Christmas Day

Luke woke up Christmas morning at 6:45 and we held him off until 7:15. We woke Emma up and hurried downstairs to see what surprises Santa left under the tree.

First, we searched our stockings and found some "awesome" gifts.

Even the 'Cars' underwear was a hit. I thought these might be viewed as a lump of coal.

Emma had a fairly delicate approach with opening her stocking and gifts.

Luke was not as delicate. :) He was all business.

We each received a box of "sugar cereal" that we enjoyed for our Christmas breakfast. Or, if you were Emma, you enjoyed it all morning long.

I knew she really liked her horse when she offered it her 'Cookie Crisp' cereal.

Can you tell she loved her new coat from Grandma and Grandpa Nielson???

Quite infatuated with her baby doll and giving the baby her binki.

Practicing so he can go fishing with his dad.

Santa dropped off a present that contained 6 foam swords for Luke! I'm beginning to think Santa had Luke's Mom and Dad on his naughty list. These swords are used daily, whether some of us want to participate or not!

Also, I think Santa thought these were chapsticks and not lipsticks! 

Lovin' the scooter.

"Shhhhh...no one needs to tell Luke."

Luke loved his new race track from Grandma and Grandpa Utah.

Bryan is still perplexed how the Prius beat out every other toy car.

I loved watching home videos that my parents put onto DVD and gave to us. The above picture is my Dad and Mom on their wedding day. 

That night we enjoyed New England Boiled Dinner. It is a recipe from my Grandma Kotter that is one of my favorites that my mom would make. It turned out delicious! I also learned a trick or two for the next round so I don't end up with a gallon of gravy. :) 

It was a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We decided to stay put this year for Christmas. While we missed being with extended family it was definitely a nice change of pace. We loved being together as our own family, keeping things relaxed and staying healthy (well, for the most part!).
Christmas Eve, our friends, the Groesbecks, invited us to join them for a late lunch. It was delicious, our children loved all of the attention from their kids and we enjoyed a nice visit with Carol and Ben. I've road biked with Carol and Ben and Bryan both work with the young men at church. They are a fun family to be around. It was a pleasant afternoon and we were still able to enjoy Christmas Eve night with just our family. Bryan and I are still trying to decide what we would like as traditions in our family. Christmas Eve we watched/read the Nativity from the book of Luke, let each kid open one present containing new pajamas and a treat to enjoy while watching a movie/playing games.

Emma loved her soft pajamas. She is quite the girly girl. I love it.

Luke bypassed his pajamas and was most thrilled with his very own "soda root beer." Luke is all boy. I love it.

Emma loved playing hide-and-go-seek. This was her best hiding spot. 

Bryan used our "Whirley Pop" to make yummy gourmet popcorn. We enjoyed a fun night together. Then it was off to bed...Santa Claus was coming to town! :)

 Emma and Luke made Christmas feel so magical this night. It was fun to think about what the next day would bring. 

I read the following and deleted it, but decided to paste it back because if I don't write it here, I'm not sure that I will write it anywhere and I want to remember these feelings:

When I was thinking about how much fun I had with our family I couldn't help but think how much my life has changed (for the better!) from just a few years ago. I can't believe how much love a child brings into the home. I know that there are plenty of hard days, but there are many sweet moments that touch my heart in no other way. I thought about the baby that Mary was bringing into the world. I cannot imagine what she was feeling that night. I truly believe a Savior was born into this world for us. It was a tender thought to think about the love that baby brought, not only to His home, but to the world.

Sugar Cookies

We joined our friends, the Sorensons, the make Chrsitmas sugar cookies. It was a fun evening. The kids loved every second. I felt sick to my stomach thinking about any sugar cookies that I previously ate that came from kids. Do you know how many times they lick their fingers, cookies, sprinkles, etc???

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Bryan turned a whopping 34-years-old this year. Jared took him to a movie and then we headed out for some dinner. He requested his mother's carrot cake and I did my best. It definitely wasn't the same as when she makes it, but I made up for it by having the cake 70% cream cheese frosting.

Luke made sure the frosting tasted decent.

Each of the kids took a turn blowing out the candles.

I made a pocket-size fly organizer from an altoids tin for my outdoorsman. He also received a fancy shmancy hand warmer. Oh, the exciting gifts! :)

Happy Birthday to a loving husband and tender father!

It Always Fun When Visitors Come

The Lees made a last-minute trip out for a visit. They were delayed a day, but still made it in time for Mandi to join me at Bunco-the whole reason for the trip. Okay, not really, but we enjoyed a laid-back and relaxing visit with them! 

Ventured out to the library for crafts and story time. Afterwards he hit up Chic-Fil-A. The kids had a great time playing and catching all sorts of germs. :)

We took Luke and Johanna to see Frozen. This was Luke's first time going to the movie theater. He loved the experience. There were several parts of the movie that scared him, but secretly I liked it since he would snuggle up with me.

We made it to the outlets, they watched the kids so Bryan and I could enjoy a birthday dinner for Bryan, played lots of games, stayed up too late and loved every minute!

They also came bearing gifts. My favorite bread, a "pig popper" for  Luke and a mini-diaper bag filled with cloth doll diapers and bottle for Emma. They hit a home-run with each of these gifts. Great to see you guys!

Zoo Day

We can't get enough of the zoo and when we have a warm spell in December, we jump at the chance to be outside! We had the zoo to ourselves, it was a blast. I could let the kids run and roam and not still have a visual on both of them! The animals were all out and up close. It was a terrific morning.

Okay, so I lied. We didn't have to zoo completely to ourselves. There was one other kid on the carousel.

Luke pointing out the ginormous fish. Can you imagine if you were swimming and you felt this brush up against your legs?

Mr. Komodo dragon. Luke (and me!) was glad there was glass separating us. He seemed a little too friendly.

Ode to Lion King and 'Pride Rock'.