Christmas, Visitors and the Last Birthday of the Year

I was so happy to get back home after the wedding.  There was much to do to finish Christmas preparations.  Cookies to finish, presents to wrap and just fun things to do.   We enjoyed our typical Christmas festivities with just our little family which hadn't happened for a few years.

We enjoyed our holiday dinner, then the kids received their traditional holiday gift.  This year we mixed it up a bit with the gift coming prior to talking about the Birth of our Savior.  I feel like it helped preserve the sacred nature of Christmas just a bit longer than in year past.  They still went to bed anxiously awaiting the gifts Santa would bring.

Christmas PJ's

The older kids enjoying their gifts.

 Hyrum's brother, Nate and their family joined us Christmas afternoon.  We opened more gifts with them and enjoyed our appetizer smorgasbord.  The kids really enjoyed spending a few days together and we had a good time playing games with other adults.

After family home evening on Monday night we had a great time laughing while Nate and Hyrum battled it out at Twister.  It was a great visit and we're glad the cousins could come.

Margaret and I took the kids to the Science Center

Hyrum's Birthday falls a few days after Christmas and can be kind of a letdown.  I had vowed to try my hardest to make it a fun and exciting birthday for him.  We succeeded.  He spent the day working from home but we tried to remind him frequently it was his birthday.  I made him raspberry, lime, chocolate cupcakes (they were horrible) but the best part was as we were settling down to fold laundry the doorbell rang.  Surprise!!  I had invited friends over for treats and games.  He had his very first surprise party ever.  It was great.  He was so shocked.

Hyrum's cupcakes and a blue ribbon that says, "Best Dad Ever."  The ribbon was from Jonathan.

That was how we said goodbye to 2015.  Hyrum's mom called us late on New Year's Eve long after we had gone to sleep.  It was a great year and we are really looking forward to our 2016 adventures. 

December, sans Christmas

December was a busy month.  Our first big happening was the removal of Hannah's braces.   She only had this set on for four months and she was so excited to get them off.   We may have to get more later but I am crossing my fingers that she won't need a second phase. 

Hyrum and I went to a free concert at the Pittsburgh Symphony just before Thanksgiving and we loved it.  That night they were running a sale on tickets for some of their shows in December so we thought we'd take Hannah and Jonathan to a couple.   Hannah and I attended the Holiday Pops Concert.  We had a great time.  It was fun to be there and be together.

Hyrum and Jonathan attended a Star Wars concert where they played music from all of the Star Wars movies.  Jonathan has only seen the first movie but enjoyed being there with his Dad.  He's currently trying to pick out the Imperial March on the piano.

The day after that concert I flew to Washington State to see my little brother married to his Sweetheart.  They were super cute and though I hadn't met her and really didn't spend any time with her at the wedding, I'm glad they found each other.  It's always great to see a couple marry the right person, in the right place, at the right time.  I was glad to see them married but missed my family terribly the weekend right before Christmas. 

Adam and Rachel right after the wedding outside the Temple

Everyone getting ready to take their picture

Snow in Washington.  It was so cold that weekend and the first time they'd really had snow.  I wish it would have waited a week : )

November

Applesauce in process

 I brought back at least 3 bushels of apples from my parents and they needed to be processed so I spent the next week or so making applesauce.  Hyrum is a great helper and loves to turn the crank on the applesauce maker as well as watch the gauge on the pressure cooker.  We make unsweetened applesauce so it couldn't be easier.  We just clean, chop, cook, sauce and seal.  We made at least 40 quarts of applesauce.  It was a happy day when we finished though.

November brings Thanksgiving and we decided to stay home this year.  My parents were good enough to join us for a few days and we also celebrated Ben's birthday.  I can't believe he is 1.  I remember thinking a year ago, "I just have to survive this year and it will be alright".  We survived and life is good.  He is a great guy and we are so glad we have him.  That thought crosses my mind at least once a day right now.  He adds such joy and love to our home. 

Halloween, Happy Birthday and Dance Parties

Kids dressed up for the Ward Trunk or Treat

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year and a weekend Hyrum happened to be out of town.  The kids also had Monday and Tuesday off the next week so we decided a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's was in order.  We attended our church Halloween festivities on Friday and then loaded up the car and took off Saturday morning. 

We arrived at grandmas ready to decorate our ghost cupcakes.  I made marshmallow fondant and we stacked up some of the candy from the kids' haul the night before to make our ghosts.  I think they turned out rather cute.  It was a fun project. 

Ghost in the Graveyard Cupcakes

After a tasty dinner we had a Halloween party rather than going trick or treating.  We played games and danced to the Kid's Halloween Station on Pandora.  Even Grandma dressed for the occasion.  

Dance, dance, like nobody's watching!

The kids didn't want to leave on Tuesday

We also took the opportunity to celebrate Charlotte's birthday, again.  She turned Five this year and is so ready to go to school and hates being called a little kid.  She feels like she's crossed that threshold though she's only a bit taller than Spencer. 

Happy Birthday, Charlie Rae!

It was a fun and busy weekend but we were glad to see Grandma and Grandpa.  We missed Dad though.

Days Off and Blueberry Hill Park

I really wanted to title this post, "Saturdays, in the Park . . . " but alas, this was a Monday.  The kids have really random days off in October and November and this was one of them.  Hyrum took the morning off and we decided to go to the park and take a picnic.  The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time playing with the kids.  We even played a family game of tag. 

Ben was a  good sport through it all and just watched from the stroller.  We let him out for a few minutes but he didn't like the wood chips on the playground.  This was his trick for later though.  He loves to climb in the drawers, after he's emptied the contents on the floor, of course.