Hickman Family Christmas

It was so fun for us to have Askie with us on Christmas... he doesn't much care about Christmas, but we enjoyed getting him some special Christmas treats! :)

Sweet little Sophia was all decked out in her Christmas finery... she looked adorable and there were many arguments over who got to hold her. Haha! I am sure I held her more than my fair share, but she is just so cuddly, I couldn't help myself.
This is the very cute sign we got from the Hickman's.... it will look fabulous in our home. :)Troy giving Sophia some eskimo kisses. :)
Sophia's cute Christmas outfit... "all mommy wants for Christmas is a silent night" So cute!
Avery holding Sophia, with a little help from Darren
Madison
Sherri and I decided to play dress up with the new dress Avery got for her doll, and see if it fit Sophia... Viola! It does! And with a little room to spare, since as you can see if even fit over the clothes she already had on. Haha!
Avery in her pretty new dress from Grandma, sharing her doll's dress with Sophia.
Sophia and Colleen
I didn't do a very good job of getting photos of everyone, but it was wonderful to spend Christmas with Troy's family... we missed the Burgoyne's though, and hope we get to see them soon!!

Christmas morning at the Ottley's

Merry Christmas!!! Who ever heard of having to wake up a child on Christmas morning?? Well, we all arrived early at the Ottley house for breakfast and to see what Santa brought... Avery was sound asleep. Haha! She woke up soon enough and we dug into the presents and enjoyed lots of laughing and playing. The a delicious breakfast was served, complete with doughnuts specifically for the "anti-egg boy." Haha! Troy was grateful to have the doughnuts! Thank you to the Ottley's for including Troy and I in Christmas morning! We loved it!
Darren got a new gun.... check out those crazy eyes!! I am a little nervous... Hahaha!! Speaking of guns... did you know guns are illegal in Japan? Apparently they are.... as we quickly found out when Darren opened this present. Kiko, Darren's brother David's Fiancee, was VERY nervous when Darren opened his new gun, and hid behind David in a bit of a panic. It was the first time she had ever seen a gun and she didn't quite understand why someone would give Darren such a present.
Madison got a new guitar... Troy is excited to give her lessons. :)
Avery got a new doll... It was so fun to have some of Darren's family there to celebrate with us! This is Darren's sister Ashley (and the shoulder belongs to his Mother, Elaine)Darren's Brother David and his Fiancee, Kiko (sp????) were visiting from Japan. Kiko is from Japan, and David has lived in Japan for a year and a half or so.

Happy Birthday Madi!

Baby snow leopards are cute!

We've had so much fun at the zoo this summer! And we are lucky enough to have tons of new baby animals, which has been so fun! On this particular day, Troy and I took Avery and Madi to the zoo with us... so much fun!Look at this adorable little face!! The mama snow leopard must have been worn out...

I think this tiger wanted to eat Troy for lunch.... The Bear's tongue totally cracks me up!

Back in Salt Lake...

Since arriving back in SLC we've been very busy with wedding plans, but we've managed to have lots of fun too.....
-A concert at the Gallivan Center...- An afternoon at the pool... - A couple trips up to hear the Utah Symphony perform at the Deer Valley Music Festival.... to see Abba (in the rain!) and for some Mozart and a Vivace party. - Lunch and shopping with Paulette, Madi and Ashliegh.... miss them tons!!- A reception and preview of the RWDC show coming up in September... can't wait! The company is performing works by the TONY nominated choreographer, Karole Armitage.
- The MLS All-Star game against Everton- A ReAL game... fun way to celebrate the 24th of July!- Even a Kenny Chesney Concert, along with Lady Antebelum and Miranda Lambert... fun night!
And lots of hanging out in the A/C trying to stay cool! :)