DeCeMbEr ReCaP

December was a month of fun for our family. I just LOVE the Holiday season. We got dumped on a week or so before Christmas so we decided to make a snow day out of it. Isn't our snowman lovely? I'm pretty sure I haven't ever built a snowman this big! We had much fun.

I wanted to get our family in the right 'Spirit' for Christmas so on the 1st of December we headed up to Salt Lake City and attended the Festival of Trees and then went to Temple Square. Yes, it was cold but it was well worth it! The Festival of Trees was a first for all of us. If you've never been I highly suggest going. It was absolutely fascinating, not to mention fun for the kids. It was fun to walk around and just enjoy the sheer talent of so many people. And Temple Square was just beautiful. All of it was AMAZING!!!
This lady did oragami. She could make just about anything and we were all transfixed with her talent. Josh & Jake were thrilled with her dragon making abilities.

Temple Square
My dear husband celebrated his 33rd Birthday on the 20th of December. I was able to pull myself out of bed early enough to decorate the kitchen with colorful pictures and banners that Josh, Jake, & I had colored for him. But, the day wasn't too exciting for him because the children's choir, C-Minor (that I play the piano for) had a concert that evening. :( I tried to make it special for him by making a delicious dinner (chicken parmesan with homemade marinara and noodles), but it was rushed and didn't turn out just as I had imagined. BUT, everyone helped me out at the concert by singing Happy Birthday to him. Yes, he was embarrassed, but it was fun.

We decided to get a real tree for our basement this year. The kids had a great time hanging up the ornaments and decorations wherever they wanted them to go. I am a little OCD so I ended up moving things around just a little bit. :) The babes had fun with the tree too. They enjoyed the colorful lights and Kaden, our little mischievous one, would just rip the ornaments off the tree. Good times.

Santa Claus had no trouble finding our house. Josh and Jake tried hard to be extra good (and were pretty successful in their efforts). Both kept asking Santa, the 3 different times they saw him, to bring them skateboards. Our children can't even ride bikes yet, so I figured the skateboard thing probably wasn't a good idea. Santa was smart and ended up bringing them scooters (which they were super excited about). They also got a Wii, some serious extensions to their train track, and some pillow pets.

Jake & Josh riding their scooters around in our basement.

Bekah & Kaden mostly just roamed around during the Christmas festivities. They weren't too thrilled about opening presents but they did get excited for some of their gifts. Bekah loved her pretend jewelry box and Kaden loved his little tool bench.

Kader found the M&M's in someone's stocking. Watch out! He's a sly one.
Bekah loved her pink pants that her cousin Kayson gave her.
Our boys are all about Dragons these days.
The babes were more interested in the treats from the stockings.

Santa set up an extension to the train track we already had around our Christmas tree. That Santa's quite an engineer!

Ben & I had a great Christmas too! Ben never ceases to amaze me with his sheer talent of selecting clothes for me. He's really getting good at this shopping stuff. :) He was excited about getting a new watch and dress shoes as well.

Christmas was wonderful! We had fun just being together as a family, hanging out with family, and most of all reflecting on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. How thankful I am for His humble birth and His life. Hope that your Christmas season was filled with lots of love and laughter!