Santa and Luminaria

We took the kids to see Santa at Jolley's in Salt Lake. It was great! No line and and Santa was so cute and friendly. Jackson asked for an e-scooter, Bode asked for dirt biking gear, Davis asked for a chess set, and Molly asked for Magic Mixies. 

We had fun going to Luminaria with the Heinholds. The lights were so pretty and we enjoyed the time with family, hot chocolate, and the live reindeer!

Gingerbread houses

It wouldn't be Christmas without our gingerbread houses. I think I have finally got a system down to where this project doesn't seem so daunting anymore. I make the gingerbread pieces well in advance and have them glued together and ready so the night we decorate them isn't stressful, just fun! I finally found a recipe for gingerbread that is foolproof and doesn't require trimming after baking-- the edges stay nice and sharp. And I have my own pattern saved, so I'm not starting over each year. The kids really love this tradition and I do, too. 

 

Charlie was definitely tempted by all of the candy.

Bode walked by and put a hat on his head and he didn't budge!

It's fun seeing what the kids each come up with for their individual houses. I even made a simple piped one this year! They turned out great and I love our new spot for them all lit up on the bookcase in the library.

Christmas concerts and recitals

With December comes lots of performances and recitals. Jackson had his Jr. High band Christmas recital, which was really fun to watch. I am used to choir concerts, so band is something new! Jackson is in percussion and for this concert he played the glockenspiel and the bass drum. He did a great job!

 

Next up was Molly's Christmas dance recital. It was about the cutest thing I could imagine. She loves performing on the big stage.

And finally, we look forward to the elementary school Christmas sing every year. Sadly, Jackson has moved on to junior high, but Bode, Davis and Molly were all in it this year. Molly was excited that after so many years of attending, she actually got to be in it for the first time! Bode dressed up in his old Santa Halloween costume, and Davis wore part of his elf costume as well. I love that those costumes keep coming in handy!

Molly was so into singing this year. She had every move down and sang her little heart out. It is hard to believe this girl used to be so shy because she really blossoms on stage!

Christmas card 2021

Davis's 8th birthday!

Davis is eight! We started the celebration with a birthday party before we headed to Idaho Falls for Thanksgiving. He loved his party so much last year, he decided to do something similar again. We set up a few different challenges for the kids and they competed for prizes. They had to throw bean bags onto a target from the upstairs playroom, bounce a ping pong ball into a bucket, and knock down plastic cups with Nerf guns. Davis loved it and was happy so many of his friends could come. 

The celebration continued on his actual birthday when we went out to dinner. He chose to go to Tucanos and was happy to eat all of the cheesy bread he wanted!

Davis was excited to get his own scriptures, Legos, a few games, and a cool marble maze Sean made for him. We capped off the night with the chocolate bundt cake he requested. 

We're so grateful for this boy! He's just what we need in our family and we love him so much!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was much more normal this year, and for that I am grateful. It worked so well staying in the hotel in Idaho Falls last year and having access to the pool, we decided to do it again. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Rickses this year and it was delicious, as always. I am so happy to have great cooks on both sides of the family so we never have an off year! It was a great break spending time with both families. 

Last year I took a run around the green belt the day after Thanksgiving. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to do it again this year. It feels so good after multiple days of indulgence! I stopped and took a couple of pictures of some iconic Idaho Falls scenes on the way.