Leading up to Christmas!

It's no secret that I LOVE Christmas and everything leading up to it. While it can be busy and hectic, I like to think of it as full and productive, where we spend lots of great time as a family doing things we love. Like...

Doing our Christmas Chain and our Advent Calendar...loved this new one from my mom this year.

We got such a great family chuckle when Jace pulled this one out of the advent tree and said, "This baby looks really freaky :)" Agreed!

Attending our first ever Kaysville Christmas Parade with free hot chocolate, a little band, and a very small parade with a lot of candy thrown, just the way we like it. We feel really great about our small town!

Having the funniest conversation with this cute 10 year old in the car:  "You mean, when you get older kissing is fun? Like FUN? I thought it was to let people know you love them and are grateful for them. So, you kiss dad because it is fun? Okay, this is awkward." 

A great ward Christmas party and a chance for Pierce to get a one on one with Santa. 

He found his BFF Emmi

Our neighborhood had a caroling party we attended, but it was on one of those nights that was in the single digits. Jace stuck it out with the bigger group but me and the littles ditched after singing at a few houses and started on the treats and hot chocolate early. 

Loved watching James' Christmas program! They did such a cute job. 

We celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a great meal and a concert on Temple Square. Cannot believe it has been so long. Love him more every year!

We put quarters in candy machines at the mall...but never saw anyone use them. Kind of a bust but good opportunity to talk about why we give service and that you never know who needs it or how it will affect them.

Watched Jace's awesome choir performances. So fun to hear him sing!

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is our Marshmallow Snowball Fight. This year, in a new spot, it was an especially fun way to get to know our neighbors and share our jolly spirit. It was one of our favorite years! We are so lucky to have moved into a ward and area with people who love to have a good time! 

We spent HOURS playing these awesome Christmas games. Still love them! 

Had a blast at my cousin Matthew's wedding. We loved watching all the young bucks tear up the dance floor. Jace thought it was the coolest night ever.

We loved singing at the rest home. It was one of those perfect situations with just the right people who loved listening to us and singing with us. The boys all noticed the Christmas spirit especially strong that night. 

After the rest home singing we took a trip to temple square, along with the entire population of Utah. It was crowded and crazy, but just what Christmas should feel like. We brought some McDonald's gift cards to hand out and gave 3 to each of the boys. They loved having the chance to personally choose who to help. 

Saw the candy windows, but they were too crowded to get a picture in front of any of the cool ones, so we settled for the lame Whole Foods window...

Parker also had a really awesome music program at his school this year. They sang such fun and lively songs and ended with Silent Night. Kind of brought tears to our eyes...Silent Night sung at school!

Loved that Grammy made it!

              Giving the Festival of Trees a shot with all these babies...it wasn't a total bomb, but these cousins together are crazy!

My parents started an awesome tradition with the "older" cousins....they took them all to Little America for breakfast one December Saturday, then they did a scavenger hunt in the Grand America Hotel and ended the morning shopping for gifts for each other. The best part about it was watching them give their gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. The cutest!

We had a little family night with the Cullimores...always a treat to be with grandparents when they are in town. They taught a great lesson about gratitude!!

So great to attend Baby Tripp's blessing. It was such a sweet experience and we loved listening to Mitch and Kelly speak afterwards. We love living close enough to make it to these awesome family events.

Had a freezing but good time at zoolights. Amazing that the kids never really feel the cold!

Jace and Dad had to miss out because of work and practice :(

Dinner at the Pie afterwards...yummy but crazy with this crew.

Got to be part of the annual dinner at the roof with the adults. Kid-free time is precious and it was a great night!

Only a few times a year do I MAKE my kids look irresistible and one of those days is Christmas Sunday. They looked so handsome! I can hardly believe how old they are all getting!

Another highlight of the season was being at Grandma and Grandpa Olsen's for their annual Christmas celebration. They had not been feeling well and were just so excited to have everyone gathered close. It was a sweet night as we watched them just sit and observe the chaos and enjoy every minute of it. As we drove home to Kaysville, I took the opportunity to tell my kid some of my favorite memories with them...they have always been such a huge part of my life and I loved sharing it with them. Love them both so much!

Look who the big winners were for the candy bar game this year! The kids are always so mad when adults win :)!