Christmas Day

The holidays were spent at home in Woods Cross this year. We received lots of snow for a beautiful white Christmas.

Our Christmas Eve view after the kids were tucked in and we went to bed. I read them "T'was the Night Before Christmas" as we do every year. Christmas pajamas were given by Christopher the Elf at the beginning of the month this year so that the kids could enjoy them during the holiday season. So, there were no Christmas Eve gifts opened this time which the kids didn't even mention so no big deal.

Christmas morning. Waiting patiently for daddy to come downstairs. Unknowing to us, Lex set his alarm for 5:30am! We didn't get to bed until almost 1am. So, he was sent back to bed until Isabel woke up on her own which was 7:30. We couldn't ask them to wait any longer... and I was a bit excited myself!

Isabel's more than ready to see what Santa brought her & Lex this year.

Lex asked Santa for the Lego "Mines of Moria" set.

This was the only picture I took of Shane where he's not crossing his eyes... sigh. Isabel asked Santa for American Doll Bitty Twins. Meet Becky and Ben.

Shane had this beautiful Nordstrom box wrapped just for me. Inside was something on my wish list. A black quilted North Face down coat. I love it!

Part of the kids' Christmas was spent in Disneyland earlier this month. I didn't want the kids to forget that their mom & dad did this trip as part of their gifts, so I had collages made for each of them of special moments from the trip so they could remember all the fun we had. They have both very much appreciated the frames. Isabel even told me a few days later that looking at the picture made her cry because she had so much fun. Aw!

I spotted this tree in our neighborhood and just loved the way the snow & lights looked that night. This picture doesn't do it justice, but you get a pretty good idea.

Hogle Zoo Lights

Shane went out of town to visit his dad on a boring trip (doing productive instead of fun stuff) so the kids & I went by ourselves to Zoo Lights. It was our first time and we all had a great night. It was a bit on the cooler side, but not so cold we were not enjoying ourselves.

I was surprised at the long line to get in. It was the first night and the event runs all month. Everyone must've been thinking the same thing as me... it's warm, let's go!

Lex's face cracks me up! Pretty sure he could fit in just like Tarzan.

 

Isabel insisted we wait in line for a picture with the elephant. I was willing to wait long enough for the "leg". The "trunk" was too busy and if we didn't keep moving, we got cold.

We made it into the zoo just in time to see Santa walk by with a couple of his reindeer. 

They love each other, most of the time. This is the picture we sent to daddy while he was in Wyoming doing "boring" stuff.

The bridge behind the kids changed from all blue, to all red, to multi, and then off. It was pretty neat to watch.

A sponsor and my work!

We needed hot chocolate, popcorn, and a movie to warm us back up when we got home. Don't ask me why Lex doesn't have a shirt on. I guess he didn't get as cold as Isabel & I did!

Witches Night Out

Mother Nature was kind Saturday night and gave us perfect fall weather to show off our witch costumes without coats or heavy sweaters. My mom was able to join us this year and she looked amazing! We all had a great time.

Amy's night was "complete" after we found this guy. We saw him last year and had to get a pic with him this year. He's awesome. (Unfortunately the friendly camera guy didn't quite get Amanda in the picture all the way.)

It's kinda hard to see in this pic, but the back of my skirt is longer than the front and ended up looking like I had a bustle which I was pleasantly surprised with. Happy with how it turned out and will likely wear it again next year.

Utah State Fair

Shane & Lex are out of town for a few days so Isabel & I (and her friend Abi) ventured out to the Utah State Fair. The weather was perfect and the corndogs hot! I enjoyed soaking in the fun details of the fair.

As we entered the fairgrounds, we first passed the horse stables. And what would you know, but our luck landed us by a cowboy offering a few rides before the rodeo! The girls were ecstatic!

And two tickets for the Spongebob bounce house...

Here was our good-night kiss for daddy!

We spent $7 at the fish bowl game. Both girls wanted desperately to bring home a real live goldfish. "Unfortunately" neither of them won. Sad faces only lasted 30 seconds and we were on to the next fun thing to do!

There was a science center with lots of hands on activities. The drums and hula-hoops were favorites.

Favorite animal? Isabel: sheep (she's decided to be Little Bo Peep for Halloween), Abi: rabbits, Me: horses

1st Day of School

School started a little later this year; the first day after Labor Day. It was nice having a little bit longer summer break, but we were all ready for the new school year to start. Here are my super excited first and fourth graders...

I asked them what they thought about starting school and a new grade.

 Isabel: She was concerned about having to learn about dinosaurs. She was relieved to find out her teacher did not talk about them (that day anyway).

Lex: Bullies. Sad. It's something we've had to deal with since Kindergarten. Some years have been better than others and hopefully this year it's not a problem. Especially with all the anti-bullying campaigns going. The school sent out a letter to the parents already addressing how they were making changes to reduce any incidences of bullying. I'm confident Lex will have a bully-free year.

(Sigh. One of the challenges of parenting I never thought about when they were babies. It's really heartbreaking when you feel like you can't protect your child from things like this.)

Good luck, love bugs! XOXO