Watch Out!!!! We're Sledding

Sledding 2008

Since my Grandma and Grandpa Woolley decided to not have their traditional Christmas meal, we decided to have a cousin party the Friday after Christmas. A lot of us met up to go sledding in the afternoon. It was so much fun. I love acting like a kid. We had a lot of races and I always came in last due to fear of going to fast down the hill. I did win one competition against Andrew. He told me that if I went down without screaming, he would buy me snow clothes. It was very hard but I was able to do it.

After sledding, we headed to Nettie’s place for a Mexican Fiesta. Almost all of my cousins were able to come. We talked for hours and hours. It was so much fun being together and we decided that the grandkids would now be in charge of Christmas dinner at my grandparents. The holidays were wonderful and I hope to carry that Christmas spirit throughout the rest of the year.

Our First Christmas

Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve was perfect. My parents made a wonderful meal including steak, potatoes, shrimp, salad, and corn. It was delicious. After dinner my mom gave a beautiful Christmas lesson. It was the mother’s perspectives of their amazing sons and husband. It included the Mother of Mary, Mary, Elizabeth, Inn Keeper’s wife, and Joseph’s mom. It was really touching. It made me realize that these people were ordinary people doing what they had been taught to do. We sang a song in between each story. It was very touching. Next, we did the sibling gift exchange. Tina had us. She bought me two pair of earrings and a snow sled. It was the perfect gift. We had Tina and earlier in the day she had picked out a shirt and a pair of shoes. It was hard for me to do any shopping this year. I just could not find the perfect gifts for anyone.

One thing that was different is that we did not have our grandparents with us. They wanted to keep things simple this year and so they decided on a schedule to see each family. They spent Christmas Eve with my Aunt Kathy, Christmas morning with our family, afternoon with Tom and Millie, and the evening with my Uncle Rick. They decided they were too old to have the traditional Christmas dinner. The grandkids were devastated and decided that next year we will be in charge of the meal.

Christmas Eve was complete with everyone in the family but Jill and Brian and their kids. They might not have there physically but we were able to see them via skyp. They are all getting so big. It was fun to see all of their excitement. One thing that is so cute is that Ethan loves talking to grammy and papa. Even when the computer is off, he will go over to it and start talking to papa. He then gets very upset when papa does not answer. Also, he thinks that we can see him through the phone. On Christmas morning while he was talking to grammy, he was taking her on a tour to show her all of his toys. He is so stink’ in cute. We had so much fun talking with one another.


Everyone woke up early Christmas morning to a wonderful breakfast prepared by my dad. Grandma and Grandpa Woolley came to enjoy the Christmas excitement. It was fun to have everyone there. We all opened our presents from one another. It was a wonderful first Christmas with Andrew. He gave me the perfect gift: tennis lessons and winter boots. I surprised him with snow clothes and socks. It was great.
Every year my Aunt Kelly has us over for Christmas lunch. This year was fantastic. We spent hours visiting with family and eating wonderful food prepared by Kelly and Daniel. It was the perfect way to spend Christmas. Family is so important and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family.

Candice Anne Martin what a blessing

Candice Anne Martin 2008

The weekend before Christmas, my parents, Nettie, Tina, Chelsea, Andrew, and I drove up to Ashton, Idaho to see Cameron and Rachel bless their little daughter Candice. The ride was a little bit treacherous and I debated if I should go or not. I am terrified of winter driving. There was a really bad accident by Willard bay in Ogden but once we got through that the roads were fairly good. We arrived to JoAnn’s mansion just after 10 p.m. We went to bed and woke up early Sunday morning to a hot breakfast.

Candice is the cutest thing ever. It is hard to tell who she looks like. She does not have the “Martin” look. Rachel has her on a wonderful schedule and she is always content and happy. I don’t think that she has been put down since we have been with her. She is so cute.

The blessing was beautiful. Jason, Rachel’s brother, also blessed their little girl Abby. She looks just like her mom and sister. Both girls were perfect during the blessing and looked beautiful. My mom made Candice’s blessing dress. It was so pretty. I told my mom she better start making the dresses now because once the babies start coming, I am afraid that it is not going to stop.

After the blessing, we went to a truck stop restaurant and the whole family came for a luncheon. Renee worked so hard. She made cheese balls, roast, potatoes, a variety of green and fruit salads, rolls, and a variety of desserts. The food was amazing and I was so full that I could hardly move after the meal. Rachel’s real dad’s grandma, uncle, and their spouses also came to the blessings. They got into contact with them last year when Jason attempted to do the temple work on them. He contacted this Uncle who lives in Winnemucca to find out the death dates of his grandparents. The uncle told him that his grandma was still alive in Texas. They got into contact and meet them for the first time this last summer. They then invited them to the blessing and they came. They were very nice. I love Rachel’s family and feel like they are also my family. We are very close to them.

One funny story is about my dad’s suit coat. My dad left his suit coat at the restaurant and did not realize it. We had already left to drive back to Utah and one of Rachel’s cousin found the coat. She went up to Rachel and said, “I found Glenn’s coat.” Rachel was like, how do you know it is his. The cousin said, because it smells like him. I think that is so funny that even people who have only meet my dad a few times still know his smell. They are a wonderful family and I am glad that I know them.

Building Christmas with the Maxfields

Cardon Christmas Family Night 2008

Since Andrew and I would be spending Christmas this year at my family’s house, we decided that we wanted to do a little something special with his family member in Utah. We decided to make dinner for everyone and then make gingerbread houses. We all meet at Christin and Andy’s house for dinner. Andrew made Italian chicken, rice, rolls, and salad for the meal. It was delicious. After dinner, we cleared the tables and brought out all of the stuff for gingerbread houses. Christin bought everything you could ever think of putting on a gingerbread house. Each person was able to design and build their own gingerbread house. Andrew jumped right in and helped Kate with her gingerbread house. This left me to design our house by myself. Good thing I had done many of these when I was younger. I had to laugh because all of the adults were still working on their projects long after the kids had finished. We each wanted to have ours just perfect. Afterwards, Christin shared a spiritual thought about Christmas as we let the count down candle burn. It was such a fun night.

Old Roommate's Christmas

Roommate Christmas Party 2008

Each year my old roommates from Turnberry get together for an annual Christmas party. This year we missed Amanda and Karen. We had it at Nettie and Aubrey’s new place in Sugar House. This year’s menu was appetizers, a variety of soups, homemade rolls, and a variety of dessert. It was so much fun seeing everyone. A lot of changes have taken place in our little group of friends over the last year including three new baby boys, new jobs, new houses, new spouse, new piano, and many new wonderful memories. Thanks girls for all of the wonderful memories.

The Holiday Season with the Martin Side

December, 13, 2008
Yearly Martin Family Christmas Party

Every year we have a Christmas party with all of my dad’s siblings and their families. The parties have grown as many of my cousins are married and having families of their own. Each year I look forward to this party because it brings back so many wonderful memories of family Christmas parties of the past. This years Christmas party was extra special for all of us.

A few weeks prior to the party, my dad decided to have Santa come to the party. This had been a tradition when we were younger but gradually died off as we all got older. However, at each Christmas party, someone would share a story about how Santa used to come to the family Christmas parties and how it was one of their favorite Christmas memories. My dad only told a few of us so everyone would be surprise.

We all gathered at my parent’s house and had a wonderful meal. Everybody brought something to share, so there was enough food to feed an army. We all enjoyed the meal and as we were finishing up, Santa knocked at the door. The kids were ecstatic. It was so much fun to see the excitement in everybody’s eyes. Santa has a special book that contained information about each person at the party and whether they were good or bad. We all had the opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what we wanted for Christmas. We sang a few Christmas songs and then Santa left.

A few days later in the mail, each of the grandkids received a special DVD and note from my Grandma Nana. This year she wanted to do something special and found a Christmas video of our Christmas party from 1987. She burned the CD for each of us and wrote a little note. It brought me so much joy. It was fun seeing how much each of us has grown. We were all so little and excited for Christmas that year. I can’t thank my grandma enough for this special treasure. I love her so much.