December 2016

We love the holidays! Being able to share the magic of this season with our children and to be near family made this a December to remember.

We went home the day after Thanksgiving and spent the weekend decorating our home for Christmas.  It is always fun to figure out how to decorate a new home after we move.

 You must have a fireplace to hang the stockings on so Santa can come.

 Our pie safe makes a fun Christmas display.

 We added a second Christmas tree to the collection this year, so I got to do a fancy, color-themed tree.

 Sarah was thrilled when we pulled out the Little People nativity and played with it all day.

 Helping Daddy decorate the tree

 Chris is right: It's the best time of the year!

 I had a million things to do one day when Sarah asked to make Christmas cookies. I couldn't say no!

 I normally give Sarah her Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve, but I decided it made more sense to let the kids have them on Thanksgiving. Then they could wear them all season. 

 Sarah came out of her room like this and told me she was a dinosaur. With the headband on her forehead she was Little Foot. When she pulled it over her eyes, she became Sharp Tooth. I have no idea why. 

 Sarah helped Grandma and I make my Grandma's raisin bread. A holiday tradition!

 Kelson had to go to Seattle for work the first weekend of December, so the kids and I went to my parents' house. Grandpa and Chris had some bonding time. 

 We went to the Christmas parade. Sarah went right up front with her cousins and loved the whole thing.

 Our visit to Santa Claus was totally traumatizing. I kind of love this picture

 It took me an hour and 42 steps to put this Little People car ramp together. So complicated! It was a fun gift from Kelson's parents. 

 Sarah came down with the stomach flu one day. She made a valiant effort at playing, but she didn't get far.

 We heard that the town of Caldwell, 20 minutes up the road, had great Christmas lights, so we decided to stop and see them on our way home from Boise one evening. They were amazing! I love making fun discoveries like that.

All of this holiday fun led up to a perfect Christmas. I will give that its own post :)

Chris: 3 Months

Chris turned 3 months just in time for Christmas. He is growing like crazy and becoming such a sweet little boy. Once again, I failed to take official monthly pictures, but these photos were taken right around that day.

Chris this month: 

• Had his first Thanksgiving
• Super smiley and loves when people talk and sing to him
• Falls asleep on his own and naps like a champ unless we are at Grandma's house.
• Had his first road trip
• Met Grandma and Grandpa Ries
• He has a long torso and short legs. He is well into 3-6 month shirts, but the pants are huge on him. 
• Enjoys getting snuggled up in his snowsuit
• Loves mobiles, his play mat, and mirrors
• Cougar is still his best friend.

Our Magical Christmas Trip 2016

In early December, we took a break and went to Utah for a few days.

We were planning on getting gas in Twin Falls but missed the exit. We were just trying to decide if we had enough gas to make it to Burley when the car ran out of gas. Fortunately, help was there within 20 minutes and we were back on the road. 

We spent our first evening in Utah at my Grandpa's house enjoying a lovely dinner with them.

 Sarah started the next morning with a nice cup of hot chocolate while watching the traffic out the window. She has never liked hot chocolate before, but she suddenly realized it was delicious. Of course, she also managed to spill it all down the front of her new shirt.

 We went to the Scheels store in Draper, which has a ferris wheel you can ride for $1.00. Sarah loved it. She rode once with Mom, once with Dad, and once with Grandma and Annie. 

 After lunch, we went to Gardner Village to look at the animatronic elf displays and lights. 

Friday evening, we all went to Temple Square to see the lights. Sarah loves lights and nativity scenes, so she was in heaven.

 We had a hard time convincing Sarah that the temple wasn't a castle. 

 We spent Friday evening at Hogle Zoo looking at their light displays. So fun!

 On Saturday, we rode on the Polar Express from Heber City to the North Pole. It was magical. There was live entertainment in the train car, including Christmas caroling and games for the kids. 

 Sarah was excited to meet Santa Claus until he arrived, and then she started screaming. He had a chat with her and told her that they would be great friends in the future. Then he gave her a silver bell, and she decided that maybe she could like Santa Claus after all.

 We went home through Provo and stopped at the Bean Museum. Sarah loved looking at all of the animals, and she got to pet a snake at the reptile show.

 It was pouring down rain that evening, so after dinner we went back to the hotel and spent the evening at the pool. I relaxed by the side with the baby and read a book while Daddy swam with Sarah. A lovely evening.

Sunday, we made a quick trip to Cedar City to visit Kelson's parents. It was the first time they got to meet Chris, and we were glad to get to spend a little bit of time with them. 

It was a wonderful Christmas trip full of so much magic and Christmas spirit. The best part was that we got to share it with our family!