Temple Square with the Livingstons

For Family Home Evening on Dec, 13th we got to go see the temple lights with our cousins. We were so glad to get to go with Jared and Tracy and their kids because it was getting very close to the time that they would be moving to Colorado, SAD! It was so cold and and Isaiah and Jonas were pretty whinny. Isaiah wanted to be held the whole time and Jonas wanted to get out and run wild! We did have a good time but we decided that the best part of the night was going to McDonald's for Hot Cocoa and treats! The kids got to play and play and the moms and dads got to talk and enjoy each others company.

At the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Beautiful Chandelier

I love this Pic, one of my favorites!

Some of the nativity scenes



Cute kids!

Of all the cousins these two look most alike, they could be brother and sister! They are best buds and are so cute together!

Isaiah smiling!?!

Having fun on the stairs of the temple

Whoa, I'm free!

A replica of the Salt Lake Temple

This is what Jody could see of the Nativity. It was so crowded!

As we were leaving Isaiah looked up and said "that's the fruit on the tree". So cute!

Making Gingerbread Houses

I got to go and help Danielle Lila's class made Gingerbread Houses this week. It's always fun to help with these activities and I'm grateful that I'm able to do so! Thanks to Jody's work schedule he can watch the two little ones while I go help out at school once, sometimes twice a week. Thanks babe!

The kids had a great time and there were some great houses!

Before

After

Notice the stash of candy

This house was hit by a tornado, the poor little marshmallows were the civilians!

Our Trip to Bethlehem

For our first family home evening of the month we went to Bethlehem! I heard about this from my neighbors. Crazy that we actually ran into those families and others from our ward who showed up at the same time as we did! This is put on by a family and a whole bunch of volunteers. It is a free event but donations are accepted and given to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. (More info here http://livenativityinalpine.blogspot.com/) It turned out to be a great night, although it took us well over an hour in line to get to Bethlehem. At one point the kids wanted to go home and one family that was in front of us actually did leave after about 40 minutes of waiting. But we stuck it out and the kids loved it! We got to see Shepherds, Roman Soldiers, a Wise man, animals, a Bethlehem city scene and most importantly Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus! We entered in to a stable and it was very quiet, were able to just stand and watch the baby. What a great moment! I'm glad that I was able to take my kids. They know why we celebrate Christmas but we can all get caught up with the "hustle and bustle" and sometimes forget the true meaning. I want them to always remember and I think was a great to remember! Next it will be Temple Square to see the lights.

Can't Believe It's Christmas Time!

Wow! I can't believe it's that time of year again! The kids are so full of the Christmas Spirit and wanted to decorate the Day after Thanksgiving but we made them wait until Monday, Jody's day off. We had a great time! The kids just wanted to start grabbing and get to work but I made them get in a line, I would hand them an ornament and then Daddy would help them put it on. It was also Jonas' turn to put the angel on top and he loved it!

We changed our tree this year, we got some great stuff from Sam's Club last year. I love the colors and the big ornaments! The wooden stars are from back in the day when my Daddy was doing his wood work, he is amazing at it (it's pretty sad that those few things are all I have of the many pieces he's done!) and I love them!

I also put this cute countdown calendar, that I made at a craft night with my family on our trip to AZ, so FuN! I put it all up to make sure that I would have enough ribbon and that everything would fit. Then I was going to take it down so the kids could put one on each day, but I liked it too much and I didn't want to take it all down. So I found our old calendar and put that one up for them instead and they love it!

This is Tytus' countdown that he made and is so excited about! He cuts one loop off every day and thinks it's so neat.

The kids also just love the way every thing looks all lit up. They HAVE to take turns plugging the lights in too. So far Jonas hasn't been to bad at messing with the tree, but we still have the whole rest of the month don't we! I'm excited for all the lights also, it' been a long time since we have taken the kids to see the temple lights and we're definitely going this year. I can't wait!