Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

There is actually a good reason for why I haven't posted since December 17th. You see, Tyler had this great idea that we should pack up and drive to OK for Christmas. And not tell anyone about us coming. So...I couldn't very well tell you what we were doing, now, could I? But! We are back from our trip and unpacked, so I have time to catch you up on the Pierce Family! I can see the excitement on all your faces, so here we go.

We arrived to Bartlesville, OK, to see Tyler's family a few days before Christmas.  We had told Melanie, my mother-in-law, that we were coming so we could making sleeping arrangements and to schedule a big family get together. When we arrived, to our surprise, everyone knew we were coming. I guess Tyler's parents were so excited that we were going to be there that they couldn't conceal it from the rest of the family. We had lots of fun playing PIT, Apples to Apples, and eating a nice meal with the family. Tyler & I even got to go in the hot tub! We enjoyed visiting with all the family and going to look at Christmas lights, and finally opening presents. Tyler got to see some relatives and work on family history. We had a great time. :)

First up are the letters to Santa from the kids:

Time in Bartlesville:

On Christmas Eve morning, we drove down to Stillwater, OK. At last, we got the surprised/shocked/bewildered looks we were going for - it was a HUGE surprise to everyone that we were there. I ended up surprising my sister, Heather, on the phone and told her to hurry on up and come over already! :)

My sister, Rachel, and her husband, Alex, flew out from UT with their 3 week old daughter, Aurora. I certainly enjoyed holding her during our time in OK. Tyler got to meet her and Rylee (Evan & Shelbee's girl) and Willis (Jennifer & Willis' son) and Oliver (Heather & Yury's son). There were many babies to hold, many sumptuous foods to eat, lively conversation, karaoke, a Christmas musical program, games played (blokus, quirkle, wii, scrabble), and celebrating Anna's 10th birthday + New Year's Eve party at Heather & Yury's house. What a whirlwind of a trip - we certainly fit everything in that we possible could.

We went down to Edmond to see Grandpa & Grandpa Dahle. We had a Christmas party at Aunt Tisha's house. Everyone had a great time. I ended up winning the new Michael Buble CD in the White Elephant Gift Exchange and Tyler got a new cookie sheet pan - which we needed.

We went back to Stillwater...and Mom & I sang SLEEP LITTLE LAMB in Sacrament meeting in the Stillwater ward.

One day my sweet Grandma McElwain told me that she loved me - unprovoked, I assure you! I enjoyed spending time with her and hearing about her life, growing up. I miss the days of attending OSU and going over to visit with her. :(

We drove back down to Edmond to have a double birthday lunch for Jacob and Anna. It was nice spending more time with Jacob and getting to know his wife, Jessica, better.

Anna got a chocolate mousse cake from La Baguette. It was heavenly! For her birthday, I made strawberry crepes for breakfast. Then we had the hamburger crescent roll casserole for dinner, followed by the cake. For her big birthday present, I bought her a nintendo ds and a white Pokemon game. She. Was. Ecstatic.

Heather & Yury had us over for New Year's Eve. We ate pizza, granny's orange cookies, and Shelbee's fabulous cake balls. We played games, Yury played some music on his accordion, and we talked. It was great. Afterwards, we drove up to Stillwater and rang in the new year playing games and watching the ball drop. It was an incredible trip to OK. I truly felt like it was heaven on earth being with my family. We wish that we lived closer, but are grateful for the time we do have to be together. And now we're planning a cruise in 2015 - cannot wait for that! Here are more pictures: enjoy. :)