Snow Day!

Crazy snowstorm=like 18 inches of snow=Derek shoveling in shorts and boots

Snow Day+Daddy shoveling+new snowpants= cute girl outside helping

Christmas Morning

...dawned early in the Zickgraf household. On Christmas Eve we let the girls each pick a present to open. Avril's was a fantastic Cinderella dress courtesy of Grandma Zan and Xandri chose gummy Lifesaver's, another Grandma Zan gift.

So, naturally, Avril woke up at 6:30am, wanting to wear her Cinderella dress. I decided to let the rest of the house sleep a little longer while I did Avril's hair, Cinerella style. She loved it, and I let her wear a choker of mine as well. She was so cute. Of course, as soon as I finished with her, Xandri was up and wanting to be all princess-y, too. So what could I do? I put her in a pretty little dress and fixed her hair (pigtails are as much as we can sit still for these days, and even that is pretty tough sometimes.

Once everyone was all ready, I had the girls wait at the top of the stairs while Derek and I got set up with video cam & my camera.

The look on Avril's face was priceless. You can see the girls still look a little tired, especially Xandri. But they loved it.




Of course, for Xandri the funnest part was the classic ripping and tearing.










Honestly, it was a whole new experience being the primary giver rather than the receiver. There were few surprises in store for me-- just what Derek got for me.

Which was honestly the BEST SURPRISE EVER! I'm happy to announce that I am married to The Best Husband Ever. (Also the best-looking as you can clearly tell from this Christmas morning face.)


Yes, my friends, the man got me Adobe CS4 this year for Christmas. Yes, the brand-spanking-new design software. I've been positively giddy playing with it and learning new things on it. I have a LOT to learn, I'm totally in over my head in Photoshop, but it'll come. In addition, he got me a couple of photography books, one of which is Canon Rebel XSi/450D for Dummies. It's been so cool to learn how to take creative control of my camera. I'm learning new things all the time and still have much to learn to truly conquer my camera and feel like I'm the master of my domain (not that one... just the camera).


It was great having my dad for Christmas as well. It was a really cool, relaxing Christmas, although in my excitement about Christmas morning, I forgot to plan the rest of the day! I loved shopping for the girls for Christmas, but I didn't plan a Christmas dinner or anything and I really regret it. I love decorating and entertaining with food, some of my best bonding moments have happened over a good meal or a delicious dessert. But there's always next year...

The Derek & Adam Zickgraf Fifth Annual Christmas Party

Alright, since I'm too lazy to organize these pictures into any semblance of coherency, I'm just throwing a bunch of 'em at you. The Derek & Adam Zickgraf 5th Annual Christmas Party was a hit this year. From your amazing hosts to the delightful hors d'oevres to the stellar guest list, from the unbelievable Christmas sweaters to the ever-competitive Magical Tetris tournament, the party was a fantastic blend of tradition and freshness. Enjoy.

(My personal favorite Christmas sweater. On par for the course, Sean.)

This was, unfortunately, the best family shot we got.

(This just says it all, don't you think?)

Juicebox enjoys his "juicebox".

Fun was being had with Magical Tetris...

My favorite pic of the cousins... so sweet.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

...to Grandmother's house we go!

Ok. Let's all pretend that didn't just happen.

However, I do seem to have photo documentation of pre-Christmas fun at Grandma's house. We were, of course, obligated to go up to Boise for the Derek & Adam Zickgraf Fifth Annual Christmas Party, and so spent the weekend before Christmas. Due to the nasty weather, we couldn't leave until the 24th (Aside: I've been wanting to try our very own Christmas at home for a couple years now, but circumstances have made it difficult- ironically, those circumstances were that we were farther from our families. Yes, we had to go home for Christmas because we were farther, not in spite of. End of aside.), but managed to make it home safely in time to meet my dad for Christmas (we invited him down and had a great Christmas with him). Unfortunately for him, the weather got nasty right about the time he had to leave to drive home on Christmas Day.

Anyway, onto pictures.

The girls in their Christmas dresses... aren't they adorable?

I love this kid...

This one, too...

I love the "posing" I get from these two.

Avril clearly loves Nativity sets... fortunately, nothing broke.

Avril with her adorable cousin Izabel. They played a LOT on this trip.
They also traded various items of clothing every time they were together.

Stealing the Show

So does anyone else think that maybe Roman's been getting too much attention lately? Maybe I should spread the photo love around a bit...

Thanksgiving

And there's Thanksgiving.

The mushrooms were aMAZing... I found the recipe in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine, and then relocated it here. I actually substituted portabellos for shiitake mushrooms. I can't
say that we suffered for it!

The drinks were an amazing concoction put together by Cindy & Micaela (my sisters-in-law). Love the whole cups dipped in sugar thing. Very Mormon chic.

And my other favorite: the guys doing the clean-up.



And then after to burn off all those calories, nothing like a rousing game of volleyball, followed by some super competitive basketball, followed again by some oh-so-silly volleyball.
(It involved the boys "handicapping" themselves by only hitting the ball with their heads or kicking it. They did remarkably well. I was glad I was on their team heh...)

The kids obviously had a great time playing with their cousins, watching
movies, jumping on the trampoline (albeit very cold and unsteady little people),
sleeping and eating (Most of that was done by Roman...)

It was great being in Boise for the holiday and wonderful to see Weston one last time
before he left to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) to begin his mission to Kentucky.

Hopefully, there will be another post forthcoming about the other fun that was had over the weekend:
The Milktoast Memorial Magic Tournament
(Milktoast is Weston's nickname).
That's under Derek's jurisdiction, so you'll be hearing about that at his leisure.

Father & Son

What can I say? The kid's in for an interesting life.