Happy Christmas!

Good times were had by all. Kate and Neil snuck into the house as a surprise for Christmas. Telling everyone that they couldn't get work off until the 28th, they fooled everyone.



There were DI presents a'plenty purchased by "the DI guy" as Jim is known around the BYU present wrapping department.







Merrrrrry Christmas!

Christmas Letter 2008

The Kelly Madness Continued: Highlights of 2008
By Amy Kelly Welsh

In the spirit of all things technological, we have decided to have a Christmas Letter, blog-style! 2008 has been a year of joy and change for the Kellys. Here are some highlights:

We all are excited to welcome Lily Danielle DeMatteis to our family! Lily was born April 14th – a few weeks early – a lovely little surprise package for Anne! Lily has already endeared herself to the Kellys by dressing up as Red Hot Lily Pepper for her first Halloween. She will fit right in with our crazy family! Lily, we feel it is only fair to warn you: we are the family who dressed up in full pirate gear to attend the opening night of the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie!

The big vacation of the year was a trip to Akumal, Mexico, just a few miles south of the Cancun tourist craziness. We rented a house right on the beach for about half the cost of a tiny motel room in Cancun. The house was worth the trip alone – Casa Iguana had a house, a guest house, a swimming pool, an outdoor eating area, and its own mascot Iguana living in the outdoor stairway. Cancun highlights: Chris and Matt wrestling with a shark; snorkeling and swimming with giant sea turtles; touring Chichen Itza ruins with a tour guide that re-invented Mayan history (seems they weren’t a violent race at all, they are just misunderstood “Believe what you want, but it’s true,” was his fav quip); lots of beach lounging; a Matt Kelly fish fry for breakfast; cliff diving in cenotes, which are large covered craters; and an Indiana Jones –like trip into the Cenotes/underground cave system of fresh water called Hidden Worlds.

Mom Kelly: What a year of accomplishments! Mom had another cookbook published this year - a photo cook book on “French Toast,” and coming up, “101 Things to do with a Toaster Oven,” she just finished this week! Still practicing law as a child abuse prosecutor, one might wonder how she has time to create cookbooks as well as scrapbook not only her life, but the life of her children! Most proud achievement: Becoming a Grandma! And of course -creating scrapbook pages in her mind before an event even occurs…Seriously, mom can hardly wait until an event is over before she gets out the scrapbook supplies!
Dad Kelly: It has been a great year for the head of Wasatch Life Magazine. The Summer edition of Wasatch Life was a hit, and Winter is just now being released to eager readers. Dad has taken gardening to a new level, ripping up the grass on the south side of the Kelly lot, and is currently constructing a vegetable haven soon to be producing this spring. With all the snow around us, winter is Dad’s favorite season, and he can’t wait to hit those slopes! Most proud achievement: Being referred to as “The D.I. Guy” at BYU’s present wrapping department (due to his love of buying presents in mass for special occasions and having them each wrapped).

Kate Kelly: A year of changes for Kate! With a week’s notice, Kate and Neil made the life changing decision to move to San Diego, CA for Kate to begin Law School at USD this past September. Needless to say, Kate has been a studying machine these past few months. Neil is working as an intern at the CA Coastal Commission and also with Apple. Neil is currently working up some applications for post grad education in Anthropology. Most proud achievement(s): Having her family visit nearly monthly since the move, creating a make-shift highrise loft for their bed in their SD apartment, and painting their living room wall a bright lime green.

Amy Kelly Welsh: Amy is a working machine. Still working full time at Project Reality (methadone clinic for opiate dependents) and has recently been moved up to Supervisor of the support staff. Amy is currently looking into masters programs in Social Work. Chris has been interviewing at various med schools, and so far has gotten an offer at Penn State for the MdPhd program in Biomedical Engineering. Decision, yet to come. Estimated departure from Provo: July-ish, 09. Proudest achievement this past year: getting a fish tank full of fishies and having 5 survive past the first two months!
Matt Kelly: Matt has been working hard as a manager at Chrysalis, supervising staff who assist mentally handicapped adults. Matt loves his employment and enjoys bringing a higher level of care to the mentally disabled. Matt is working on his undergraduate degree in Psychology and currently attending UVU. Matt also is the first Kelly kid to purchase a house! In October Matt signed on to a three bedroom house on 9th east with a nice big lawn, soon to be useful for his many large canines (his top choice being an English Mastif, and yes, that’s the breed that is the size of a Shetland pony!). Proudest achievement this past year: Buying a house and planning a future mobile home kingdom, and also attaining full beard status.
Jake Kelly: Jake has been constantly busy this past year what with all of his endless theatrical performances, school, and traveling abroad to England! Jake participated in BYU’s study abroad program to England, Wales, Scotland and France focusing on King Arthur folklore and seeing ruins and castles abroad. Jake’s most recent play participation was in a spooky Halloween production of “Sweeney Todd.” Jake is attending BYU and working towards a double major in Psychology and also Theater Studies. Proudest achievement this past year: Getting an awesome haircut!!! We were all dancin’ in the streets and hippin’ hooray!

As we look back on the year, we find that there is no greater joy than being together, and we are excited for new adventures to come in 2009!

Holiday Eating Tips

To the genius who wrote this (Hey - is Erma Bombeck still alive???): AMEN AND HALLELUJAH!!

Enjoy!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare.. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"