SNOW

One thing is for certain we get a lot more snow in Colorado than we ever did in Memphis. Below are some pictures of the kids getting ready to go out and play in one of the first snowfalls of winter.  The kids were so excited and anxious to go play in the snow. Ben and Emmy didn't last very long, but Hyrum stayed out in the snow for awhile. 

Of course, Lucy didn't go out and play in the snow, but I had to take pictures of her anyways. 

These pictures were taken in December of 2012.  We are excited to be able to play in the snow more frequently. 

Early Christmas Presents

Before we went to Texas for Christmas, we opened some Christmas presents.

My grandparents on my dad's side sent the kids some Christmas presents with my parents when they came for Hyrum's baptism.  The kids each got a blanket and a puppet from them. The kids were so excited. The cute polka-dot one that Lucy received is her favorite blanket.

 The kids also received their Santa bag from my grandma. Each year my grandma has a Santa party where Santa comes to visit. Santa hands out a bag for a present.   We weren't going to be able to go this year so it was nice of her to send the bags to us. 

 Hyrum thought it was so awesome that he received a hammer. It was probably one of his favorite Christmas presents.

 Emmy's glow glasses were pretty fancy.

Our neighbors Chuck and Genia gave us a really cool cake calendar. 

 My favorite presents to open were from the kids that they worked on at school.  The kids were so excited and so proud of their masterpieces that they made for us. 

Ben and Emmy each gave us a calendar. For every month the kids drew a picture.

Emmy and Ben checking out each others calendar.  

I loved Hyrum's wrapping paper. Hyrum drew his wrapping paper for the ornament that he gave us.

It was so fun to receive such thoughtful presents.  

Christmas Fun 2012

We had a great Christmas season.  Our family was able to do many fun things to celebrate the birth of our Savior. 

One of the things we did with another family was going caroling to some of the widows in our ward and deliver them a plate of treats. We also went and picked out some Christmas presents for a family in our area that doesn't have very much. The kids were cute and very excited to pick out presents for a little boy.

As a family we decorated a gingerbread house and a gingerbread man.  The kids love doing this. Brandon is the expert that really helps the kids with the frosting and such.  The kids were assigned a special part on the house to decorate. 

I can't believe how much Lucy has changed from these pictures a few months ago.  She was just learning to walk in December. 

The kids were also able to go caroling to a local nursing home and share treats with the residents there.  Also, the kids and I took a present to donate to the homeless shelter for a little boy in our area.

Of course, we went to the ward Christmas party.  Ben and Emmy were asked to play Joseph and Mary in our ward's Nativity. I thought they looked so cute and did such a great job.

  Hyrum and the other big kids were able to be in the front of the stage and sing the Christmas songs that they had learned.

After the kids sang, Santa came.  The big kids were really excited to see Santa (Emmy was still a little nervous). 

Lucy was not fan!

Although it was a busy Christmas season with all the many other things we had going on, it was a great time to be with our little family.