Christmas past

We made our annual trip to Furrow Farm to find our Chrismtas tree. Once again we had no problem finding one we liked and lucked out with a beautiful day.

What a strong guy.:)
Ta-da!!

Carson loves the German tradition of finding the hidden pickle in the tree. I didn't do a very good job hiding it because he found it very quickly.

Our Elf, Henry, visited us once again. I swear he is the best thing ever! The boys absolutely love Henry and trying to find where he's hid himself each morning. It was cute because Travis and I caught Carson showing Henry all the things he wanted for Christmas in a magazine.

The Christmas Card

I enjoy the process of making my Christmas card each year, but was really glad to get it over with early in the month. A huge thank you to Melanie for making it just the way I wanted.





End of the year school party

I helped with the end of the year party and Carson was so proud of the way his gingerbread house tured out. After this picture he started devouring it.

Nutcracker

I think this is the second year Carson and I have gone on a date to see my nieces in the Nutcracker. Cute Claire was the soldier for the photo op, so we of course had to get a picture with her.


Random pictures of Stella
She still won't walk and just doesn't seem to be in any hurry to try even though she pulls to standing all the time. I have to admit that I love all the cute little dresses out there, here's a couple of my favorites.
Always pulling out her hair clips!



A night out at PIR
The boys loved this because the night we went they were having a contest for the best decorated/lit-up big rig trucks.

Peacock Lane

Me and Stella in our matching "stella" hats that my talented sister makes.

Santa Land at Macy's Writing their letters to Santa

Pictures with Santa are such a rip-off, but we continue to pay for them each year!:)
So funny! Holden had this awkward look on his face in each picture and Stella had a look of pure terror.

Christmas in Utah - the Nativity
Little Miss Quinn as the baby Jesus

Joseph looks thrilled here.:) Sisters in our matching pj's. Some things never change.

Papa reading The Night Before Christmas.

Lots of treats, notes and pictures left for Santa.
The Loot!

Santa left all the kids' presents on the couch.

The boys each recieved wrestling masks. The one thing Holden said he wanted was a football helmet.

Check out these posers.... they think they're so cool. Awww, look at the matching family. :) The boys were good sports about it, not too many complaints. I love this picture of Scott after Amy informed him he needed to look happy.

Welcome Luke Christopher, grandchild #7! My parents aren't proud or anything. He arrived on Dec 22nd, just in time for Christmas. He's the sweetest little guy.

Olympic Oval
We loved skating here so much the last time we visited that we had to do it again. The kids did great. Holden ran a marathon he went around so many times. All the kids slept really well that night.

I love going to Temple Square at Christmas, it's so beautiful. On a side not,we had the most awesome experience while we were in Utah. My brother Steve and his wife Britt are in President Monson's home ward. The cool thing is he still goes to that ward when he can and he usually gives a talk in his ward at Christmas. Well he gave one this year and we were there for it! We were only five rows back, and the way he had his teleprompter positioned, it was as if he was looking right at us. It was just the neatest experience to be in a more intimate setting like that. Afterward, the kids and Travis got to give him a high five and shake his hand. It was a very memorable experience for me and Travis and I hope the boys remember it too.

First ski lesson at Brighton
Carson, Avery and Holden had their first ski lesson together! The two younger ones were quite nervous and we kind of had to bribe and shove them into it, but when we went to pick them up, they all had huge smiles on their faces. I was so proud of them and after mastering the snow plow, they're ready for level 2.

Skiing is my dad's "thing". He was even an instructor for the army in Germany. Growing up, I loved skiing with my dad and I'm so grateful for all the cool things he's exposed me to. He really wanted to be a part of the kids first ski experience, and I'm so grateful it was able to happen. (Notice how Holden is kneeling just like my dad) Carson wanted it to snow so badly while we were in Utah and he got his wish! The kids played for hours in the snow and had a great time.

We had a wonderful year and a wonderful Christmas and look forward to 2011!