Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas

Things I hope to remember about this years Christmas

• KFC for Christmas Eve dinner on our fancy Christmas dishes with just our little family (maybe it's tacky but it was so tasty, easy, and truly a fun meal
• It was Grants first Christmas - he enjoyed the excitement and loved the decorations on the Christmas tree (I must have decorated that tree nearly every day this month) he likes gingerbread cookies and chocolate covered pretzels almost as much as I do, and he was more than happy to let Brandon "help" him open all his presents. Oh he is so darling! His favorite gifts were probably the gear toy that lights up and plays music, and the push and ride Winnie the Pooh car from Grandma Julie.
• Brandon agreeing with me that we had too many presents under the tree so Santa should probably not bother coming to our house, of course I was kidding but I think Brandon was actually (if only for a moment) disappointed Christmas morning that Santa still came.
• Spending Christmas Eve in our home with our little family opening pj's and scrapbooks from the past year
• Doing the 12 days of Christmas Advent calendar with the stories and ornaments each night - Brandon loved it - and I was very happy to be able to read so many great Christmas stories.
• Watching Brandon open up his Giant T-Rex and Shark and the whale book from Grandma Julie.
• All of the other fun activities that made this holiday and this season so much fun Things I hope to have learned this year:
• Stop spending so much money on toys - and start buying the toys from thrift stores and KSL - the kids can not tell the difference and they do not care about quantity
• Do not fight over clam chowder and do not burn the clam chowder - and do not try a new recipe on Christmas Day!
• Use a better camera (all of our Christmas morning pictures are blurry) like the one I got this year for Christmas
• Take more pictures - Grants first Christmas and I do not have any great ones of him opening presents or playing with his presents

Here's to a new year and the anticipation of Christmas in 2011! :)

Cute Grant

I love it when children fall asleep in their high chair - but that rarely happens at our house. This is the first time Grant has done it - he did it while I was (very loudly) singing and playing from the Wicked songbook that my sister let me borrow. I had a great time belting out the songs while both of my children slept on - kinda funny :)

Surprise Resident

On one of the really cold and snowy days this little bird took up residency on our bird feeder. It stayed the day and night, but was gone the next day. It was so cute to see this little bird all puffed up to keep warm - part of me really wanted to bring it in for the night but I knew that was not practical, so instead we enjoyed its company during all of our meals, as it was right next to our dining table. The following day my back door neighbor called me to ask what I was feeding the birds because it looked like our house was being attacked - I looked out side and sure enough our trees had turned black with all the birds that were perched on them - it was a little freaky - but they only stuck around for an hour. So what was I feeding them - nothing - see the empty bird feeder in the picture, since then I have filled all of our bird feeders and I hope we have many more visitors this season. :)

Fun Times In The Snow

It seemed to take winter a long time to finally arrive - but when it did we were ready. Brandon could hardly wait to play in the snow and make a snow man. Maggie also LOVES the snow - she runs like a mad dog in the snow and gets snowballs stuck to her fur - she looks pretty funny. I am so impressed with the snowman that Jared and Brandon made. When it was all finished Brandon asked "what should we name him, should we name him Harold, should we name him ... (I can't remember the name) I was thinking it was pretty funny all the name he was coming up with then I realized that once again he was quoting the Frosty the Snowman movie, I thought it was pretty cute, and yes - our snowman is named Frosty - what else?Just look at those poor paws.Grant tolerated the snow - I think he would have enjoyed it much more if it was not his nap time. :)Brandon loved Jared's Buzz Lightyear coat. :)

This is The Place - Candlelight Christmas

We had a great time at the Candlelight Christmas in This is The Place State Park. Brandon loved the reindeer, the live nativity, and the train. Grant probably enjoyed playing with the sheep and the goats the best. We also enjoyed meeting Father Christmas, making icicles and food for the reindeer and birds, and playing in the elf's work shop.

Buddies

We have been enjoying watching Christmas movies. Brandon's current favorite is Frosty the Snowman, he even quotes it - his favorite line is "Let's make a party out of it, let have a parade", we have been having a lot of parade's at our house lately. :) I love these two boys - especially when they are being kind to each other. :)

Library Storyhour Christmas Party

I LOVE our libraries story hour. This year they have taken us on a train ride, had a Halloween costume party, had a summer reading party, and have great weekly story hours with Ms. Sally who is awesome. This year for Christmas they took us to the Heber Valley Handspringers where the kids got to meet Santa and Mrs. Clause and then run wild in the gym, jumping on trampolines that were a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials, playing in the foam pit, and enjoying wild freedom. Brandon was in heaven. After all of the playing we met for songs, and stories and the kids got to take home a bag of goodies. All of this fun and adventure cost us $1.00. LOVE IT! I hope that I can take Brandon back many times - it is just what my high energy little boy needs. Even Grant had a good time. :) So much fun!

Yummy Baking

I love Christmas baking - my favorites - GINGERBREAD COOKIES they are the best, and cathedral cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels. What are your favorite? Each year my sisters, mom and I ahve a baking day, this year was just as fun, but I forgot to take pictures. We aslo had a baking day on monday at home, Brandon enjoyed maing his own little cookies and Jared even got in on the fun when he got home from work.

Happy 101 Birthday Grandpa Bowman

Grandpa Bowman turned 101 on Sunday the 12th. I am always amazed when I think about the life he has lived and the many things he has witnessed in his life. We sure do love him!
Wouldn't it be interesting if he lived until 12/12/12, I doubt many have celebrated two birthdays with the day, month and year being the same number?

Temple Square

We went as a family to Temple Square to see the lights last Saturday. We got there early so we could enjoy the visitor centers and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building before it got to crowded. We were also fortunate to go right up to the temple before they close the gates. It was pretty special. I loved the model of the temple in the south visitors center - if you have not seen it - you really should go - it is amazing!!I love this picture of our Eternal Family at the Temple - very cool!I love this temple and the amazing architecture!We took Brandon to see the Christus before heading out to see the lights. While we sat at His feet I explained to Brandon why there were holes in His hands and in His feet. I explained that Jesus is Heavenly Fathers Son and that He died for us so that we can live with Him again and we can live with our families again. The following Monday we gave pretty much the same lesson for Family Home Evening. It must have made an impression because last night after reading stories with Jared. Brandon told the whole story to Jared and testified that Jesus died so that we can be happy. It was very special - and so good to know that somethings are sinking in and he is learning. I love the large nativities displayed all over the grounds.I am so happy to live back in Salt Lake so that we can see the lights every Christmas, it is such a great way to start the holiday season with the right focus, and the lights are so beautiful!Brandon loved all of the water features - no surprises there. :)We watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional on Sunday, while it was not super reverent at our house and it was really difficult to pay attention with two little children. Brandon did enjoy the film of the temple. He kept telling us - "we went there" - "that's the temple". I think he is learning to love the temple too. :)I really enjoyed the luminaries.

What can I say - we LOVE to see the temple! :)

Gingerbread Houses

Aunt Jodi gave us a gingerbread village this year to create - it made for a very fun, challenging and entertaining FHE. I have a whole new appreciation for the really fancy gingerbread house people create (like Dana - wish I had a picture to show you hers). Once we got the hang of it they started to look a little better. :) I hope that we can make this a new tradition - it really was fun! Brandon had a great time - sharing the candy with Grant, eating the frosting every chance he got, and braking a few of the walls - :) Grant enjoyed the treats and worked really hard to try and grab the houses when they were complete. Love these crazy boys.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with the Bowman's. It was so fun to see the family again - perticularly Trevor who we have not seen for so long. We celebrated a mini Christmas while we were there too - since we would not see anyone during the Christmas season. I love Thanksgiving - not so much the food - but the oportunity to remember all of the wonderful things we have to be grateful for. Some of the things that are at the top of my list are - two darling little boys, one great husband, a beautfiul home, a talent that earns me money and brings me joy, good health, four grandparents and five great-grandparents to dote on my children, a reliable job for my husband, and living in a great location! I love the song - Count Your Many Blessings - lately the first verse has been coming to mind frequently.

When upon lifes billows you are tempest tossed

Do not get discouraged thinking all is lost

Count your many blessing name them one by one

And it will suprise you what the Lord has done.

I really do have much to grateful for. Hope you also enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The North Pole Express

We have lived in Heber for a little over four years and we have never been on the Christmas Train. Well finally this year we went courtesy of our good friends who were able to get free tickets. We had a great time. The hot chocolate, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, the carols, the lights, the company, and meeting Santa all while on a train made for a great memory and a great way to start the holiday season!!

Brandon was happy to see Santa and he was not afraid to go up to him - Hooray! Maybe we will try to do Santa pictures this year?