Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve program and leaving cookies for Santa. Everything is more fun with cousins!

Sledding behind Papa's truck (some would argue this isn't safe, but they sure had fun!)

Sledding at Nana's

Christmas in Utah

Some people think we are crazy to leave our beautiful San Diego weather and go to Utah for Christmas. True it never got above freezing the whole time we were there, all the kids got eczema, and Sam had a few nights of croup. But we had snow on Christmas eve, many days of perfect sledding, snow man building with Papa, and day and night filled with fun and memories with family. Nothing can compare to the fun the kids had with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Highlights for the kids were being pulled behind Papa's truck in a sled, sledding on the golf course behind Nana's, and playing nonstop with cousins from both sides. My highlights were lunches out with my sisters, late night runs to Nielson's, dinners out with siblings from my side and Brett's, and countless Christmas treats (see any pattern here, I think I have a food addiction, I'll be joining Sunshine at eaters anonymous! I was positively ill by the time I came back home, but it was well worth it.) This picture is of us on Christmas Eve outside my mom's house during one of the many snow storms we had while we were there.

Gingerbread House

Putting together a gingerbread house has become one of our favorite Christmas traditions. Sam thought we should eat all the candy instead of putting it on the house, and the boys wanted to arrange all the pieces this year which made it a little difficult, but we still had fun. I just love everything about Christmas!

Sam Cont.

I almost forgot to add that Sam also did some light cleaning around the house today with a pack of napkins that he dipped in toilet water. What a great helper!

Sam the Trouble Maker

I have heard of kids like this before, the kind who are into everything, making messes and causing trouble at every turn. I've just never had one of them before-then Sam came along! I knew it was too good to be true that I was actually folding laundry in peace without Sam hanging on me to be held or jumping in my pile of nicely folded clothes. As soon as I finished the load I went looking for him, and I found him lathering himself up with a tube of toothpaste. After I got the toothpaste cleaned off of him and the bathroom, I told him to go put his shoes on so we could go grocery shopping. I only had a few last minute things to grab and by the time I got downstairs he was in the garage behind the car playing with a pack of matches. Now before anyone calls CPS on me he doesn't know how to light the matches, and I did get them away from him before any harm was done. Matches better go on my list of things to put where Sam can't get them! He's trouble all right, good thing he's so cute! One more quick note, notice he is shirtless in the toothpaste pictures? That would be because he dumped his antibiotic down the front of his shirt right before the toothpaste incident. Oh joy!