Christmas Break

We had a different Christmas Break this year because of illness. Normally we pack up and head to Las Vegas after Randy's birthday for a few days, but Dax and Seth had been fighting sickness before Christmas, and then Seth took another turn for the worse on Christmas. So, we did our best to get everyone better and did a few things near home instead.

First up, Randy's birthday! It was kind of spoiled because our Tucano's trip had to be cancelled due to Seth's sickness. His big birthday present was seeing Nate Bargatze earlier in the month, but we didn't let him get nothing! We had a few small presents for him and Mom made him a lemon cream pie. He is the best dad and husband, so we hope he knows how much we love him!

Happy Birthday Randy!

Then we spent the next few days hanging around Lehi, being silly, and enjoying a more relaxing break.

Stephanie sent this amazing necklace to Seth. He LOVES it!

Seth has been taking pictures with people this month!

We went to see the movie David, and it was better than (Mom) expected.

Seth working on his wood burning kit.

We went to Jurassic Jungle since Dad and Dax had never been.

They have a new Ice Age Creamery at Thanksgiving Point.

Mom and Dad wearing their new Christmas gifts from Brittany. 

We had fun on New Years Eve with the Alders.

Happy 2026! We are excited for a New Year.

Mark said goodbye to 2025 a little before us!

Happy New year from Mark and his companion.

Monster Jam

We went to see Monster Jam inside the Delta Center this time, and it was just as fun as last time. I am impressed every single time that these huge trucks do tricks. We had a great time and it was nice to go on an adventure after all of the sickness weeks.

Excited for Monster Jam

We all picked a favorite truck to cheer for.

Dad got a new phone, so we love using it for pictures!

How do they do these handstands? 

Salt Lake City Trolley Tour

We also went on a trolley tour in Salt Lake. First of all, we didn't know there was a trolley tour available. Second of all, it wasn't just any tour. It was a performing tour. So the tour guides sang and acted all the way around town. It was a blast, and Mom and Dad learned a bunch of new things about Salt Lake City. 

Here we are getting ready for our tour.

They took lots of pics of us!

One stop was the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Another was the Utah Capitol Building.

They sent us these nice photos, which was so kind!

Randy had to go back to work on Monday, but the boys had that day off. So we did one last adventure and went mini golfing at Fat Cats. Mom had two hole-in-ones, so she was pretty proud of herself!

It was fun to mini golf together.

Week of Christmas! 🎄

We had the best week of Christmas! There were a few early Christmas gifts we had to enjoy, so it really was a week of Christmas. 

First up was a BYU Basketball to watch the famous AJ Dybantsa. It was worth it. He played great and BYU won! We really missed Mark for this one because he is AJ's biggest fan!

Warm ups

The reason Mom comes to the BYU events!

AJ played great. 

Dax was excited to see AJ and BYU play!

Seth, too!

The following evening, we went to watch Lebron James play at the Delta Center. The Lakers were coming to play the Jazz. We were rooting for the Jazz, but also Lebron. Seth is a huge fan! Our tickets gave us early access so we could watch the warm-ups. It was fun to sit a few rows from the court. No super stars came out, but we watched some of the Jazz rising stars warming up. Our seats for the game were MUCH higher up, but we had a fun time. Dad loved yelling at Luka, and Seth loved glazing Lebron. Dax and I just laughed at both of them. 

We always enjoy a visit to the Delta Center.

It was awesome down low, even if it was only for 30 minutes of pregame.

We enjoyed the warm-ups a lot.

Watching the players warm up was a highlight.

We grabbed dinner between warm-ups and the game.

Lebron!!

He dunked a few times in warm-ups.

It was a good game. The Jazz almost pulled it out.

Benson Boone was also in attendance.

Now we can say that we saw one of the greatest players ever.

Continuing on in our Christmas week, we had the Ockey Family Christmas Party. All of Dad's sisters were there and some of their children. We had dinner and egg nog ice cream and of course, a visit from Santa.

Grandpa Ockey was at the party!

Getting closer to Christmas!

Grandma & Grandpa Daniels came down to visit with us for one day before Christmas. We exchanged gifts, and it is always good to see them.

The one activity that Seth and Dax said they wanted to do was go to Candlelight Christmas at This is the Place Heritage Park. We didn't make it until the last night because the boys had been fighting sickness. It was busy, but we still had a lovely time! We got to do all of our favorite activities. 

We love Candlelight Christmas.

The decorations are so pretty at the pioneer village.

Enjoying ice cream and donuts!

Father Christmas was so kind!

We made ornaments with Laurie and her family. This is one of our favorite traditions. We forgot to take pictures, but here is Mom holding up some of the finished pieces. They turned out so cool!

Mom's and Dad's ornaments went right on the treel

On Christmas Eve, we kept it pretty simple with just relaxing all day. We watched a Christmas Story, played games, and read. In the evening we tried adding a Shepherd's Supper to our traditions. This was like our Easter passover dinner, and we liked it. After dinner we decorated our gingerbread houses and had wassail and gingerbread cookies. Then we read the scriptures and watched the Nativity movie. Finally, we opened new pajamas before it was bedtime. 

We used our Candlelight Christmas candles. 

It is a fun dinner.

Gingerbread and wassail!

Dax always loves to be cozy!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas Day was awesome! It was weird to just have two boys heading down the stairs. But we got to talk to Mark for an hour, which was definitely a highlight. He was melting in the heat of Argentina, but had a nice Christmas Eve dinner with a member family. He was excited for the calendar that Mom made him, so we looked through it via our phone call since no one else had seen it. The gifts were all well received and it was fun to see how excited Dax and Seth were to give gifts this year. After lunch, we headed down to visit with Grandpa Ockey who was at Laurie's house. Amy and Debbie also showed up, and halfway through we called Jim, so it was another mini Ockey Christmas party. Then we hurried home to get the turkey in the oven. Melanie came over for Christmas dinner.

Just two boys home for Christmas morning.

Dax loves his new fishing kayak.

Seth made a bird teapot for Randy in ceramics.

Mom was thrilled about her new robe.

Talking to Mark always makes us happy!

Seth bought Dad a Bluey blanket!

Spent some time relaxing on Christmas, too!

Grandma Daniels gave the boys these little men that stick to the wall and then crawl down. They love them!

Dax is happy for any type of food!

Visiting with Grandpa Ockey

Mark and his companion Elder Stevens.