Appreciate Utah Winter.

Appreciate Utah Winter.

I don't like cold. And I miss the south often. But mornings I look out my window and see this are something to appreciate too:

(Granted I took this picture from inside my window because there was no way I was walking out in that if I didn't have to)

Keep Traditions.

Keep Traditions.

My family was in town for Christmas this year and I absolutely loved it. We started a lot of new traditions and re-started some old ones. Here are some of them:

Christmas Books.

We don't put our gifts under the tree until Christmas Eve so it looks a little bare all season. This year we started putting all of our Christmas books under the tree and every night the kids could each pick one for me to read to them. Chase's favorite book was a "Search and Find" (like I-Spy) book my mom gave him last year. After picking it two nights in a row and delaying bedtime almost an hour each time, I had to tell him it wasn't really a book, but more of a toy and he needed to pick another one. After he'd run his con on me, he turned to any fresh face he could find:

Chase and Great-Grandpa with the Search and Find book

Chase and Pops with the Search and Find book

Chase and Uncle Andrew and Taylor with the Search and Find book


Chase and Uncle Todd with the Search and Find book

Before most of the family arrived on Christmas Eve, we put on the Christmas music and turned the living room into a dance floor. I like this as a tradition:

Taylor and Pops

Taylor and Great Grandpa

Taylor and Chase were the main entertainment pretty much the entire night. They starred as Mary and Joseph and also signed "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". Chase had learned this at his Preschool program and taught it to Taylor. He was a total ham. I have no idea where he gets that. Here is a picture of him at his preschool program:

A tradition we re-started this year is a sugar-cookie making contest on Christmas Eve. As a kid, I remember some wild sugar cookie concoctions. This year was a little more tame but I was impressed with the creativity all the same:

Andrew and Todd

When I told my brothers to pose with their cookies, they simultaneously did this. I also have a picture of the end-product of Andrew's cookie but it is inappropriate for the web.

My Dad skipped out during the sugar-cookie making but returned later to throw together the token 3-D cookie pictured here. It's no 2-foot cookie tower, but respectable nontheless. When he was gone was also when a surprise visitor showed up at our door---Santa! I have some super-cute video of this but I can't find the cord to hook the camcorder up to the computer. Santa was also nice enough to accompany me to my neighbors' houses that night to deliver some Christmas goodies.

Another new tradition I am fond of is the making of the Gingerbread House. While Jake and I went to his work party, my mom made these with the kids. She even provided gingerbread house-making outfits:

Nana and the Kids

(Taylor still does not like having her picture taken)

The kids were allowed to eat it the day after Christmas. (Matcing PJs also compliments of Nana)

Some traditions from the holiday I don't want to keep:

*Jake puking his guts out all Christmas Eve and not leaving his bed.

*Jake pulling his back out on Christmas and not leaving his bed.

*So much snow Christmas morning we couldn't make it to the family photo, which was the kids' present to our parents.

*Taking impromptu family photos when I just got out of the shower:

(Out of like ten photos this is the only one where one of my brothers isn't intentionally sabotaging the photo by grotesquely rubbing his belly or chest hair)

Merry Christmas to all! (Late and also because I didn't get any Christmas cards sent this year).