Now that the festivities have died down and our lives are returning to "somewhat-normal" we'd like to reflect back on all the fun stuff we shared together. Our love still comes your directions from Poh-dunk Idaho, yet we kinda enjoyed the quiet ghosttown-like atmosphere that is Rexburg during BYU-I's winter break. Very refreshing to not have to risk your life each time you step out your front door, thanks to the confused, transplanted, non-winter-experienced drivers that attend the college. But as normalcy returns, so does the risks to our lives. =)
Christmas was a fun day. Santa came later than usual on Christmas Eve, therefore we were all very tired! Despite his tardiness, he made good on Daisy's only 3 wishes. He granted her a beautiful new Christmas dress that would fit her for a while, her Dad's safety, and a friend.
Her friend's name is Riley, and she is a charming little 9 year old, home-schooled niece of our downstairs neighbors. The two of them are amazingly attached at the hip whenever the opportunity arises. And the holidays were no exception. Riley's extended family has become our Idaho-surrogates. We enjoyed the homemade-pizza contest with them on Christmas Eve, and then a nice casual dinner on Christmas night. In addition to the bonds two little girls about that age would obviously strike up, they both attend the same ballet academy during the week. They also share the same passion for "Phantom of the Opera", both claiming the Phantom as their "hottie". (Yes! What did I tell you about those gray hairs?! Forget gray, it's just all falling out, now!) So Daisy feels content having someone to giggle with, and play dress-ups & "high-schoolers" with, and just enjoy being a girl with.
As far as Kyle's safety, she's been worried sick, missing him something fierce! Well, her best gift
of all was when she called with her Christmas wishes and thank-you's for her Grandma Debbie that morning. Her dad answered the phone, and Daisy assumed it was her Uncle Cameron, so she said "Hi Cameron, can I talk to Grandma Debbie?" Kyle then said, "This isn't Cameron, this is Kyle." This didn't quite register for Daisy (since in her mind Daddy was still in Kyrgyztan), so she said, "Whatever, can I talk to Grandma Debbie?"...Kyle had to say, "Daisy, it's your dad, Kyle"... You'd have thought it was the 4th of July with fireworks a-blazing! She was soooooo excited, not only that he was home, but the truthfulness in Santa's words when he told her that he knew there were many good people looking after her daddy for her, and that he was very safe. Talking to her Daddy brought her so much peace that day!
Aside from what Santa bestowed upon our little Sparkle, she (as usual) was spoiled rotten! =) Though it's hard to discipline that desire, we know, we've tried. She was excited to see the wooden easel (complete w/ canvases, paintbrushes, and different types of paint) that Santa left for her as well. Her heart melted when she opened boxes filled with lovely porcelin dolls, a beautiful victorian teddy bear, 
books, some of her favorite movies, a PeterBuilt semi-truck livestock hauler for her horses, fun games, and of course (this is the getting-too-grown-up part of her) the HIGHLY stylish clothes and accessories! She even received, what looks like, a freeze-dried kitty on it's own satin pillow! Oh my, you'd have thought she'd died and gone to Heaven. That kitty has sat at the foot of her bed since Christmas day. According to her, the only way it could've been better was if it had been a real one that would want to eat our fish! (Seth's very grateful it's not!) What a kid.
Seth's Christmas was filled with goodies as well. Daisy chose a very sturdy, new 9' fly rod for him, and then carefully selected (with the help of the sweet old guy at the local fly shop) a box of flies, perfect for Eastern-Idaho fishing. There was no bringing him down from cloud 9, 10, or 11! It's been all 
we can do to keep him off the front porch, practicing his casts in his unders! He was also very ecstatic about the warm clothes, and great books he received from everybody. Santa left Seth & Daisy a fantastic present: matching remote-controlled tumble cars! They race those darned things all over the house, terrorizing all order on the floor. They LOVE it! Over all, this was one of his giddiest Christmases ever. Now whether that's due to his excitement over the gifts he received, of whether it was because of those that he gave, we'll never be quite sure. However he did mention the fact that he loved the cozy warmth of this year (???); we'll go with that then. 
Keely enjoyed the opportunity Christmas gave her to rest her tired toes. Recognizing this, Seth and Daisy articulately planned and prepared her gifts. They created a humungous gift bag chaulked-full of pampering items, including: her favorite Vanilla 
bubble bath, fun massagey things from Bath & Body Works, her favorite lip gloss, a new loofah, and on and on. It was a vacation in a bag! How fun. They also chose a very nice Singer sewing machine for her, in addition to old episodes of "Fraggle Rock" and "The Lone Ranger" on DVD. Keely said this Christmas was the Christmas of her favorite things 
(Sound of Music soundtrack in the background)! From the family, as well as Santa, Keely saw many new and exciting books... and I believe she's started them all and has only a few left to finish at this point. Her most favorite gift this 
year came from Seth. Due to her allergic reactions to the platinum in Keely's ring, Seth gave her a simple Silver band. And you better BELIEVE the tears were-a-flowin'! All in all, it was a lovely holiday, cozy, and full of love.
Since Christmas, Keely was able to find some fun gray fabric on clearance, and a nice little pattern and began a dress for Daisy. It's all been very exciting, and has taken over the kitchen table in it's entirety. Daisy's been so excited to see thread flying, and scraps tossed everywhere, that she's applied her genius in many ways. Recycling stuff like that into cards and what not has always kinda been her thing, however when she tied gray scraps of fabric onto her body and started dancing around the house in a primitive-styled tribal dance singing about the elephant tribe she belonged to, it was too much and we had to snag a snapshot of her!
The dress itself is going well, and only needs Keely to slow down long enough to put a zipper in it, finish the neck, and hem the skirt. Looks nice, and we're highly impressed. So impressed in fact that Daisy's already put in her order for another one, with a nice blue-violet, floral pattern to it. =) We'll see how that goes and keep you posted.
New Year's Eve was spent at Riley's aunt's house, playing games, eating all sorts of grub, and being too loud. It was 
fantastic, though it wasn't the same without being at the Grow's house and ringing the big ol' church bell! Luckily for us, with the new year, came a new time for church: 12:30pm! It was a welcomed change, especially immediately after the late night before. Daisy's now moved into a "Senior" Primary class, and loves being an example to the younger kids. We're glad that she feels that responsibility and is willing to meet it head on.
Seth's Steakhouse will open, hopefully, on Martin Luther King day. They had a couple run throughs with family and friends recently (so as to get the crew experienced up a little). Seth was assigned to the grill out on the restaraunt's floor, and did extremely well under pressure. The big mistakes were with the waitstaff, and the back kitchen... the grill did A-OK!!! With many compliments on their steaks & chops. So, Seth's excited and can't wait to see how the rest of the community reacts to the new joint. Should be fun to watch, as people have always said there are no good restaraunts in Rexburg... let's see how delicious they find their own words now. =) NOTE: BEST PRIME RIB EVER!!!!!
So there it is, every last yummy detail. We loved all the holiday cards and wishes from each of you! Thank you for the lovely gifts, they are very much appreciated. We hope your holiday season was as over-flowing in blessings as ours was. Our greatest love we send to you, and please keep checking in. We'll continue posting info as we go along our little Idaho journey here and we'll keep you included in on our happenings. Love to each of you! XOXOXOXO (muah!)
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