Temple Square

I decided to keep our tradition of seeing the lights at Temple Square the Sunday after Christmas.  The crowd isn't as big and parking is free.

Last year, Brigham really wanted to go up the ramp to see the Christus, but there was a long line and it was at the end of our visit so we were already cold and getting tired.  This year it was the first thing we did.

 Brigham was pretty excited and was even relatively patient.  We almost made it with the next group but were stopped just before.

 Brigham started getting a little anxious and so I had to walk around with him a little bit.

We made it back just in time to go up.  Brigham sat so patiently during the short presentation.

Then we went to see the lights.

 I don't know why this one looks fuzzy, it doesn't on my computer.

 We took a look inside the tabernacle.  I haven't seen the inside since the renovation.

 This isn't framed very well, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it in focus.

 It's hard to take sharp pictures without a tripod, but I did my best using pathway markers and such.  It was soon after that that I noticed how many photographers had brought tripods.  I guess I'm just lazy, I didn't want to have to carry one around.

 We stopped by the fountain to play a bit.

 It was good to see Nathaniel smile and not because I told him to.

 Obviously not in focus, but I liked how the lights looked like chicken feet.

 We went out on the Main Street Plaza, also something we didn't do last year.

 I loved the fun nativities from all over the world.

 We were getting cold and tired but we had to make one more stop.

We got to the nativity right as it was ending so we were in the perfect spot when it started again.

It was a fun visit.  Plus, I just got a new coat and it passed the cold test.  I only got cold on my hands and face.  So that's a bonus.

Our Christmas

Here is our Christmas in a nutshell(hopefully).  We started with "Christmas Eve" at Chris and Sara's house the Sunday before Christmas.

 So much good food, it was hard to wait for the prayer and for all the kids to go through the line.  Stephanie and I may or may not have eaten a few veggie pizza pieces before it was time to eat.

 I got to hold baby Logan for a little bit, but even better was visiting with his mom, Kristy, while he ate.

 After eating it was time for the Nativity.  Nobody got pictures of my family(my own fault for not bringing my camera) so I had to grab some stills from the video.

 Brigham consented to dressing up like a shepherd.  I told him to go look at the baby, so he did and then came right back to sit on my lap.

 We also opened cousin presents and it was pretty chaotic.

Chris' house is fun.

On Christmas Eve we spent the afternoon with Jaaromy's family at Lyenna and Kelcey's house.  It was a nice casual visit.  We exchanged a few presents and had good food.

 I didn't bring my camera but did get this cute picture of Teagen and Nathaniel.

 ...and this cute one of Jaaromy's parents.  It was a good visit and this was the only time we were getting together for Christmas so we made the most of it.

That night we were able to just hang out at home.  We watched Christmas videos and ate Cinnamon rolls.  Before bed the boys opened their new pajamas.

So excited for tomorrow!

Christmas morning was great.  The boys are so nice to let us sleep.  They stayed in their rooms until we came to get them around nine.

 I thought I'd just check to make sure Santa came.

 Waiting for the All Clear.  What did Santa bring?

 A new motherboard, finally!

 Fun toys!

 A color cube!  He loves this and takes it to bed with him every night.

 Space Toob!  He got some cool space toys and a Lego Space Needle.

 Brigham liked his new car play mat.

 The boys tried out the new banana chairs from Grandma and Grandpa.  These will come in handy.

Then we went upstairs to open presents from each other.

 Jonathan gave Brigham a cool race track.

 Nathaniel gave Jonathan an Angry Birds in Space game.  He mostly likes to play with the different birds.

 Nathaniel got a cool iphone controlled helicopter.

And finally, the game Nathaniel had been so anxious to play: Minecraft.  The boys had a lot of fun giving it a try.

After the fun we went to my parent's house for cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, and eggnog.  The best meal of the year.  Last year they were gone and we had to make do without them.  I'm so glad they're home and that we could enjoy my mom's amazing cinnamon rolls again.

It was a good Christmas.

Jonathan's Birthday

Jonathan turned the big 1-0 on his birthday one month ago today.  He had been looking forward to his birthday for quite a while and he knew exactly what he wanted.  I had never heard of it before but he was pretty excited about it and never wavered.

 Like I said: So excited!

 What could it possibly be?

 Yay!  Just what he wanted.

He had to have his new little friends watch him blow out his candles.  I think he was more excited about the little figures than he was about the actual game.

December was a pretty busy month so we didn't get a chance to do a birthday activity until that Saturday.  Of course, he wanted to go to the planetarium.  It was fun to hang out there and he was able to pick out a cool toy from the gift shop.  Plus, Grandma Patti gave us some money to get him a present so he was able to pick out an especially cool toy, a space shuttle model complete with fuel tank, booster rockets, and crawler.  Fun stuff!

The day after his birthday was Pack Meeting where he earned his Bear.  He could have had it for a while but since my orchestra was on break I waited for him to get it until now so I could be there.

 Good job, Jonathan!  He loved his Den Leaders and was so sad that he wouldn't be going to their house anymore.

They had the Scouts and all the kids make some snowflakes for the activity.

 Brigham had fun and even made two snowflakes.

He had a lot of fun putting them on both our heads.

I mentioned that December was busy and this week was no different, but at least it was a fun busy.  I'd much rather be busy with birthdays and trips to the planetarium.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!