Second half of December

This year, I was a little slow to get my usual December things done...like taking the girls to go see Santa. So, one Saturday we were driving home from Lilly's game and we were pulling into the neighborhood when we saw Santa drive by and pull into the Library's parking lot. I made Anton turn the car around, and go in and find Santa! He was thrilled! The girls were so excited to see Santa and ask for a basketball and hot wheels!

Robert & Rene giving the girls some Christmas gifts. Nicest people ever.

Nana & Papa's annual Christmas party & Nativity. Both girls were angels this year!

Sweet Ellie Belle is a talented little seamstress. She decided she wanted to make this darling bag and give it to Lilly! I thought that was the sweetest thing! Lilly is so lucky to have such darling cousins. 

Another perk of working at the school. I went and peeked in on Claire's class while they were making their candy houses!

Christmas sing-a-long at the school. They got to start the day off by wearing their jammies, singing songs, then watching polar express in their classrooms! Such a fun tradition for the kiddos!

Anton and I got together with some of my siblings and my parents and went and bought a bunch of toys to donate for the homeless. It was a humbling experience to go there and see how many people donated and to witness the goodness in people. I have such a tender spot in my heart for homeless children...so it was really neat to help out...even if it was a teeny tiny bit. 

First half of December

I just had to document how strange and funny Claire is sometimes. This day she had her shirt off, leg on the table and singing at the top of her lungs. She cracks me up!

Lilly's class got to go to Zions Bank and do their tree lighting ceremony. They sang a couple of songs, had some treats and then about 10 minutes later the program was over! It was short and sweet...just the way I like things in December :)

We got hit with a bug in early December. It seemed to go through us one at a time. Thankfully, it wasn't the stomach bug. I can handle anything but that!! 

Poppy our elf came back this year. The girls LOVE her!

Lilly had a really bad day at school a couple of weeks ago, and had her feelings hurt terribly. My sweet co-worker heard what happened, and left a little present for Lilly on the porch that said "to a beautiful girl". It meant so much to Lilly, and she couldn't imagine who would do such a nice thing! It really helped heal her bruised little heart. 

I love the drawings Claire leaves at my desk for me. I think she has such talent and creativity!

Lilly Basketball

Lilly started Jr. Jazz. Oh man oh man, she loves it. I didn't think we could find anything that she loved as much as Ice Skating, but I think we did. I love that she enjoys it! We didn't even think about signing her up, but her friends mom from school texted me and asked me if Lilly would be interested. So, I asked Lilly if she wanted to play basketball, and with a quick "Yes!", we got the last two spots on the team. It has worked out perfect! I snapped this picture of Lilly and Blake playing basketball together....something I am sure they will look back on and smile at. 

Thanksgiving 2016

I absolutely loved this years Thanksgiving. I didn't want the weekend to end! This year, we decided to have Thanksgiving with just our little family. I am so glad we did. The girls loved helping set the table (nothing fancy) & chop some veggies for our dinner. We cooked a small turkey, made the mashed potatoes in the crockpot (new favorite thing) and ordered pies from Kneaders. The meal was SO good. I was really proud of how good it turned out. And, the company was even better! After dinner, we went to my parents for dessert and to play games with them. It was just my parents, my grandma's and one of my uncles. It was fun to have it be just us. Sometimes when my whole family gets together, it is so chaotic and loud that you don't really get to visit with people. So, we always enjoy the one on one time with my parents. 

We got our first snowfall that weekend, and the girls loved playing in it. I love that they are getting old enough that I can just send them out the door to play...that way, I can stay in the house and stay warm and dry! On Friday, my parents invited all the grandkids to go see Moana. Such a darling movie! We also had our dear friends the Larsens in town. We miss them so much, and it was so good to catch up with them. We picked up right where we left off, which is the sign of a true friendship. We hated to see them go, but enjoyed the time we spent with them!

We all had a rough time going back to work and school the next week. I am so thankful for my little family. They truly are the very most important things in my life. It was a happy Thanksgiving indeed!