School Christmas Parties

From Dec-Feb

Through the month of December, Angela's teacher invited parents to come share a tradition that our families did for Christmas. I came on the day of their Christmas party and told the kids about our Christmas craft party. Then I helped the kids all make a Santa handprint card like the ones we made our our Christmas craft party last year.

From Dec-Feb

Abbi, Angela's cute friend.

From Dec-Feb

I love Kindergarteners. So cute.

From Dec-Feb

This kid's got personality, can you tell? (o: There is never a dull moment when Ashley is around! What a hoot!

From Dec-Feb

Playing a freeze dance game. The two boys are cuties - Ashton and Jake. Jake, the one on the right, is my boyfriend. (o: He is always giving me hugs and making little things for me when I come help in the class.

From Dec-Feb

Musical Peppermint candies.

From Dec-Feb

Natalie and Ruby at their party. Poor Sarah - by the time I got to her class I was too tired and busy to take any pictures. We did an around the world theme for her Christmas party and I led the Dreidel game. It was pretty fun. The kids put in Starburst candies or took them out depending on what they rolled.

One BIG Christmas Party!

From Dec-Feb

I remember the day I called my grandma T. to tell her we were moving back to Utah. She was so excited. It made me really happy that she was so excited we were coming back. After her cheers and happy expressions the next thing she told me about was the family Christmas party. (o: This was in August! (o: She knew the date and everything! That's how organized you have to be when you have 70+ people to invite. I was so excited to be able to attend and looked forward to it.

Because the family outgrew having parties in a home, we had our party at a church. My uncle John and grandparents thought of everything. Everything was decorated so nice, the food was fantastic and there were tons of things for the kids to do. We even did a big family picture which was quite a feat with so many people! (Take a close look at my adorable husband! He ages so well!)

From Dec-Feb

We had a talent show, a visit from Santa, a nativity, games and more. Unfortunately, Natalie got sick that day. I had Ned* bring her for the first little bit so they could be in the family picture, but that was all she could handle. She had a fever and no appetite. Poor thing. She was so disappointed to miss the talent show. She had been practicing "Up on the Housetop" on her violin all month. )o:

From Dec-Feb

One of the most entertaining things for the kids was making a huge paper chain! I think my cousin April came up with this idea - it was a huge hit.

From Dec-Feb

My nephew Kaleb showing off his portion.

From Dec-Feb

The chain went all the way around the gym by the time the kids were done! And guess who volunteered to take this monster home? Sarah!

From Dec-Feb

My cute little niece Rachael.

From Dec-Feb

My awesome cousins April and Katie. It's weird to think how grown up we are all getting. We used to be the little kids running around at the parties and dressing up for the nativity!

From Dec-Feb

Noelle played an adorable Mary.

From Dec-Feb

Angela was a beautiful wise wo"man"!

From Dec-Feb

Autumn - what a cutie.

From Dec-Feb

These kids were so cute - I don't think a lot of them really got what was going on, but it was very entertaining.

From Dec-Feb

This picture cracks me up. There are two kids with fingers in their noses and my nephew Danny is not sure he wants to be a shepherd.

From Dec-Feb

Grandma and grandpa loving the entertainment put on by their great grandkids. Or are they trying to stay awake? (o:

From Dec-Feb

Fred and Peggy - our "adopted" family ever since I can remember! (o: What a fun night - minus the fact that Ned* and Natalie didn't get to stay.

Christmas Craft Party

From NovDecFavorites

I believe this is our fourth annual Christmas craft party (maybe the fifth?). I started this back in Oregon because we missed out on a lot of the family parties and events that people who have family close get to take part in. Although, we had plenty of family parties to keep us busy this year, I thought it was important for the girls to have some new friend bonding to start making memories with their Utah friends. So, the tradition continues. This year I let each of the girls invite 2 friends.

From NovDecFavorites

Angela invited Sunny and Abbi. Aren't kindergarteners so adorable? Abbi lives two houses down and Sunny is a friend from school.

From NovDecFavorites

Amalie and Kassee are two good friends of Sarah's. She had a hard time just picking two friends. She has been blessed with so many cute and good friends.

From NovDecFavorites

Natalie invited Sydney, who lives across the street and was one of Nat's very first friends. And Janie is Natalie's sidekick at school. They are becoming inseparable.

From NovDecFavorites

We had a lovely time with Christmas music, crafting, making treats and enjoying being together! I love this tradition!

More Snow!

From NovDecFavorites

We got a lot of this white stuff before Christmas! The girls made this cute guy all by themselves with a few supplies from mom! They are loving the big backyard of their own fluffy stuff.

From NovDecFavorites

David Archiletta and the MoTab! LIVE - Almost.

From NovDecFavorites

The week we moved to Utah, I got an e-mail from my cousin about the upcoming Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. This is an annual event that has grown in popularity exponentially every year. It is always incredible. I have seen several rebroadcasts that they play on BYUTV during the holiday season and they are so inspirational. They really bring the spirit of the season and the MoTab always takes my breath away.

So the chance to be at the Christmas concert LIVE sounded so incredible! A huge perk to living in Utah. Unfortunately, there are over a million other people who think this would be incredible too. The tickets are so popular, people used to sleep overnight in line to get them. To avoid this extreme, the tickets are now given out using a lottery system. The tickets are free - all you have to do is sign up and cross your fingers. They do 4 performances, but even so - you have to be pretty lucky to "win". I used all my siblings information to increase my chances, but nobody was picked. )o: I was pretty disappointed.

As a consolation prize, the church opens up other sites on Temple Square where you can watch a live broadcast. You have to enter to get tickets for these too and my grandparents scored 4 tickets for a Friday night. They very kindly offered the extra two tickets to Sarah and I! Sarah was so excited because the guest was David Archiletta - and being an American Idol fan, she knew who he was.

Our seats were in the Joseph Smith building theater and we had a FABULOUS time. The concert and program were just beautiful and embraced everything amazing about Christmas time. There was dancing, stirring music, incredible story-telling by Michael York and of course the nativity reading from Luke 2. Whether you are LDS or not (the programs are fitting for any Christian denomination), I'm telling you - this is the most amazing Christmas performance there is and there's a brand new concert with new amazing guests every year. I can't recommend it enough. It just gave me chills.

From NovDecFavorites

What a special night this was for us - we loved going on a "date" with great grandma and grandpa T. I love that my girls are getting lots of time getting to know grandma and grandpa now that we are in Utah.

From NovDecFavorites

I'm not a fan of this picture of myself, but it's me and my sweet Sarah, so I'm including it. (I need to get some more stylish winter garb - I've had that dumb headband thingy since I was 14!) We had fun exploring temple square and the beautiful lights a bit with grandma and grandpa. I LOVE temple square at Christmas. A HUGE plus to being back! I have missed it so much and now it can be a tradition for my girls too.

The White Witch

From NovDecFavorites

For a book report in December, Sarah had to read a fantasy novel and then do an oral book report from the perspective of one of the characters. She read, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and decided to be the White Witch. (Although, she looked way too cute to be evil. (o: )

Sarah did a great job. She is so creative and has a good sense of humor. She addressed the kids in her class as sons of Adam and daughters of Eve and used her most evil and mean-spirited voice. She really got into it. She talked about how disgusted she was when Edmund got away and her joy when she thought Aslan was gone for good.

I was also able to find some Turkish Delight at the World Market so Sarah could lure them to her to come try this sweet featured in the book. It was a big hit and fun for the kids to try something most of them had never had before. (It is kind of like really gushy gumdrops coated with powdered sugar.)

We love Sarah's teacher. She has a great sense of humor and got a kick out of Sarah's jokes. She laughed at all the right spots. (o:

Good job Sarah! Ahem - Queen of Narnia.

Anna's Party

From Dec-Feb

I guess I only uploaded one picture from this night. We had a little birthday party for my niece, Anna. It wasn't a particularly big event, but like I've said before - all these "little" moments we get to spend with family are still so precious to me. I love that we get to celebrate birthdays with our families. We did the usual cake and presents thing, but the most memorable part of the night was when everyone - kids and adults - played the ring game. We put three of the guys' wedding bands on a long piece of yarn and tied it together. Then we had to sneakily pass the rings around the circle and the person in the middle who was "it" had to guess where the rings were. It was hilarious! The kids were cracking us up and we laughed a lot. We must have played this for an hour. A few things surprised me - how good Angela was at this game, how much the kids liked to be "it" (so they didn't mind getting caught with a ring - bonus!) and how much having a ring flung at your hand can hurt if you aren't ready for it. (o:

Good times.

Oh and did I mention I ran into my sis-in-law Emily while we were looking for a present for Anna at Target? Now that never happened in Oregon! (o: So fun!

Gingerbread House Party

From Dec-Feb

Natalie's teacher holds reading parties about every 6 weeks to reward the kids who complete a reading challenge and project. In December the kids had to make an ornament that related to one of the holiday books they read at home. (Nat made a cute Christmas fairy using a Polly Pocket and gluing on wings and decorations to make her look like a fairy in one of her books.) They brought their decorations and decorated a class Christmas tree. The reward was a sugar and candy filled Gingerbread making party. They actually just decorated small milk cartons, which I thought was pretty clever since graham crackers often topple and can be frustrating for little hands. It was fun and the kids had a blast. The picture above is Natalie with her friend, Ruby.

From Dec-Feb

I had to include a picture of this piece of work. It was a girl named Isabella, I think. I am pretty sure this little girl left a trail of candy behind her the whole way home. All I can say is ... Wow.

December 16

From NovDecFavorites

Just a relaxing night, working on Christmas cards for friends . . .

From NovDecFavorites

From NovDecFavorites

and goofing off with the cat . . .

From NovDecFavorites

From NovDecFavorites

Eventually Twilight gives in and lets Natalie snuggle. (o: I've got to hand it to Natalie, she's persistent!

Twilight's Spot

From NovDecFavorites

Twilight thinks we put the tree up for her. After we get it up, she parks herself on this flannel tree skirt and is in heaven. I am so glad she doesn't try to climb up the tree like I've heard some cats do. She is content just hanging out below and is fairly good about leaving the ornaments alone. (Fairly)

Santa Makes House Calls?

From NovDecFavorites

One of my favorite new friends, Lara, told me that Santa was coming to our neighborhood and gave me a heads up to watch for him. He actually came to our house for a visit! We felt so special. He was in a particularly funny mood and had us laughing quite a bit. The girls were pretty surprised and wondered how we were so lucky.

From NovDecFavorites

From NovDecFavorites

What an awesome treat! Thanks Santa!!

The Nutcracker

From Dec-Feb

I cherish all of these special "treats" we get to have with family being so close and hope I never take them for granted.

We have always wanted to take the girls to a Nutcracker performance, so we looked into Ballet West. So I did a little research online and holy crap - it was going to cost over $300! And that was for crummy seats. I was telling my mom about it and she suggested a local company that performed in Sandy. The prices were much more affordable! We could actually pay to go out to dinner as well! (And we wouldn't have to tell Santa to come back next year.) (o: So we made it a date with mom and dad and Chrissy. We began our evening at Sweet Tomatoes.

Grandma and grandpa bought the girls licorice ropes at the refreshment stand outside and the girls were in heaven before the show even started. (O: We got there early enough to get front row seats. I think the girls really enjoyed all the pretty dresses and dancing. They weren't sure what to think of all the boys in tights. (o: And at one point, the magician character accidentally threw his cane out on the floor right in front of the girls. They thought it was so funny and weren't sure what to do. I think they wanted to run it up to him. It really concerned them that his prop was right in front of them.

It wasn't a Ballet West caliber performance, but it was perfect for the girls first ballet. The performers did a great job, a couple of them really stood out and were fabulous dancers. What a fun night!

From Dec-Feb

Christmas Dresses

From NovDecFavorites

One of the fun parts of having all girls is doing stuff like this. This tradition is a favorite of mine - finding matching Christmas dresses. I always look for a good deal and I was so excited to find these at Dillards for under $30. Not bad considering what good quality dresses they were and all the froufrou underneath to make them puff out. They got lots of compliments at church. I wonder how many more years I can pull this off before they protest. I'll enjoy it while I can!

So Pretty, But Worth It??

From NovDecFavorites

Look at this cute, Christmasy house! So fun to look at and makes me feel all holly and jolly except when I remember what you don't see in this picture. You don't see Neil* hanging over the edge and me standing down below looking up helplessly, but very concerned. We spent an ENTIRE Saturday getting these dang things up. Actually, I didn't do a darn thing, but throw up an occasional extension cord and worry endlessly that Neil* would fall and break his neck. And the part where I threw up extension cords wasn't even that helpful, because sometimes it would take me (no kidding) about 8 tries to actually get the cords up on the roof. That part was quite comical and even got comments from a couple people driving by. I have a TERRIBLE arm. I would be laughing so hard about my horrible aim that my throws would just get worse and worse. We're lucky I didn't break a window, actually.

For those of you who don't know, I am terrified of heights. Or rather, terrified of falling - which requires you to be at a certain height. Even if I am not the one up high, I obsess and worry. My neck was sore by the time this project was done because I could not stop looking up. As if I could will Neil* with my eyeballs to defy gravity should anything happen.

There are a few imperfections to our decor due to many of the lights not working. Neil* got about a third of the way done with the lights when several just stopped working. We had to buy a bunch more, and start again. However, those new ones were wound up much tighter than our old ones and hung differently. Then there was a section on the right that just would turn off and then on when it felt like it. By the end of the night - it was dark when we finished - we just called it good. I think it turned out pretty cute - imperfections and all. By the end of the day, I was thinking that it might have been a pretty good deal to pay someone to put them up. I was so stressed out.

We'll probably forget by next year, though, and do it all again.

Decorating the Tree

From NovDecFavorites

We really lucked out - our tree fit perfectly and really looked so pretty in our family room. We went with a 10 footer since we have such a high ceiling. We had to use a ladder to get to the top. the girls loved that they got to decorate the tree with not much supervision. Although I have to admit, I always go back and "redecorate" when they go to bed. I can't sleep knowing that 5 ornaments are all hanging from the same branch and almost touching the floor from the weight. I should really loosen up.

From NovDecFavorites

My cute little elves.

From NovDecFavorites

From NovDecFavorites

Natalie started decorating herself with tinsel and ornaments! What a funny girl.