bob Homer and then we went back to his house for cake and to play games.

My birthday was celebrated when we went to Pizza Factory after I received my endowment at Timpanogos Temple on 9/26.  I also remember that it was the day we went to the airport to welcome home Kyle's best friend, Jon, from his mission.

 On my actual birthday I went to work at Gandolfos. After I got home Kyle took me to the park to try and fly a kite.  My family also took us to the Hee Haws corn maze to celebrate with me that night and then to McGraths Fishhouse for dinner (Just like on our 1st date.)

I celebrated my 22nd birthday on my mission.  It was the day of transfers and I was moved to a new area, Piracicaba and I met Sister Poast for the first time.  She found out it was my birthday and took me to McDonalds and paid for my meal! I love her!

For Kyle's 23rd B-day on the mission I mailed him a birthday party in a box so he made himself his birthday cake :)

I went to Rumbi Island Grill with my parents on my 23rd birthday and missed Kyle ALOT!

On my 24th birthday we found out that Hayden would be coming home from his mission so we went to pick him up from the airport that day.  Before I left work though Katey brought this to me! How sweet is that?! Best Friend Ever.

I went with my family to the temple that night and then to Pizza Factory.  Kyle had the Police Academy I remember his companion Elder Whitby was there from Washington to stay the night.

Over the weekend though Kyle took me to the Melting Pot for dinner AND we bought me a new car!

This was the year that we started the tradition of going to Tucanos for Kyle's birthday.  When we got home from dinner I had a surprise party planned for Kyle back at our apartment! It was so much fun!

There is already a blog post about our 25th birthdays, they involved Pizza Factory and Tucanos with Jon and Sydney Juarez!

 Which brings us to the current year- 26!

The year we get kicked off our parents health insurance and become 100% adults! Yay!

I didn't get to see Kyle on his birthday and he didn't get to see me on mine, but we still celebrated!

Kyle took me to Red Lobster and to see Little Mermaid and Tuachan and it was AMAZING!!  

He also got me my first smart phone. He just has to teach me how to use the thing now.

My little blue phone lasted me 3 years and 7 months!

Mom made me a yummy family sunday dinner and we were able to go to dinner with all our parents throughout the week.  They are all so great!

Kyle and I went fishing and I made him aloha meatballs for his birthday!  We still got to go to Tucanos with Dakota and Natasha though too.

I love birthdays! Not just mine, but everyone should always celebrate their birthday!

Thank you everyone that wished both me and Kyle a happy birthday this year.

Because of that it was.

Yay for road trips to Cedar City, snuggles from Meeko in the car and Rascal Flatts the whole way!