Kindergarten Carolers!

Yesterday we were able to go and see Zach's kindergarten class put on a little christmas program for us. They were all so cute in their little reindeer hats - but Zach was definitely the cutest!



They sang Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, All I Want is Chocolate in my Stocking, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. They were all so cute, especially our Zachary. And we could forget to take a picture of him with his sister.































Jeremiah was in charge of the camera and I forgot to tell him that when you take video clips, you have to make sure the camera isn't turned because I don't know a way to turn a clip 90 degrees. So sorry for having to turn your head to the side to see this, but it was just too cute not to add to the post. This is a little clip of him singing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer - they all learned some actions and it was just so darling!



We are so proud of our big kindergarten boy! We had so much fun watching his program and can't wait until they do another one! And to see what we did when we got home from the kindergarten program, see the post below!

Is it really snow?

Seems like the winter has taken so long to get here, we weren't sure it was really coming. But these last few days it has really come and made itself known. We've gotten over 7 inches of snow in less than a few days and we have loved it!

Do you remember the first time you got out and really got to play in the snow? Well, this was Hailey's first full blown snow playing. We got out the snow pants, coats, boots, gloves, and hats and turned them loose to play while we were shoveling the driveway. They both had a blast!



And playing in the snow just wouldn't be complete without making at least one snow angel. Zach is a master and decided he would teach his sister. She was more than happy to lay in the snow and even got her legs moving. Not bad for her first time!



We are already being asked if they can go back out and play in the snow. We haven't let them yet because today it's been cold and windy. But we're hoping that we can all go out again before long, they just had too much fun!

Christmas Decorations

For those of you who don't live near us or who are interested in seeing our Christmas decorations, I thought I'd post them on the blog. The kids had such a fun time helping me decorate this year, I wanted to take some pictures so they could remember. Luckily, we managed to get everything put where they wanted it (with a little guidance from me) without breaking anything. I'm enjoying the fact that as Hailey gets older, I'm able to place more "breakable" things a little lower. Here are some pics of random places in our home with decorations.






And last, but not least, our Christmas tree. We had quite the experience getting this finished (it's a long story), but we're happy to finally have it done.



I think by far, the outside is the favorite, despite all the work we did on the inside. The kids can't wait until it gets dark every night so that we can turn on the outside lights. In fact, we don't make it past about 20 minutes after sunset before the kids are asking if it's time to turn them on. Usually, our blow up Santa gets turned on before the rest, in an effort to keep them happy until it gets dark enough.




This is our new purchase this year. It's a bit hard to see, so if you can't tell, it's Snoopy and his doghouse. We found it on sale and the kids were so excited, we just had to get it for our yard. The kids love it and can't wait to plug it in and get the lights blinking.




And lastly, our blow up Santa who spends more time blown up than not, I think. He's not very big, but the kids love him and are always shaking his hand or giving him hugs when they're outside.



Decorating for Christmas sure has put us in more of a Christmas mood since we don't have any snow down here to help us feel like it's Christmas time. Supposedly, we have a big storm on the way this weekend that should leave us with a bunch of snow on the ground, so that should help too. We are so excited for Christmas and can't believe it's less than 2 weeks away!

Light on Temple Square

Last night we spontaneously decided to take the kids up to Temple Square to see all of the lights. The kids were mesmerized by all of the lights in so many different colors. Hailey was quick to point out all the pink ones and Zach couldn't decide if he liked the blue or the green lights best.

Based on past experiences, we took our wagon as we didn't want to have to carry either of them or have them fight over the stroller, which they are both too big for anyway. It actually worked out great, although it was a bit tricky to maneuver it with all the people there. Both the kids had coats, hats, gloves, and blankets on and I think they were more than comfortable.



We found some really nice sister missionaries that offered to take a picture of all of us. They were both still in the MTC and getting ready to head off to the church history sites in Kirtland, but were using the Temple Square experience as some practice. One was from Southern Utah and the other was from Hong Kong. They were so very nice and we were happy to have met them. We were hoping to get a picture with them, but some people came up and wanted to ask them a question, so we waved and left them to the more important thing they were doing.



Despite all of the beautiful and colorful lights, there was no argument that the temple was the most beautiful thing there. Both of our kids have a hard picking out the temple from the freeway as we're driving by. You can see it, but with all of the other tall buildings, it's hard to make it out unless you know what to look for. Hailey was just loving being able to see it up close and personal. Zach was continually pointing out the Angel Moroni (or Angel Foroni as he says it) every time he saw it.



The reflecting pool on the east side of the temple was completely breathtaking with the little nativity scene of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus right in the center in white. The kids loved looking at it and didn't want to move on to anything else.



Ironically, we ran into some friends we knew in Connecticut who were having a little get together with others from CT at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We had been invited, but apparently didn't get the message. So we headed over there and got to catch up with about 5 or 6 families we haven't seen in a few years. All have moved back to Utah now, but most live up near Brigham City, so we don't get to see them often. It was a great reunion and we felt great that we had decided to go on a night when they were all there.



Inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building is a huge Christmas Tree - the kids were loving looking at how tall it was. We haven't gotten our Christmas Tree for our home yet (that's the plan for Family Home Evening tomorrow night), but Zach wanted to know if we could get one that big! We told him we'd get one as big as we could, little does he know it won't be near as big as that one, but we're counting on him forgetting the actual size of that one and just being glad that we have one in our house.

We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the evening. It was a bit crowded, but so worth the effort of maneuvering around everyone. There's nothing like seeing the light on Temple Square, it really puts you in the mood for Christmas!

Christmas Socks

A fun Christmas package came in the mail today. Our Great-Nana sent the kids a little surprise. To be honest, it could have been dirt and they would have been happy - they never get mail. But it was something 100 times better than dirt - it was a new pair of fun Christmas socks for each of them. They had to put them on right away and have been wearing them all night.

Zach's socks have Santa and reindeer on them.




Hailey's socks have snowmen with snow.




Are we happy and excited about our fun new socks???



ABSOLUTELY! Thanks Great-Nana - WE LOVE YOU!

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving came early to Zach's kindergarten. They have been preparing all of last week for their Thanksgiving party. Today was the day and complete with costumes and stories was a Thanksgiving Feast. We were assigned cookies and Zach wanted to take something really fun. I did some searching on the internet and found these really cute Turkey Cookies on the Betty Crocker website. They didn't look too hard (even for someone as uncrafty as myself), so we decided to take a chance and make them. Zach was thrilled and could hardly wait to get to school!


With a few candy corns, M&M's, and icing we managed to turn these sugar cookies into turkeys.












When we dropped him off for school, we helped him get the cookies inside. While we were standing outside his door, all of his friends wanted to see what he was holding and they were all oohing and aahing at the cookies. He was so proud and showed each of them what he had.

After school, he was so excited to get home and show us his costume. The whole class dressed up like pilgrims and indians. Zach was chosen to be an indian (apparently the whole class wanted to be, so they had to draw names out of a hat) and he got to wear the headband and vest. He looked so cute and he couldn't stop smiling.



Ah, school holiday parties - just the first of many to come.

My Beautiful Children

I really don't have a lot to post, but I have taken a few pictures of the kids lately and thought I would post those. My kids are really growing up and I can't believe how old they are already. Seems like just yesterday we were bringing each of them home from the hospital and now they are 5 and almost 3. Time sure flies by.







And one last funny one. Zach is really into doing at least 1 picture with funny faces. He's teaching Hailey how to do all sorts of funny faces - aren't they cute?!