Christmas Vacation

A nice long post for a nice long Christmas vacation...

The kids couldn't wait to get out and play in the snow.
Sledding down "the hill" in our backyard.
Christmas Eve at Great Grandma's. We celebrate a different country (or place) every year. This year we celebrated America. We ate cheese from Wisconsin and potatoes from Idaho :) A lot of fun!
Talent Show. Tommy's...being cute.
An Angel in the Nativity.
Aprons that my Grandma made for each of the great granddaughters. So cute!
Christmas morning. Way too many presents that couldn't fit under the tree.

One of her favorite presents.
Playing with their toys.


Classic. I love this kid!Me and a few helpers put together one 500 puzzle and three 1000 puzzles. A favorite Christmas past time of mine.
Visiting Grandma at work and riding the "choo choo" which was a huge hit.

and the carousel.
We went to see the lights on Temple Square, where "Mommy and Daddy got married." Very cold but beautiful!



Jake in his blue striped shirt.
Rachel reading the account of the Savior's birth to us.

The last few days we spent with Jake's brother Dan and his family. These are the only two pictures I got:
Tommy and Brauer
Rachel and Scarlet
These two played so well together. It's so fun to have cousins the same age and gender.

Thanks again everyone for a wonderful Holiday season, it was great to see you all!!

Christmas songs...

Are constantly in my head. I even heard Rachel singing, "silver bells...santa claus is coming to town...dashing through the snow..." all in the same breath.

Picture the kind and gentle Joseph, picture the mother Mary, fair
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh...it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Have a holly jolly christmas, it's the best time of the year. I don't know if there'll be snow but have a cup of cheer
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
The fire is slowly dying, and my dear we're still goodbying

My Sugar Plum Fairy

Rachel's Christmas dance recital was last night. She was a little more timid this year...I think she was more concerned about trying to find us in the audience. But I love her first position and she's just so cute.

Christmas time

We've had our tree up for a week and all the ornaments that were on the bottom half are now sitting on the mantel waiting to be fixed. It's a sad looking tree, but I sure LOVE the smell. Rachel wakes up every morning and goes to turn the lights on.
On Friday we didn't have much to do so we went to the mall. Rachel was so excited to see Santa. When she got on his lap and he asked her what she wants for Christmas, she told him "a bell" (like the Polar Express I guess). She has asked me about a million questions about Santa. One of my favorites, "Mom, does Santa have a family?"Tommy's not too sure about him...he made sure to keep his distance.
Grandma sent us a wonderful Christmas package with books, pjs and these winter coats. Just in time too!! It is freezing here right now.
Yesterday we went to a free Christmas event and got hot chocolate, cider, smoothies, popcorn, photobooth pictures, ornament crafts and another chance to see Santa. Poor Tommy is so scared, it's so cute.
We went to see "Gingerbread Lane" at a hotel across the street from the shopping center. There were some really neat houses. I had to post a few.
This one was my favorite :)

Getting along

There are times when I can't leave these two alone in the same room together. A couple days ago they played "doll house" quietly in Rachel's room for quite a long time. It was bliss! Tonight they were really making each other laugh. I just love watching them interact and get along.

Eating their peas