Utah Christmas

The night we flew in Devin"s sisters Sara and Noelle and her kids came over to the Beck's. This is William and Vienna. He's a month younger than V. 

Of course the Beck fed them all deliciousness.

Jess, the mom-to-be back for a snuggle

 We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Airharts on the 23rd.  Everyone at their station for making dinner:

Cambry: eat an otter pop

Grandpa Greg: snuggle baby, check on prime rib every once in awhile.

Devin: torch the creme brulee 

Jess and Mert: Mashed Potatoes

Jos: Rolls (ps got a haircut)

The Beck: make brussel sprouts not taste like brussel sprouts... and CEO and manager of the entire operation that was a delicious success.

Mertle deciding that being a dad might not be that scary.

Vienna excited about her new laptop. Cambry didn't make it to presents and nativity.  East coast time doesn't transfer well at nights.

The Nativity: It was decided that since Jess is with child, she would be Mary and Mert would be Joseph.  While we were getting in costume, Abigal had her heart set on being Mary and kept putting more and more things on herself.

So we had 2 Marys.  

  

NC Christmas

Our NC Christmas Eve (Dec 20th) We reenacted the nativity in an extremely simplified manner... like the whole thing took about 90 seconds, to stay with Cambry's attention span.

Isn't this babe so squeezable?  

Cute Angel up past her bed time.

A very wise man

 A hand maiden of the Lord

Santa came early for us!

December 22nd we flew to Utah... cool nap eye.  These girls were champs at flying, much to our delight- not one meltdown!  We had Grandma Ber and the Beck praying for us, so since they've both got an in, we were set. That guy I sat by thought I was crazy.  When we flew into the Salt Lake Valley, I said, "AREN'T MOUNTAINS BEAUTIFUL? Don't you miss them??" He didn't even think that deserved a reply.  haha.

Jess welcomed us in with these cute hats for V and C.  so nice to be home.

2011 Christmas Card

2011 has brought many new beginnings and adventures for the Rappleye family. The biggest were our move to North Carolina and the birth of our second girl, Vienna. A couple others have been experiencing our first tornado storm and being brushed by our first hurricane. As the family has experienced new things, so have the individuals in it.

Devin's New Beginnings: At the beginning of the year, I started my graduate studies in Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University. In the summer, I began my research project on recycling used nuclear fuel. With two semester under my belt, I am one year away from getting my masters and don't even want to think how far away I am from getting my doctorate. Also new this year for me - running more than a mile. All my life, I have been a sprinter. I ran the longest race of my life on Thanksgiving - an 8k. 

Joslyn's New Beginnings:  This year I made lots of things from scratch: my NC circle of friends, many new meals, craft items, and bread to name a few.  January I found out I was pregnant, and I discovered that I love humidity- even while carrying extra weight. I'm much better at juggling now that I carry 2 babies, a diaper bag and groceries up 3 flights of stairs. This year I learned to run with a double stroller, how to  challenge my mind when most of my interaction is with people under 2, and I've learned again and again that I can't do anything without God.

Cambry's New Beginnings: She turned one in May and took her first steps shortly after and has been running ever since.  She discovered outdoor swings in February and still hasn't found anything better at the playgrounds. This year she rode on a plane for the first time, she got her first hair cut and her first black eye. She  went to the beach and the zoo for the first time and loved both. She is much more reverent in church now that she attends nursery. She's learned to say a many words such as cracker, dada, mama, bee-bee-bee (vienna), dog, shoe, let's go and duck.

Vienna's New Beginnings: She took her first breath on September 14th.  She quickly learned to blink, eat, sleep, poop. She has also added to her skills smiling and cooing, snuggling, patiently waiting her turn, melting hearts, and somehow allowing people to forget how hard life is when they hold her.  We are all just beginning to see what a special little girl she is.

Christ's New Beginnings: Our Savior, Jesus Christ, offers to each one of us new beginnings through His atonement. This time of year, we join with you in celebrating His humble beginnings in a stable in Bethlehem. Even in His mortal ending, He brings to us all a new beginning through His Resurrection. All of our wonderful new beginnings this year, we owe to our Savior. May we all continue to seek new beginnings through Christ's atonement this year and next.

Nativity Celebration

The Apex Stake is so awesome.  We had what is called the Christmas Nativity Celebration.  People in our stake loan out their nativity sets from around the world so they can be displayed for a few days.  Then there are all sorts of choirs that perform on stage.  The first one that performed when we got there was a very Southern Baptist choir that got us all clapping and Amening as they sang.  It was a little odd seeing/hearing this in an LDS building, but it was so fantastic to see the whole community involved in celebrating the birth of the Savior.  I have been so disappointed as I've been listening to Christmas music on the radio, that it is extremely rare to hear a song about Christ.  This event was such a breath of fresh air.

Here are a few of our favorites:

 The kids area was really awesome and our little love bug was a fan

dress up area. Nothing fit Cambers though.  Bummer

Aren't these guys great?  It was awesome to see the first Christmas replicated with actual people.

Chirstmas and Farewells

Wow. This all seems so long ago. Amazing how moving across the country distorts your perception of time. Anyway, we really enjoyed our last month in Utah.

With the cold weather, Joslyn wanted to make sure that Cambry was warm enough. She found this pink treasure at a thrift shop... the snow suit, not the baby. Cambry sure does look precious in it.

We wanted to enjoy the snow while we were still in Utah. We went skiing and snowshoeing. We won't miss the cold, but we will the fun snow activities. Cool hat, Jess.

I performed at my last MacJam (a monthly neighborhood open mic night). Neal joined me to perform some of our originals from high school. It was fun from us,but probably torture for the audience.

Little Cambers is so much fun. She loves playing peek-a-boo with mom.

I got to celebrate my birthday with my family before we left. It was so fun for me to spend time with them. As usual, Noelle and I got to share a birthday cake.

With all the added family time, Ava and Cambry became good friends. It was so fun to watch them interact. Too bad we had to move away. Hopefully, they can resume that friendship when we come to visit.

We were lucky enough to have tickets to MoTab Christmas concert. Jamie and Michelle joined us for the evening. It was an enjoyable evening.

Of course, we had to see the lights at temple square before we left.

In the colder weather, when Joslyn takes Cambry for walks, she just zips her up in my ski coat. It is so cute!

On Christmas Eve, we busted Cambry under the Christmas tree opening one of her presents early.

Cambry loved her 1st Christmas. She was so good at opening presents.

Look at this little gift that we got this year. We have loved watching Cambry grow. She has been a special little blessing for us this year.

While staying at the Beck and Greg's house. Cambry got to bathe in the sink. She loved it so much that we kept bathing her in the sink out here.

Well, now that we're caught up on what has happened before we left, we'll make a post soon of what has happened out here.