Christmas Eve

Laugh

Carter gets told to be nice a lot.  Thus, he tells us to be nice a lot too.  When he gets hurt he will yell at the thing that hurt him to be nice.  The other day we were eating breakfast and he tooted.  He cried and told me his tootie hurt.  He then lifted up his bum and hit it while yelling, "You be nice bum." It was so funny! Below is a picture of cater at his first dentist appointment.  He did so well.

Dance Recital

Lexi had her Christmas dance recital.  It is one of my favorite things to do.  Lexi was really excited for it.  She looked so cute in her costume.  She was a little less animated this year but still gave a great performance.  Cole and my Mom got to come and Cole gave Lexi a flower.  She loved her special day and Grandma spoiled her by taking us to Culver's for lunch after.

Breakfast with Santa

We got to go to breakfast with Santa.  It was so fun.  The kids got their faces painted.  Carter chose a tree with a twinkle (star) and Lexi chose Rudolph. The kids were a little leery of Santa this time but they still enjoyed seeing him.  After the breakfast we went bowling.  Carter got a little tired and snuggled up with Jolene and loved playing with her hair.  It was really sweet.  It was a great day.

Christmas Fun

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is going to see the lights at Temple Square.  We went to Market Street for dinner and then to see the lights.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to do it but my body hung in there and I was able to enjoy the night.  The kids were excited to see the nativity and got really excited to see the star and animals.  I always feel the spirit so strong when we go there.  I am grateful for my family and that we have the gospel and the temple ordinances so be together forever.  After we stopped by to see Santa at City Creek.  Lexi told him she wanted a bike and Carter told him he wanted a big boy potty.  Santa was a little surprised and said that was the first time he'd had that request.  It was really funny.

We went to the live nativity in Alpine this year.  It was amazing.  They had all sorts of animals which Carter loved.  He would hike the hills to go see them and didn't even beg to be held.  It was fun to hear the different things the actors told about the story.  I liked being reminded about the gifts the three wise men gave.  When we got to the actual nativity it was so quiet and peaceful.  Carter didn't want to leave baby Jesus.  It was great to be able to feel the spirit with my family.

We had Cole's siblings over for a Christmas party.  We ate yummy food and played minute to win it games.  It was fun to have everyone over and I have really grown to appreciate being able to get to know Cole's siblings better.  They are very good people and we are lucky to live close to them.  We did a white elephant exchange and had a lot of good laughs.

Thanksgiving

We went to my Moms for Thanksgiving.  I did my hair in a twist and Lexi wanted to be twinners so we did hers in one as well.  I love that she wants to be like me.  I am her best friend and love it.  I am going to miss her so much when she goes to kindergarten.  I was 33 weeks in these pictures.  I made the pies and sweet potatoes for the dinner.  After we are we went to see Frozen and enjoyed the day.

Basement

We finished the family room in the basement in November.  It has taken a while because we stopped to work on the backyard this summer.  Cole worked endless hours on it and even worked 24 hours straight on it at one point.  We tried to do things right and bought nice paint and nice carpet and we are happy with how it turned out.  It is nice having such a talented husband that could finish the room for us.  He did everything but the texturing and carpet.  My Dad and Cole's brothers all helped us at different points through the process and I am grateful for their willingness. Lexi and Carter love playing down there.  Lexi set up this "nativity".  She's quite creative.