December came and went and just like that it was over. As I look back I am grateful to be close to our family and that we got to spend that time together and make Christmas memories.
We, of course, had to make a trip to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. It is always so beautiful and mesmerizing. I always love walking around Temple Square. It was especially great this year because the weather was awesome. We really had a very mild winter this year.
These cuties all bundled up but it wasn't really all that cold!:)
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I was able to meet up with one of our favorite families, the Robisons. It was fun to be able to catch up with them and see Rebecca's cute bump, then. She is ready to have that baby now!
We met up at Trolley Square and as we were walking through it, we found Santa. It was Brooke's first time meeting Santa. She was really shy at first but as long as I was close to her she was fine. This Santa was nice but I don't know why he was also a little creepy.
The kids didn't seem to find the creepiness, but I realized that Brielle and Braden are getting older and the magic of Santa will soon fade. That will be a sad day, but it will be cute for them to carry the tradition onto their younger siblings and make them excited for Santa.
I love these kiddos of mine. Scott had such a hard rotation the weeks prior to Christmas.
So it was nice to meet up with friends on a Saturday to give us something fun to do.
These two little girls were so cute running around the visitor center.
...and then it started raining and got cold really fast...and even though this picture is blurry, I love that I am with my kids during Christmastime at Temple Square.
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Our awesome ward had the cutest Nativity reenactment with all the Primary children. For the prelude music, they asked some of the children who play the piano to play a Christmas song. Braden played 'Away in a Manger'. He did so well. I was proud of that boy, he has only been taking piano since September and he is doing so well. Brielle also got to play, "Far, far away in Judea's Plains" She did great also. I didn't get a picture but she did play.
Brielle and her Primary class were angels. They were so cute!
Braden was a shepherd. It was such a fun night watching all the kids and really got us into the true Spirit of Christmas.
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On December 7th, Braden lost his first tooth! That boy has been waiting and waiting to lose a tooth. All of his friends have been losing teeth for a quite a while now and of course he has seen Brielle losing teeth since she was in kindergarten. So this was a much anticipated moment for this cute boy. The tooth fairy came and gave him a golden dollar!
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Scott got the night off on a Friday in December and we got to go to the Holiday Ball at the Little America Hotel. It is always nice to spend time with this awesome guy. The food was amazing and we got to dance for a little while until we were ready to call it a night.
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The couldn't pass up the opportunity to go see the Zoo Lights, since this is our last winter here in Utah. We got to go with one of our favorite resident families, the Clarkes. They are so fun and our kids always have a fun time with them and Scott and I have an awesome time with Heidi and Kyle. They are always good company.
They had some Star Wars characters and we had fun taking some pictures.
Cute kiddos.
The carrousel is always a highlight when we go to Hogle Zoo
and it proved to be even more fun with friends.
That guy behind Scott was totally loving photobombing our picture!!!
We got a good laugh!
It was a cold night but the lights were so fun to see.
After walking around in the cold we went to good ol' MacDonald's and got some hot cocoa.
It was such a fun night spent with some good friends.
Good times!
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We couldn't forget to do our gingerbread houses.
The kids always love this tradition.
The kids always love this tradition.
Crazy kiddos.
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The Friels joined us in our yearly Nativity reenactment.
I love doing this because it gets us all in the true Spirit of Christmas and it helps us focus on the Savior. Brooke was particularly interested in holding baby Jesus or the animals. She can be a very nurturing little girl.
Here is the whole crew with Brielle and Braden as Mary and Joseph.
The Friel kids also took turns being Mary and Joseph.
They totally get into their characters!:)
Brielle as an angel.
It was a fun night! Grateful we got to spend it together.
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On Christmas Eve this year, we made empanadas. Scott was a good helper.
They turned out delicious!!!
Our Christmas Even spread!
We devoured those empanadas. They tasted soooo amazing!
Just looking at these pictures is making hungry.
Then later, even though we were so full, we had to have some hot chocolate and panetón. Two very traditional food we eat in Perú on Christmas Eve. It is fun to be able to find panetón here and transfer these traditions to my children.
We got to open one present on Christmas Even and we all got new jammies!
So glad we got to spend this time with my cute mom.
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That night, was a very late night for me and Scott!!!
But here we are ready for Christmas morning.
We felt truly blessed!
In all of December we got zero snow, until Christmas morning when we woke up to this!
It was magical in every way and such a perfect present for our Heavenly Father.
We had our traditional Christmas morning breakfast of crepes and yummy toppings.
It was delicious!
Christmas morning came and went and for some reason, I accidentally deleted ALL of the pictures I took of our Christmas morning from my camera!!!! Can you believe it? This is the first time this has happened to me since I have my camera. I cried when I realized and I am still in denial that this happened. So no picture of our Christmas morning, maybe it happened for a reason. To realize that Christmas is not about the presents...but I will describe it as magical to watch our children's excitement opening presents and the feeling Scott and I get that we are able to make their little dreams come true. I hope my children will make it just as magical for their children.
Later on Christmas Day, Nya, Rob and Vanessa joined us for Christmas dinner. We just missed Kemchu and Tasnim. Although we were happy to be all together, our happiness wasn't complete because we missed them so much!
At the end of the day, these family moments is where I find the most joy in life, sharing with the people who love me unconditionally and the people I love most.
Merry Christmas 2014!!!!
It was another successful Christmas and memories were made!
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