Well folks, I’m afraid this post won’t be particularly healthy! We are now within days of Christmas (eeee!) and I have been livin’ the life of a CrAzY lady.
Consequently, my “healthy lifestyle” has been less than impressive lately. I have managed to get in a few quick runs on the treadmill and some short at-home workouts though. I’ve also been trying to minimize the Christmas goodies/Christmas parties/Christmas “eat whatever the heck you want” problems ’round here.
It’s been tough.
We’ve sure been having a lot of fun though!
Last night, we went up to my parent’s house for their annual Christmas party.
We had dinner and my sister and I took a typical picture with our food….
We also made Graham Cracker candy houses and it’s always so much fun!
We’ve been making candy houses every year for as long as I can remember! It was something I always looked forward to when I was a kid!
My mom asked all of us to bring some candy to decorate the houses with and HOLY HANNAH, I think we delivered on that assignment….
That picture is CLASSIC because my dad has the biggest sweet tooth of all of us! He was the first one to “belly up” to the candy table. Ha ha.
The kids had so much fun decorating houses and eating candy! They also filled their houses (i.e. vaults) FULL of candy! I enjoyed snitching the Peanut M&Ms. My favorite!
We also had the kids reenact the Nativity story. We were so happy to have a real baby to play Baby Jesus this year. We also decided to have my daughter play Mary since her baby brother was Jesus…
So sweet.
That cute little boy (my nephew) sitting next to my daughter was Joseph. Mary and Joseph made quite the pair this year! Too funny.
We had a great night.
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On Saturday night, we went on a fun “Christmas Drive” with the kiddos. We loved looking at all the beautiful Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music. We also stopped by the Draper City Park so we could see the beautiful Tree of Life.
Photo Credit: LDS Living
The park was so busy and we couldn’t find a place to park, so Kev just dropped off me and the older kids.
We were a little bit hyper and totally embarrassed my oldest son. Hee hee.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that “I’m the Mom” and am supposed to be all mature and stuff. Dang it.
By the looks of my two kid’s faces, it looks like the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, right?
We had a fun night.
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I wanted to tell you guys about a couple of fun, random things…
I was recently invited by Kohl’s to be a part of the Kohl’s Yes2You Rewards Health and Wellness Preview Group. I’m excited to be a part of this group and for the opportunity to work with Kohl’s and other like-minded people!
Kohl’s recently sent me a fun “Holiday Wellness Kit” that I loved!
Isn’t that sweet? It was so nice to get such a fun surprise!
I also did some of my Holiday shopping at Kohl’s and got so many great deals!!!
Here’s one of my favorite “great deals” that I got….
Aren’t they so pretty!???! Yes, I bought these for my sister who’s birthday was last week. They retailed for $60, but Kohl’s is having a great sale right now AND I found a coupon, so I got them for $15!
I <3 bargain shopping!
I also decided to go back to Kohl’s a couple days later and get the same earrings for me (I told Kev he was so nice to buy them for me for Christmas!) and a pair for my daughter (I’m hoping she doesn’t read the blog until after Christmas!)
Oh, and just so ya know these earrings are very nice quality! I know a lot of times stores jack up prices and then put things “on sale” so you think you’re getting a great deal, but these earrings are very nice!
There were a lot of other colors/styles too! They also had beautiful necklaces that I loved. This jewelry is on sale until Christmas and you can get a coupon on the Kohl’s website for an additional 15-20% off. Woo hoo.
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I’m also happy to say that I recently WON some Jaybird Wireless Headphones from a giveaway that Brittany at My Own Balance was having.
I was thrilled! These headphones are amazing; great quality sound, great fitting headphones that actually STAY in place, and there are no cords to have to deal with (except for the small cord attaching the ear buds together!) LOVE!
Thanks so much Brittany!
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Well, I have a zillion and one things to get done before Christmas, so I need to wrap this up! I will leave you with one more sweet picture….
Kev watched some football with the baby today! I told Kev I can’t resist a man with a baby….especially when it’s MY man and MY baby. Ha ha.
I hope you all have a wonderful night!!
**Kohl’s sent me the complimentary items pictured in this post, but the text and opinions are entirely my own!**
OMG what actor does your dad look like! It’s going to piss me off until I figure it out! ha ha ah! MERRY MERRY XMAS WEEK 😀 😀 😀
LOL! One of my good friends always said that my dad reminded her of Mr. Howell from Gilligan’s Island! Too funny. I’ve watched a lot of movies where I find myself thinking someone reminds me of my dad. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
What a great week ! That tree is amazing… never seen anything like it ! Happy Christmas to you & your family.
I really loved the tree too! I saw a picture of it on Facebook and then decided we all needed to find it and see it “for reals!” It was beautiful!
I have all but given up on the healthy eating until after all these Christmas parties are over. Oh and the New Years parties. Oh and the leftovers. Shoot! I’d better start now.
Oh I hear ya! It seems like the parties/food/temptations just keep coming and coming. Hopefully after the New Year, I can actually get all of the junk out of my house!
Congratulations on your partnership with Kohl’s!
Didn’t I see your dad in A Christmas Carol? Just kidding, but that picture looks exactly like Scrooge himself. So funny!
Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family!
Thanks Deborah! LOL, my dad DOES look just like Scrooge! Holy cow!!! Too funny. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
HOLY CANDY TABLE!! Your dads expression is priceless. That photo with tree lights is awesome, andddd so are those Jaybirds! Awesome win.
That candy table was a little crazy! My dad’s expression makes me laugh too. He’s actually a funny, happy, smiley guy, but for some reason he likes to “look serious” in a lot of his pictures! Weird. I was so happy to win the Jaybirds too!!
The candy houses are such a fun tradition, and boy did you all ever bring the candy WOW!!!!
I love candy houses SO MUCH, but it’s a little crazy how much candy we produce at that event! One of my brother-in-law’s always comes with TONS of Costco sized bags of candy!
I love that you’re a fun mom and I’m sure your kids do too. Your parents’ Christmas party looks like so much fun. What an awesome tradition.
Oh, thanks so much Char! My kids and I have a lot of fun together…sometimes too much. Ha ha. We had so much fun at the parent’s Christmas party! I love Christmas, family and traditions. 😉
It looks like you had a great time. 🙂 I understand the less-than-healthy lifestyle around Christmas time. I recently lost 80lbs and was on a roll with eating clean and trying to get some ecercise in but unfortunately, Christmastime…it’s so hard. But you know what, after the Holidays are over, there’s all the time in the world to get back into a healthy lifestyle! Enjoy your Christmas!
Wow, congrats about the 80 pound loss! That’s incredible. I know Christmastime is so tough for healthy lifestyles! It’s been a lot of fun, but I’m looking forward to life slowing down a bit and my healthy lifestyle getting into a normal groove again!
What fun pictures! Don’t worry about not being too healthy. That’s what New Years resolutions are for! LOL. Merry Christmas!
The Grass Skirt
The Mini Skirt
Thanks! Ya know, I finally decided to just relax and enjoy the season too! I love Christmas, but I also love making goals at the New Year! Merry Christmas to you too!
Merry Christmas, Melanie!!! I love the picture of the table full of candy with your dad at the head of it. And, so fun that all the kids re-enact the nativity scene.
Thanks so much Kim! I hope you had a Merry Christmas too! We had so much fun with all the candy and with family. Love this time of year.
LOL “my man and my baby” that was so funny! All such beautiful, adorable photos! Hope you had an amazing Christmas Melanie! Omg…that candy table! Wow! Please tell me he doesn’t eat candy like that year round, lol!
Thanks so much! I know that candy table is pretty frightening/exciting, depending on how you look at it! 😉 Thankfully, this is only a “once a year” event, but my dad has always had a huge sweet tooth! Funny thing is my mom really doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth!
LOVE the tree of life picture!!!
I hope you and your family had a very Merry Christmas!
Thanks so much! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well!