wishing all our loved ones a very merry Christmas!

downtown

it is our family tradition to take trax downtown to see the lights at temple square. this year we added going to the grand america hotel to see their window displays. the addition did not disappoint.

 on our way downtown. 

side story: todd forgot to scan his i.d. card to ride trax (you can get a ticket for not scanning it) and jumped off at a random stop to do so. i was in charge of continually pushing the button to open the door. however, it closed after the third or fourth time pushing it. i was left alone on the train unsure of where i was going and how to get there. we only have one cell phone, and todd had it, so i prepared to get off the train at the next stop, praying todd would think the same thing and meet me there. as i began pushing the stroller out the door, todd came jumping in! he apparently realized he wouldn't make it to our train car in time, so got in another one. you can't imagine my relief seeing him- i was sure our night would be ruined before it had even begun! 

 we went to the grand america first. the window displays were a story that you follow along throughout the hotel (they even had it published into a book as well). we were given a scavenger hunt, of sorts, to find a hidden star in each display. at the end, we all received a delicious cookie from their bakery. it was a fun activity i hope the grand america will continue next year.

 one of the "pages" (window displays)

 after that, we headed over to temple square to see the beautiful lights. (as you can see, the stranger that took this photo thought it was equally important getting the pavement as the temple- i guarantee you when i took his family's photo, i got the temple spires!)

 it is amazing how beautiful the lights are

inside the joseph smith building

it was such a fun night! i think next year, we might make it a two evening adventure, so we can really enjoy each spot. the end of the night bonus was seeing cousins at the bookstore on our way to trax. so, we got to ride home with ellie's "cousin friends" tyler and brayden. it definitely made the trip home faster and less painful for our tired children. thanks kathy and scott!

fun with the newmans

Christmas tradition: matching pajamas from grandma and grandpa!

playing "santa" with cousins matthew and josh

all in the sleigh together

i'm trying to be good, santa!

i love that my girls hold hands. they hold hands to dance together, to walk through the house together, and they hold hands in the car. it is seriously cute stuff.
as we drove home the other night, abby began to fuss. i asked ellie what the problem was. she said that abby wanted to hold hands, but that her hands were cold, so ellie didn't want to. i reminded ellie that it was important to be a good big sister and make good choices. i also slipped in that santa was watching.
a few moments later i hear ellie saying quietly, "i'm holding abby's hand, santa, but it's cold!"
way to go, sport.

last weekend, we had our good friends the evers over for dinner and a trip to gardner village to see the elves.

 ellie liked hanging out with "easton and the brothers."

 couldn't get all four to look at the same time

 watching the elves baking for Christmas

 there were some fun window displays

 rockin' out

watching elves play music

 after taking a few photos, jackson took his hood off, posed and said, "here, take another now."

the nice list. and upon closer inspection, you will notice...

 the names of ellie, todd, and abby, but nowhere was there jeanette (on naughty or nice)

  

 she was actually still and smiling long enough for me to take a photo!!!

under the careful (and spooky) watch of an elf

housekeeping

 i love that ellie insists on wearing that red hat whenever she picks up her bubble gun

 ellie teaching abby how to dust

 on to the piano

music time after the housework is complete

"abby's turn!"

my kids love taking baths. it is always sad when they get out, so we take turns who gets out first. and that child also gets to choose which washcloth to use. the other day it was ellie's turn to get out first, thus she got to choose which washcloth she wanted. i was holding both out for her to choose from and she kept saying, "abby can choose first." she was being so nice, letting abby choose, but i kept telling her she got to choose. finally, abby just grabbed one. ellie exclaimed, "abby chose first, abby's turn to get out!" ellie is getting a little too smart.

we've tried getting abby out of the bath chair, but she doesn't like not having it. this way she can focus on her splashing.

i am glad for many things

sorry- forgot to publish this post a couple weeks ago!
"i am glad for many things"
that's the new hymn our family learned this past week from the primary hymnbook. in preparation for thanksgiving, we discussed blessings in our lives and what we are each thankful for. we made a turkey showing some of the things that we are glad for and that make us happy.

todd's hands say: work, football, family

jeanette's hands say: gospel, freedom, our home, talents

ellie's hands say: temples, books, nona & papa, snowman, animals, grandma karen & grandpa kent, toys & games

abby's hands say: naps, binkie, walking, blankie, food

we spent thanksgiving with my family this year. we ate way too much and had a lot of fun together.

 the spread. yes, there were 3 types of stuffing.

 and of all this, ellie would only eat the grapes!

my parents moved into their new home one month after we did and they already have nearly everything up on the walls and their boxes are unpacked. i'm jealous. they got our old family photos up in the basement just in time for thanksgiving. the grandchildren had a good time looking at all of them, especially those where papa had a mustache.

fun with cousin-friends

when todd and i were first married, we lived in omaha, nebraska (winter quarters for those who are pioneer buffs). todd had a cousin who lived about an hour away from us and we got together with he and his wife (scott & kathy) once in awhile. well, when we moved to our new home, we ended up one mile away from them as well (it's kind of like we are stalking them, but i swear we are not... at least not consciously). we have play dates and swap babysitting since our children are the same age. but what is the family relationship between our kids? first cousins once removed, second cousins, or just "cousin-friends?"

 ellie & tyler racing from the craft table...

 ... to the bean bag.

 over, and over, and over again.

(i think todd's favorite part of our house is that the basement was 100% finished. the family room downstairs is perfect for our family to play in.)

 trying to get a photo of everyone.

 tyler making his way through the tunnel.

ellie is right behind him.

once there were three snowmen

last weekend it snowed. this isn't the first snow, but ellie was very excited to get out there and play. see, i'm not from snow country. so, snow is best for a 2 year-old when it comes on the weekend and her daddy, who is from snow country, is home. i make the hot chocolate (and keep the baby inside-to her sadness).

getting dressed for the snow.

someday... someday.

snowman #1

(with a pumpkin hat)

snowmen #2 & #3

cabela's = field trip

i'm trying to organize myself lately. i have always struggled with being late to ... well, everything. i have a tendency to try and pack in too much into too small a time frame. also, i found that we would go weeks without doing a fun project or a fun outing. then i would try and overcompensate by doing a ton of fun stuff, thus getting behind in housework. so, in an effort to improve and organize myself, i have made a weekly schedule.

why am i confessing? in order to explain why we went to cabela's. we go on a "field trip" once a week to do something fun (and hopefully educational). i had planned to go to the monte l. bean life science museum at byu this past week with the girls. however, we went to visit my parents in lehi, and they happen to live near cabela's.

have you ever been to cabela's? if not, it is pretty great for kids. there are a bunch of animals- and not just deer and elk (although there are plenty of those). ellie had a blast and she loves looking at her flashcards with the animals we saw there.

 abby pointing out the huge animals!

 ellie and papa checking out the wildlife.

 there is nothing like a scalp massage from a polar bear.

 a rare photograph of ... jeanette. (i'm usually taking the photos.)

 ellie got to feed some fish, then we went to the aquariums where there were some huge fish. ellie liked the catfish (i think she liked their name best). we got to see the fish in the aquariums be fed. they ate fat worms (you can see them in the photo above). they also fed them goldfish. live goldfish. big, live goldfish. i couldn't get a photo of the goldfish, though, because they didn't last long enough for me to focus the camera and push the button. 

 here is a big guy coming right at us.

 you can't get this close to a bear at the zoo!

 ellie liked this yellow plane.

 i miss horseback riding.

nonna supervising ellie's driving.