A garden full of flowers: December fun

Wow, what a whirlwind of craziness. We moved into our new home in the beginning of December. I wanted to make sure our home was decorated for Christmas before anything else. We were given a giant 10 foot tree, which I am SOO excited about. I've always wanted a HUGE tree in my house. We got that up, and even though I originally told myself I was NOT going to put up any other decorations, I just couldn't help myself. So, we got up all our decorations, and also unpacked our house, and things started getting back to normal. Wesley got into his new school the next day after we got up here, and he just made himself right at home. His school is amazing, and his teacher is so nice. Although a huge chunk of December was dedicated to unpacking, we did do a few fun things. We went to a Candy Cane hunt at a local park. It was a really cute idea, but there were too many kids there to have an enjoyable time. Anything involving kids in Utah will be crazy, and that is one thing I'm going to have to get used to. We also went to Thanksgiving Point to see Santa and his reindeer! This was the first year I did "elf on the shelf," and the boys were soooo excited. I dind't do anything crazy, I just moved him around the house, but it brought so much more Christmas magic into the house. Apparently Wesley had an elf in his school class too, and he actually brought the kids little gift. The elf in our house wasn't quite as cool, but the boys still talk about him.

Everything is so festive up here. There was a small amount of snow in December, but not much. Apparently it had been a very warm month. I was grateful that Utah eased me in gently with its "warm" snow-less weather, but I also really wanted to experience snow on Christmas. On Christmas morning, we were given a true Christmas miracle. We woke up to a Winter Wonderland. There is just something so incredibly peaceful and amazing about freshly fallen snow. The boys were ecstatic, and I was also in awe. Seriously, it was a miracle. Since we have been up here, Christmas morning has been the ONLY day it has snowed enough to really stick. I know I will get tired of it eventualy, but it was soo amazing to see that. I've spent every Christmas of my life in warm, sunny weather. It was so fun to experience what they sing about in Christmas songs! :-) Normally on Christmas in California, we are very busy. Since my family and Jason's family live 5 minutes from each other, we usually spend the day running back and forth. Every year I'm exhausted by the end of the day from all our festivities. I lOVE having family so close, but it does make for a very busy day. This year we had a nice slow morning opening gifts, and the rest of the day we spent playing in the snow, building our first real snowman, and then just enjoying each other and having fun with our new gifts. It was a whole new experience, and it was nice to just have an easy going day with our little family.

A few days later we drove down to California for my brother's baby blessing, and also to celebrate Christmas with everyone. Even though we had only been gone about three weeks, it was so nice to see everyone again. We also had a fun New Years Eve party with Jennifer and her kids. She decorated the tree with new years items like noise makers, poppers, hats, beads, and balloons filled with money. Right before new years (we celebrated at 9pm for the kids), they each got to take turns picking a balloon, popping it, and getting to keep the money inside! The boys had a blast, and I think a similar party will have to become a yearly tradition.

Enjoying his swing-set in the warm weather right before we moved. He LOVED that thing.

packing is a lot of work!

Snuggles with my baby before moving to Utah

I loves these sweet, crazy little boys

I REALLY miss being able to go on walks when ever I want. I don't have that luxury as much up here.

I LOVE this picture. My sweet grandma reading to Chase. I'm so glad my kids have been able to get to know my grandma and develop a good relationship with her.

Empty house - what else is there to do?!

Good Bye Ontario House! Thanks for the memories!!

On the day before leaving, I was able to walk though Christmas on Euclid with my family. It was so much fun spending that time with them, and seeing the very manger scenes I used to visit when I was a small girl.

I LOVE this picture, and will always cherish it. Some of the most important people in my life!

In Utah, here are some of the things we were able to do during Christmas time:

I was sad about Wesley missing his Christmas party, but his new school had a Polar Express Party, and he got to wear his PJ's, and had a really fun time.

When we came back down to visit Cali, Jason made homemade Gak for all the kids to play with.

Blake and Oliver

AND back in Utah on Christmas morning (sorry for all the back and forth)

I'm still amazed that we were lucky enough to experience our first real snowfall ON Christmas morning. Soo fun!!

Candy Cane hunt

We also went to visit the "Tree of Life" at a local park. It was gorgeous! I was freezing though. I'm still getting used to the cold, and the fact that I have to bundle my kids up in a million layers before going anywhere.