Finishing up the year

November

November was a busy month.  In the beginning of November we hiked up to Stuart Falls with my sister and her friend Ashley.  It was nice to get out and a good little hike.








November was also the first time Kyra ever played in snow.  First she wasn't too sure what to think but with daddy's enthusiasm she loved it.

And the BIG NEWS for November was that Joe finished and defended his Thesis.  At his defense his committee mentioned that he did a good job and would do good going for a PHD....our response was NOOOOO!!!  Joe has not exactly enjoyed most of his Masters program and we are itching to get out of Provo and have a real job.

Before Joe defended his Thesis we took a little break from it and went to Montana for Thanksgiving with Joe's family.  Kyra had fun playing with all her cousins and we even took Kyra over to see Matt's Great Daines (Matt is Joe's older brother).  Kyra was soo excited to see them she started shaking and ooh oohing.   She just loved them even though they were huge!  She is a total dog girl!

December

JOE OFFICIALLY GRADUATED!!  He wasn't a big fan of the hoop jumping to fit all of the guidelines, which included contradictory information, but he finished!!!  After he was all done he spent a fair amount of time working on the Organ he has been building up in SLC in a Catholic Cathedral.

For our Christmas tree we took our little family and my sister down to Payson and got a tree permit to chop down our own tree, which is a family tradition for Joe but newer for me and my sister.  We hiked around a lot to find one and ended up choosing the one my sister saw out the window as we were going to a new location.

On 12/12/12 at 12 pm, we were excited to attend my friend Megan's wedding.  I grew up with Megan and it was great to see her marry in the temple to her best friend Skip.  Later that night was their reception, which we brought Kyra to and she flirted it up with Megan's Nephew Luke.  They walked around the church talking to each other, and ended up back in the reception and Luke was so intently following Kyra that he ran into a chair, which made us all smile.  Unfortunately I never took a picture of them, but here is one of the happy couple.



Christmas time was busy, starting with tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert in SLC.  We went to the Sunday one where they did music and the spoken word first and then finished the program afterwards.  It was AMAZING and I wasn't feeling well but soo happy I went!

Later that week our friends Brandon and Rachel came to town from Florida.  Brandon and Rachel are our good friends so it was great to see them.  They helped us frost some of the Christmas cookies we gave out.

 

Then we got to hang out with Joe's cousin and his little family that lived below us for 2 years when we rented a house in Provo.  It was awesome to see them as well, and amusing to see that their little girl who is a year older than Kyra was the same exact size as Kyra (she even weighed less!)

My parents flew into Utah the Sunday before Christmas and we were able to spend lots of time with them.  We had Christmas at our house with my whole family and Kyra had fun opening her presents.  One of her favorite presents was a little robotic dog that looks like a stuffed animal but barks and jumps in a circle.  At first she just liked watching it and got a little scared when it moved, but quickly warmed up to holding.  Now she needs it with her always.

On Christmas day we packed up the car and drove up to a ski house my Uncle and Parents rented up in Eden.  We were there from 12/25-1/2 my family and my uncles family and the occasional friends.  My parents were more than happy to watch and spoil Kyra the whole time.  Kyra slept in a closet in my parents room so it was like a real vacation, I didn't even have to wake up in the morning with Kyra!  Unfortunately almost everyone in the house got the 24-48 hour stomach bug, but other than that it was great.  Kyra, Joe and I had already gotten it earlier in Dec so we didn't have to worry as much about getting sick and we all stayed healthy. Overall we went skiing 4 times.  Joe and I skiing together 3 of the 4 times, the other times one of us was home with Kyra.  We had a great Christmas and celebrated New Years with my family.