december dailys--SNOW and the magic elf

Ok, so now it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! Last week it snowed just barely, and it did snow like a month and a half ago, but this time it's legitimate! That is, if you count 3-4 inches as being legit, but it's good enough for the boys who live here. It really is a boost to get into the Christmas spirit.

After all the playing was done outside, the boys came in to thaw out and warm up. As they were all playing in the front room, the doorbell rang. They didn't jump up to get it, so I did and found an elf and a note at the door...it's our magic elf, just for our family. And his name is Zack. Zack is watching over the boys to see if they are naughty or nice so he can tell Santa on Christmas Eve.

Ben immediately tried to call Danielle to tell her because her family has one too;). Hopefully the elf will help them remember to be nicer to each other...but I'm not holding my breath too long!!

december dailys--you're a mean one, mr. grinch!

My brother, Darren, (not to be confused with husband, Daren, nor me with brother Darren's wife Heather--is that crazy enough?! You should see our family parties!) has been playing "The Grinch" for their ward Christmas party for years, and this year we went to see him in all his glory. It was not an easy trip up to Kaysville, though--it was a blizzard on the freeway the whole way, but we were just happy to finally get some snow!

We did go to see the Grinch, but we also went to see Cindy Lou-Who, aka my niece, Chloe. She sang the song "Where are you Christmas," from the movie The Grinch Who Stole Christmas--I wish I had remembered my video camera. She is the cutest thing anyway, but she did an amazing job. After her song the Grinch came in, and together they told the story of the Grinch. They really could package up this performance and take it on the road because they both did so great.

I didn't tell the boys who the Grinch was until after his performance when they were too nervous to get very close to him. Once they figured out who he was they were ok with it...at least mostly ok. Will really wanted his picture taken with Cindy Lou Who--how cute is that?!

The morning was topped off with donuts holes and a visit from Santa. Will did not hesitate to tell Santa he wants a Polar Express train, Jake wants a life saver (light saber), and Ben got stage fright and couldn't think of anything! Darren and Heather live in the same ward we all grew up in (yes, Heather was in our ward growing up too), and as long as I can remember they have been doing Saturday morning ward Christmas parties and it's such a blast. I love that I can go back after being gone for 20 years and still see so many friends and people I knew growing up--love ya Jeff and Willie!

december dailys--choir christmas concert

Another holiday tradition we have is going to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas Concert at the Conference Center in Salt Lake every year. We have been going since the very first year they had it--it's been something like 8 or 9 years. Back in the day before being chosen randomly from the internet registration, you used to be able to stand in line for tickets, and the sooner you got there the better the seats you got. Daren's mom, Susan, is a die-hard for things like this, which led her to either get up early, or sometimes "sleep-out" for tickets. I think the last year they did it that was 2 years ago, and I'm pretty sure that was the year it was a snowy blizzard most of the night that she and Brandon (D's bro) were out. Susan makes new friends everywhere she goes, though, and she has quite the stories to tell about people she has met there. I guess it's more "fair" now with the internet lottery, but it was sure fun when we could all go together and be in some pretty sweet seats--I was thinking this as we were watching from some of the furthest possible seats in the balcony tonight!

This year's concert was amazing once again. I didn't really know who Brian Stokes Mitchell was before, but he has a beautiful voice with a range that is incredible. We took Ben with us this year, and he seemed to like it. Probably my favorite song the choir sings, which I think they do at the end of every concert every year, is Angels, from the Realms of Glory.

We had plenty of time in our seats before the concert started, so I brought a sketch pad for Ben to draw on, because-as he says- "I just love drawing so much. Do you think I will be an artist someday?" I forgot my memory card for my camera, so I asked Ben to draw what the Conference Center looked like to him (from way up high in the balcony). This is what he came up with--obviously all the pipes was something he was impressed with. Then there is the choir seats, a Christmas tree, the organ, and who-knows-what. It was a fun evening, and I'm so glad we got tickets once again this year.

december dailys--the nativity

So, I got this Playmobil nativity set the other day, and the boys and I had so much fun putting it all together. There are quite a few pieces, and already some are lost. (I can't imagine at this point ever having Legos around, but I know our time is coming!) Will got up early this morning to play with them.
When we got it out we talked about the birth of Christ, and how Christmas is really a celebration of His birthday. So then Ben starts going off, "I can't wait for Christmas to get presents!!!...but that's not really what it's all about, is it Mom.....but I can't wait for presents!" It's an inner battle, isn't it?!

december dailys--the stockings were hung...

One of the many things I love about Christmas is our Christmas stockings. Perhaps that's because I have always loved the Christmas stocking I've had as long as I can remember. I always wanted knitted Christmas stockings for the boys, so a couple years ago I found these at Pottery Barn Kids and had their names stitched on them. Ben reminded me to get them out today, so here they are.

This is my stocking I've had my whole life...and now you know my real age!

Here is a picture of all of them together. I love this mantle they hang from--my Grandpa Cottrell (aka: Waterwheel) made it for me years ago when I was on my mission. He made so many beautiful mantles over the years. We built this fireplace just for this mantle and for the prize-winning deer head (obviously not pictured) which Daren's grandpa shot almost 50 years ago. It's a beautiful setting for our Christmas stockings, if I do say so myself!!

And if I would have written yesterday, I would have said that along with Christmas in the month of December, there is also a lot of college football being played. Utes got the word last night that they are playing in the Sugar Bowl on January 2 against Alabama--a battle of the crimson colors! It should be a tough, but great game. Bad news is that it's in New Orleans, which is a little further away and harder to get to than Arizona where they played in the Fiesta Bowl four years ago. We made it to that one with our then 9-month old twins in tow, but sadly we won't be able to make it this time. Still, we will be cheering loud here--GO UTES!!!!!

p.s. Happy Birthday to my mom today!! Love you!

december dailys--the countdown

I can't even begin to tell you how many times since Thanksgiving I have been asked, "How many days until Christmas?" And then Ben and I have been talking about making a Christmas countdown chain for days now, so to appease both Ben and the other questioners, we made the countdown chains today. Danielle joined us, so we had plenty of cutting and taping going on at the same time.
Ok, perhaps I'm a lame mom, but somehow Ben turned out ok without doing much cutting and crafting at home in his earlier years (he has more than made up for it since then!). I'm sitting there watching Will and Jake both trying to cut paper strips and they can barely figure out how to hold the scissors. Crafts just aren't one of my strengths, so they haven't had much practice.

(In the middle of their creations, Will lifted up his shirt to show me how starving hungry his tummy was! Nothing that a little pizza and breadsticks can't take care of!) Will never did quite catch on to the whole thing, thus his strips turned into confetti after a while. Danielle was kind enough to make one for Will after she made hers. Everyone made their own chain to hang in their rooms to make it a little more fun.

This is Ben's finished product (complete with a picture of the Polar Express train heading toward the frozen lake), which is hanging in his room now. I forgot to get a picture of him with it when he was awake, so this is all you get. We had a blast making them, and I think it is something they will look forward to every day.

As a side note: this was a funny conversation I had with Ben when I was tucking him in and tickling his back. He mentioned how cold his sheets were, to which I replied that I was going to get him some flannel sheets soon. I told him that was nothing, because when we were growing up here in Utah, my dad, like everyone else's dad, turned the heater off at night so that when you got up in the morning you could almost see your own breath and I had to sit by a heater for the whole time I practiced my violin just to thaw out. I also mentioned we used electric blankets, and he got a wierd look on his face. I explained what they were, and he thought that was pretty crazy. Look how far we have come in just one generation!!

december dailys--o christmas tree

Not long after Daren and I were married, we drove our old baby blue Bronco all the way to California to pick up my mom and dad's old fake Christmas tree. It was nice to have, especially since my mom had already taken the time to braid all the lights on to the tree, but it only lasted a few years. Since then, every year we buy a real tree which never had any lights on it at all. This year would be different though. Daren took the boys shopping to Costco last week to get our new fake tree, complete with lights already braided on all the branches.


It's a very nice tree, but there are 2 or 3 reasons we won't be getting out too many ornaments this year--can you guess who, I mean what they are?! I love this picture of Jake by the tree--can't you see his sassyness (that has to be a real word!) shining through his expression?!

I used to love that the Christmas trees we had growing up were always filled with ornaments that were either made by one of us kids or given to us by someone. It was fun to pull out the same ones every year and reminisce about what certain ornaments meant to us. Well, this year the boys have taken it upon themselves to decorate the tree the way they wanted, and this is the result: trains, Cars cars, blocks, and stacking blocks (including the one at the top acting as our "star") all adorn our lovely tree. I love the creativeness and their excitement for this holiday. And who knows, maybe we will get a real ornament up there someday!!