Our Family: December 2012

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Trek to Utah & New Years Eve

We made a VERY last minute decision and loaded up in the car and headed up to Utah for the rest of Christmas break. We were lucky and had blue skies the whole way up and back. It was fun to call the night before and suprise everyone that we were coming. The reactions were priceless! Once we made it there we lucked out and had a few days of great fluffy snow before the inversion and COLD temperatures set in. The trip like always went quick and we tried to take adavantage of every minute....eating at our favorite places, shopping, girls nights, cousins, the Temple, and just being with family. Thanks to goodwill I found snowboots for the kids and they each LOVED playing in the snow, making snow angels, and climbing the snow piles. Even Ben had to relive some old memories and go out and shovel the driveway and front walk. It was a quick but much needed trip!

*don't be fooled by the look on his face....he was loving it!

New Years Eve

New years eve we spent the evening eating snacks and playing with cousins. We had a few sparkler's and went out early (10:00pm) to ring in the New Year. IT WAS FREEZING! We didn't last very long.

Spencer, Oliver, Sam, Charlie, Isaac, Natali, & Jack

Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Christmas Eve was a quiet evening at our house. We spent time together nestled by the fire place watching movies, eating fun snacks, and reading The Night Before Christmas.

Christmas morning came and the kids actually slept in till about 7:30-8:00. It was nice. This year the big thing was LEGOS, both for the boys and for Natali thanks to Lego Friends. I am still unsure who was more excited. The kids or Ben! He loved spending the day building legos with them. That evening we had a nice dinner and enjoyed reflecting on all the blessings we have thanks to the real reason of Christmas.

I couldn't resist getting Natali a Merida doll from Brave.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Lubbock

In the beginning of December we found ourselves taking a quick mid week trip to Lubbock, TX for a job interview. We persuaded some sweet friends to come stay at our house our and take on the role of Ma & Pa to our three monkeys. I tried not to take in personal when our kids screamed with excitement at the idea! So for the first time in our marriage Ben and I took off all by ourselves. Going through the airport and plane ride was so peaceful and relaxing. We enjoyed the "wining & dining" but also felt VERY over whelmed with all the attention, questions, and roller coaster of emotions that come with a job interview. When we returned home the kids were WELL taken care of and we were grateful for the opportunity to go.

The hotel we stayed in had a big ginger bread house down in the lobby. And while we were gone our kids were spoiled in some ginger bread house making of their own. Love those little faces!

Saturday, December 01, 2012

Santa Arrives in Temple

Every December Santa makes his way to Temple via the Santa Fe Train Station. This year we joined some friends and headed over to enjoy the excitement! The kids saw Santa from a distance....I wasn't feeling up to waiting in the hour long line. Plus Spencer wants NOTHING to do with the big jolly guy! We swung our hammers at the Lowes craft station and then walked through some of the old train cars. The kids thought it was really neat....but to be honest I couldn't get over the smell and the overwhelming claustrophobic feeling. After, we headed over to the park and let the kids run, play, and enjoy the sunshine! (Love how even though it's December the kids are all in shorts and t-shirts)