December Festivities!

Just like every other December, this year was as busy as can be! Although, I loved it. I always get so sad when the holidays are getting close, because I don't want them to end and I love my kids being at the magical age they are - but by the time its over, I am so ok with it! I get kind of overwhelmed with all the expectations and all of the obligations, but this year it wasn't as bad as years previous. So, here is a little peak at our busy and fun December!

I love Claire's preschool....everything about it. Miss Lorie gets those kids so ready for school, and at the same time it is still so old school and darling. It is nothing fancy or showy, and just the way I like it. Every year they have a pajama party and then they put on a little program for the parents. Claire sang her little heart out, and was as cute as a button! 

We were invited to a friends house for Breakfast with Santa. It was so cute, and he was a really believable Santa (unlike so many). The funny thing is, Claire didn't want to have any part of Santa. You can kind of tell by this picture, that she wasn't too jazzed to be sitting on his lap! I am sure part of it is there were a million fun toys in the basement that she couldn't wait to get her hands on. Lilly loved the party though! She is such a social butterfly!

The girls got these stuffed bears at the ward party, and they were a favorite for a while. Its funny how dollar store toys end up being the favorite toys sometimes! I snapped this picture before Church because I thought they looked so cute and festive!

Free Ice Skating with Santa. He was pretty much the worst Santa I have laid eyes on. And, he was super unfriendly. Both girls picked up on it very quickly that there was no way he was the real Santa. The ice rink was packed that day since it was free, but the girls had a ball with all their friends from their school and neighborhood. 

This is one of our darling babysitters whom we adore! We went to a party at her parents house, and she couldn't wait to have the girls open some presents she got for them. I thought that was so sweet! 

It was a fun and packed December! 

Winter Break

It was so much fun having the girls home for Winter Break. I loved not having a schedule, as did the girls. We had many low key mornings, and had lots of fun playing with cousins & friends. We also went on a few fun outings! We didn't get any snow until Christmas morning, so we were able to go on walks and ride our bikes up until then. The girls love taking our dogs on walks, but I am pretty sure the dogs like it more!

I finally finished painting our dining room, and I think it turned out beautiful! I was very impressed by my painting skills. I painted everything: molding, ceiling, walls. The previous owner had heavy heavy texture on the walls, so I sanded those down to where they was just a slight texture to the walls. I think it looks really nice!

They love playing in the snow! As I type this, all the snow in our backyard has melted - but they had fun while it was here!

My parents have a really fun party every year where we have a fabulous dinner, watch a talent show by the kids, have a Nativity and open gifts. Every year the little girls fight over who gets to be Mary so put names on popsicle sticks and they each got to draw who they would be. Claire got to play Mary and she was SO excited! She was the most adorable little thing. She would hold the baby (someone's doll) and caress it's head, talk to it, and snuggle it. For a split second it made me sad she doesn't have a younger sibling. But, like I said, that lasted less than 5 seconds! 

Claire is huge into art. She loves it and could do it for hours on end. She had the paints out for two weeks solid and kept taping up her creations. I didn't have the heart to take them down, so they stayed up throughout the month!

Claire's "funny face" kills me. This picture is so typical of these two:

We have a great movie theater close by that shows movies for $3, and all concessions are $1. We love it! We met up with my sister and her kids to see The Boxtrolls. Weird movie, but the kids really enjoyed it!

We had to get some sledding in! The one benefit to having freezing cold weather was the snow was still pretty fluffy. It was packed down, but not pure ice like it was last year. The girls love going, and it is always entertaining to see them laugh and bounce along!

We had a ball over Christmas breaks. I was actually sad to have school start again. It was so fun to be with the girls. They were so sweet and so good during the whole break. Love those little squirts!!

One of the major highlights was seeing our dear dear friends the Larsens. They were in town for just a short amount of time, so we only got to see them once, but it was SO fun. We had them over for dinner (wings) and games...one of our favorite things to do with them. We love them and miss them, so it did our hearts good to see one another! 

Christmas Eve & Christmas

I absolutely love our Christmas Eve tradition of staying home with just the four of us. It was such a fun and relaxing day. I know it is one of Antons favorite traditions we do as well. This year I cooked a turkey in the crockpot, which was SO delicious, along with all the fixings including mashed potatoes, veggies, rolls and pie for dessert. After dinner, Anton ran some pie to my sweet little Granny and Uncle George. I love how thoughtful and sweet Anton is. Then once he got home, we all snuggled in our living room by the fire and watched a Christmas Movie, read Christmas stories and let the girls open one gift each. We let them open the gifts from Elizabeth and Jurgen (Anton's business partner in Bozeman). They were so excited, and it was the perfect gift for them! She is so thoughtful!

Thankfully we had done a lot of the wrapping already, so all we had to do that night was do a little set up. We were both so excited to have the girls wake up the next morning and see what Santa brought them!

The traditional "picture on the stairs before presents"! I used to not love this when I was little, and now look at me...making these two do it!

Now let the chaos begin!!!!

Christmas with my little family is the magical time. I love it. The girls were so happy, and so excited. Anton and I exchanged gifts once the girls were done unwrapping, and once again I was spoiled. All I asked for was a new vacuum (I got two - including a central vacuum hose), a new robe and new slippers. Anton of course pulled through and got all of them for me! I was like a kid in a candy store after Christmas...I probably had the whole house vacuumed by noon!! 

I always get a little sad every time Christmas morning is over...not because of the gifts or anything like that. I just get sad thinking that my kids will soon be out of this magical stage. I dread the day I am giving them gift cards and clothes. Ugh. So, I soak up these years and these moments as much as I possibly can! I am truly blessed by this adorable little family of mine!