More Christmas Fun...

We have had such a wonderful Christmas vacation.  I absolutely love having the kids home!  We kept busy baking, reading, playing the Wii and playing outside.  We decorated our annual gingerbread house and even went bowling!  The girls are really enjoying helping out in the kitchen now.  They were all excited to help Phil's mom make peanut butter fudge.  Allie received a cookbook for Christmas and we had to try the milkshakes right away!  So yummy!  Nathan discovered Phil's backpack in the shed and went on several "treks" - to Denver and South America.  It's amazing where your imagination can take you!  Every night, we unpacked the backpack and were always surprised at what he packed.  He'd remember pajamas, snacks, a lunch, and even summer clothes for the warm weather in South America!  So cute!  We celebrated a late Christmas with my family and spent some time with my grandma.  We also saw "The Princess and the Frog" with my parents.  I'm so thankful for the special moments we've shared and the precious memories we have made!

Glimpses of our Christmas Day

Merry Christmas...

...from our family to yours!  We hope you had a day filled with blessings as we celebrated Christ's birth!

What Could Be Better...

...than wearing pajama pants, five pairs of socks and rubber boots while holding Daddy's umbrella and standing in the deepest mud puddle in the entire backyard?

Apparently, not much!

Angels We Have Heard on High

The season of Christmas programs began last Thursday when the second and third graders presented "Angels We Have Heard on High." It was a great program and we were thankful my parents could enjoy it with us. As we walked out to the car, Allie exclaimed, "That was FUN!" She absolutely loves to sing and smiles the entire time!

Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter!

Although Phil isn't especially fond of all the leaves that fall in our yard every autumn, the kids sure love to play in them!

And, in less than three weeks, things changed from autumn to winter! Brrr!

I do believe frost has a beauty all its own.

Thanksgiving in Frisco

On Wednesday, we headed for the hills! We stayed in a condo in Frisco, CO and had a wonderful time. There was a hill right next to our condo that was perfect for sledding - the kids had a ball! My favorite part? The roaring fire that Phil kept going all day long on Thanksgiving. It was so warm and cozy! It was a real treat to enjoy time in the mountains all together. We made a lot of wonderful memories - just one more thing to be thankful for!

More Fun...

On Tuesday, we were able to attend the Grandparents' Day festivities at the kids' school. It was fun to visit the different classrooms and watch their program! Luke really shone when he sang his solo! The kids enjoyed playing outside at recess with their cousins.

Heading East!

Last Saturday morning, we headed East to Colorado to visit my sister and her family. The kids had the entire week of Thanksgiving off from school, so we decided to take a road trip! We broke the drive into two segments - we are just too old to drive straight through - and slept in Utah on Saturday night. We arrived in Denver last Sunday afternoon. The kids were awesome travelers and the weather was perfect for driving. God gave us bright sunny skies the entire way there.

On Monday, we headed to the Museum of Nature and Science with Tami and Cara. It's the fourth largest museum in the United States - so big that we didn't see all of the exhibits! We enjoyed the space exhibit, dinosaurs, animal and mummy exhibits and also took in a showing in the IMAX theater. That was an experience!

When we arrived at Tami's house, Nathan got bundled up and found the patch of snow that hadn't yet melted. He played out there for an hour or so before getting too cold. He came to the door a few times to show us his snowballs - too cute!

"Now this is what I call a snowball!"

The girls didn't spend too much time outside - they were too busy getting to know Cocoa and Gizmo. These dogs are just adorable and so mellow. The girls totally fell in love with them!

After school, we went to watch Joshua's basketball game (he scored 4 points!) and had dinner at Chick-fil-A. Yum! We also spent some time with our friends, Troy and Jill - that is always a treat, too! Our first full day in Denver was very fun!