Park City Mountain Resort

When I was growing up we didn't get free ski passes through school until I was 13. Now days you get them when you are in elementary school. Marshall got a few passes for his birthday so he can go with James and Lynnlee.

It was Lynnlee's first time this season and she did great on the mountain.

She was skiing by herself in no time.

Aunt Pat's Christmas Party

The annual Christmas party at Aunt Pat's was a success! They had dinner and played games. Then we joined them for dessert. My aunt is so great to entertain seven kids full of energy and Christmas excitement!

Temple Square

We haven't had time for all our holiday traditions but we made time to go to Temple Square to see the lights. The unfortunate part is that Lynnlee had a huge melt down right before leaving. It was over the silliest thing. She almost didn't get to go because she was being so stubborn. Thankfully she conceded but that doesn't mean she was an angel the rest of the night. The minis and Kaden are in new phases of craziness. They are all over the place physically and emotionally. One second they are cooperating and happy and the next minute they are crying. I had plenty of help with all my kids but my kids would only let Marshall or I help which added to the difficulty.
So with all that said, our night at Temple Square wasn't ideal. I was so happy to be their with my mom, dad, aunt Pat, Betsy, Charlie, Angeline, their kids, and Kasey's kids. I just wish my kids could have been a little bit better. We will get through this phase and down the road we will appreciate how much easier it will be once they are a little older.
One of the candy windows at Macey's. I love snowman so naturally this one was my favorite.

The picture doesn't do it justice but the reflecting pond in front of the temple is so beautiful!

I'm so grateful for my family! It's so fun having Charlie's family in town.

Lily and Taylor were super helpers with the Sienna and Kaden!

It's kind of funny that we always get ice cream after being out in the cold but I wouldn't have it any other way.

We sat in this foyer for about a half hour while the kids played on the stairs and slid down the railing. It was like a playground. I was grateful that the security guards and employees didn't mind because the kids had so much fun creating memories.

Taggart

Here are some fun pictures I took of Taggart this week. He likes playing with toys in my sink while I get ready. I like it too because then I know he and Sienna aren't getting into trouble.

He loves dolls and I think it's so sweet. He was so cute rocking this baby at my in-law's house.

Today the kids got a video from Santa. Taggart really liked it!

Brighton

We went skiing to Brighton on Saturday. Kids ski free so James came too. We really wanted Lynnlee to go too but she had a cold and so we decided she should stay home. It was freeeeeeeezing! So I'm glad she stayed home because I think she would have been too cold.

It had just snowed so the fresh powder was really fun!

Solitude

We had the best day skiing at Solitude in fresh powder with friends. From the time we got there we didn't stop. My legs felt like jelly by the end.

I had to add these pictures on the end of this post. Kaden got snow clothes from a cousin. He was so excited and wore them all night and even to bed. Then the next morning he changed out of his pajamas and put the snow clothes back on.

North Pole at Seven Peaks

We enjoyed going to the North Pole at Seven Peaks. It was a little better than last year. We got there right when it opened and were the first ones down the slide.

Marshall was a gentleman and carried my sled up too. I took Sienna and Lynnlee on my sled. Marshall took Kaden and Taggart. 

While we were waiting for the boat ride we actually got them to all hold still for a picture. They have so much bottled up energy partially from cabin fever and also excitement for Christmas.

There is a boat ride around the lazy river. It was really fun watching James and Lynnlee cruise around together.

Kaden, Taggart and I took turns driving the boat.

The minis were not afraid of Santa. Each kid took a turn sitting telling Santa what they wanted. Sienna and Taggart just stared at him.

Magic Show

We went to a magic show in Provo for a fundraiser for the fire fighters. James, Lynnlee and Kaden loved it and ate it all up. The minis started a new phase. They didn't want to sit and watch. Instead they were dancing around in the aisle so I took them out in the hallway. They were running around like crazy. We took them back in the auditorium and it was really tricky keeping them in our row.

Marshall's Big Day

We celebrated Marshall's birthday last week. It was a fun day! We love birthdays. All of the kids woke up early on their own. That was perfect so they could see him before he left to work. We had Marshall's favorite breakfast, German pancakes. He opened his presents while we waited for it to bake.

That night we went to a chemistry show at the U of U. My aunt Kathy gave us tickets and we had the best seats on the front row. The minis were too little to go so aunt Pat watched them for us.

Wow! We saw the coolest chemistry experiments ever! We were amazed at the variety of experiments....experiments with dry ice, hydrogen peroxide, helium, salt, sugar, polyurethane, fire, liquid nitrogen, etc. They dehydrated carbohydrate (sugar) and it turned to carbon. It was hosted by a male and female chemistry professors. They were very entertaining. I'm so grateful for the special opportunity we had to go. It was a fun way to celebrate Marshall's birthday.

My uncle Tom's family donated money for this new chemistry building which they named after his family. It is a beautiful building.

Gingerbread Houses

The weekends are so busy during the holidays but it's a good busy. Saturday morning we went to Home Depot and everyone made a gingerbread man dish.

We painted them when we got home.

Then we went to an open house at Edge Homes. There was donuts and hot chocolate while we waited in line to see Santa. Side note: I just love blue eyes. I'm so grateful that I get to look at my kids' and Marshall's pretty blue eyes!

All of the kids loved Santa, even Taggart. Taggart is the most reserved and shy so it's fun to see him come out of his shell.

That afternoon I put together gingerbread house made out of graham cracker. I tried something new by melting sugar and using it as glue. It worked really well but I burned my hand a few times. Ouch! I got too confident and comfortable and then the liquid dripped on my hand.
The sugar glue dripped and ran down the houses so it looked a little sloppy but luckily it all got covered with frosting.

Sunday night we had our friends the Tibbs over for dinner and then decorated gingerbread houses. Taggart loved it and decorated his house for top to bottom. He stayed at the table the longest and wanted to keep going, even when there was no more room for candy or frosting.

Swiss Christmas

I love Fridays. Kaden doesn't have preschool so it leaves all day to go somewhere while James and Lynnlee are at school. I took Kaden and the minis to visit my parents. It happened to be Swiss Christmas that day and so we went with Betsy and my mom. We walked around the booths and saw the gingerbread houses on display.

The kids got to decorate a gingerbread man.

Elsa walked in right when we were leaving. Sienna was completely stunned and mesmerized.

Alpine Living Nativity '16

We went to a living nativity in Alpine at the beginning of December. This was our second year going. Leading up to it I wasn't sure if we would be up for going out in the cold. The kids all wore their snow clothes and thankfully they stayed warm enough. It's always a little stressful getting there and keeping track of everyone once we are there. I was glad we went though. It's good to show my kids why we celebrate Christmas. It leaves more of an impression than watching a video about it. They actually feel like they take a step back in time and walk through Bethlehem.

There is a family in Alpine who has four camels. They've had them for twenty years.