DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!

Has anyone else in Utah attended the Dicken's Christmas Festival and actually enjoyed it?  Nate and I decided to take Morgan and go last night since I started making a little extra money tutoring.  I noticed on their webpage that you could save a $1 by  buying tickets in advance online, and since every dollar counts, I did that, and saved .75 a ticket because there's always a fee when you buy online.  So $12.50 and high expectations later we arrived at the Utah State Fair Park where of course you have to pay $5 for parking.  $17.50! Okay, whatever, it may still be worth it.  Have you ever paid $17.50 to go to a flea mall, because that's basically what we did?!  The advertisement said "not just another craft show."  It promised entertainment, caroling, and Father Christmas.  Entertainment came in the form of a young girls dancing show.  That's cute and fine if there's more to it.  No Carolers.  Oh, and you want your child to see Father Christmas.  I was told that would cost $20 more!  You have to be kidding me.  Yes, there was a lot of food.  Yes, there were lots of shopping opportunities.  But just because you put "Ye Olde" in front of a word does not make it Olde!  Ye Olde Mexican Bags.  Ye Olde Navajo Tacos!  Not to mention, all of this requires money and we just paid $17.50 to get into the place.  Okay, there were the free reindeer to see.  And there was a free carriage ride from one building to another if you could wait in line for it.  That's what we got for our $17.50.  Next time, I'd choose Hogle Zoo lights instead for sure!

I don't really like confrontation, but I was so disappointed I decided to express my concerns to someone in charge, honestly, hoping for a refund.  I still want to enjoy a Christmas activity!  So I sent out an e-mail expressing my wish to speak to someone, and just a few hours later received a phone call.  It was nice to have my e-mail answered quickly.  I expressed my concerns nervously but calmly and this is what I was told.  "I'm sorry you didn't enjoy yourself.  If you had found me last night I would have showed you the free stuff."  "You can sit on Father Christmas's lap for free.  It only costs to have a picture.  Whoever told you that must have misunderstood you."  This is my problem?  She'll take my concerns to the board.  How does that help my family this year?  What a disappointment?  I'm sorry, but I would not suggest this activity to anyone I know.  Well, unless they like to spend money for the chance to spend more money.  Go to "Ye Olde Wal-Mart" or "Ye Olde Target" instead!

Thanks for letting me vent!

How did a month go by!

A couple of months ago I set a goal to blog every week.  That lasted about as long as my "diet"!  Now it's been a month since my last blog...oops.  So here's a catch up!

Morgan is now almost 14 months old and an absolute joy of our lives.  She recently conquered going up the stairs, which is a fun game when we chase her down the hallway. She's also had a couple of big falls which is stressful for Mom.  But i'm glad to see her growing.  She is finally pulling herself up to stand and is gaining a lot of strength in her legs, so I'm not so worried anymore.  She'll learn to walk...she's just on her own schedule!  Aren't we all?  She can point to her hair and belly button but not her nose...oh, no, that would be too easy...instead she can find mom's nose, or dad's nose, or the nose of a little girl from down the street, and expects a nice HONK when she finds it.  She loves to watch Super Why, Dinosaur Train, and Caillou.  We love to watch her study new things, so intent on learning how everything works. 

She still loves books, especially the ones Grandma Andrea gives her, you know, the ones with the buttons that she pushes over and over and over so it sings the same song over and over and over...those books that Grandparents buy but never keep at their own house! Honestly, I love them, they don't bother me at all.  I'm just silly enough to love singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas that many times!  And if it makes her happy, I'm happy.

We had a fun Thanksgiving down in St. George with Nate's family, where we got the exciting news that Morgan will get a cousin in April!  Congrats Sam and Erin.  We're excited to add more babies to the family.  Morgan's schedule got a little confused while we were there as most babies do while on vacation.  So as we were eating Thanksgiving dinner, Morgan did what we all dream of doing....she ate some potatoes, rolls, turkey, and lots and lots of apple-cranberry sauce.  And then....

The eyes started to droop

 The head started to bob to one side

 And to the other

 and you would think a good parent would whisk their child off to bed, but oh no, I was too busy laughing and watching until finally

 down the head went!  Sleeping at Thanksgiving dinner.  A dream come true!

We also had fun going to see the new muppet movie thanks to Grandma Lundell, and we all loved it, even Morgan, who made it all the way through.  Almost.  Only missed about the last 5 minutes!  What a long attention span that baby girl has!

Most of our entertainment at dinner now is thanks to Morgan.  She loves to eat one bite and drop the next on the floor...luckily we have a dog who takes care of most of the sweeping.  Boog is finally earning his keep.  But definitely the most entertaining dinner yet was The First Spaghetti. 

You can just see the excitement in those blue eyes:

 Yummy and sweet at this point

 Yes, this is the difference a few minutes can make!

We recently picked out a Christmas tree...one of my conditions of having to spend Christmas away from my extended family is I get to have a real tree.  Love the smell.  Love the way it looks.

And just today I got the coolest Christmas present from my sister Lynda.

It's a door mat, and I absolutely love it.  I think it is the cutest thing ever!  Well, not as cute as Morgan, but maybe close.

I could go on, but I'm sure your computer is tired of downloading pictures, so I'll just say Happy Holidays for now and promise to blog again soon with pictures of holiday festivities!