December, Part 1: Preparing for Christmas!

Above: This was technically still in November. We put up our Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving. The boys were very helpful and were really excited to put the decorations on the tree.

Above: Here Johnny is painstakingly gathering his bows to be placed on the tree.

Above: Here is Peter demonstrating how the bow could be worn.

Above: Trying to get these boys to take a picture in front of our finished product is no small feat, let me tell you!

Above: I love 'em! Sassy though they may be!

Above: That afternoon after putting up our Christmas tree, we met the Washburn clan at Thanksgiving Point and saw Frozen in the theater, and then went by the deli to see the reindeer.

Above: Mimi keeping cousin Cameron warm.

Above: The first day of Christmas, we were blessed with the presence of our very own elf! The boys were really excited about this, and Peter was particularly interested. The boys (mostly Peter) named the elf "David." I won't really include that many pictures of David the Elf's hiding places because I forgot to take pictures of each day and I wasn't all that creative. My main criteria was to hide David in high places so that Peter couldn't get to him.

Above: We put our blue, silver, and white tree in our entryway.

Above: We put our red, green, silver, and gold tree on the landing at the top of our stairs.

Above: We got a nice neighborly visit from this cute little ferret the day before a big snowstorm hit. I'm sure he was somebody's pet, and he was gone before I could do anything about it. I hope he made it home safely before it snowed.

Above: The first Monday in December (December 2nd), we went to City Creek and had dinner at the food court and then after giving the boys some time to play, we went to see the lights at Temple Square. The boys loved it all!

Above: The toys were kind of squishy, and even Johnny didn't stay shy for too long!

Above: Temple Square was beautiful and since it was so early in the month, it wasn't too cold at all. In fact, it was a very nice night.

Above: The main thing that stressed me out is that my two boys want completely different things...and if they want the same things, they want them at different times. It was really hard to keep track of both of my guys, and Temple Square was PACKED, and Peter just wanted to run everywhere.

Above: Clayton, Kim, and little Grant! We got to go with the whole Mackay family.

Above: I love my guys! I also have some great pictures from my phone that I am having trouble getting off. I may have to add to this post, or do a separate post later once I get those pictures off.

Above: This was the best picture I could get with my sweet Pete!

Above: Then, pretty much the next day, the snow came. Not fun to drive in.

Above: However, if you have to stay in, there is nothing like playing with Floam and sticking a bunch of toys into it.

Above: This guy is just happy to be alive! Life is good!

Above: What a sweetie.

Above: There is nothing like a good Floam beard. Especially when there is a pirate guy lodged in it.

Above: Now that we have a little snow, how about we build a ramp to sled on?

Above: Johnny was still not a huge fan of winter/snow. He could only take about 10 minutes of it before needing to go back inside. Since it took me 10 minutes to get the boys dressed in their snow suit, I would say it was a wash...or maybe you would consider it that I broke even. Since this picture, Johnny has actually been able to stay out in the snow longer and has done really well playing out in the cold.

Above: So, I saw this idea on Pinterest where you filled balloons with water (and also dyed the water, though I didn't do that). I thought the boys would think it was really cool. However, I didn't think it through. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me that hard ovals/balls of ice could have the potential to be quite dangerous, especially when I have boys who love to throw things. D'oh! Lucky for me, they threw them all at our rocks (and not at people), and when they were gone, I simply told them that we had no more water balloons and we would need to buy some more in the summer time.

Above: Good times!  

Above: That Pete of mine is a good sledder!

Above: We made a gingerbread house (from a store-bought kit). The boys had so much fun decorating it.

Above: And then after it had been finished less than 10 minutes, all the boys wanted to do was demolish it and eat it. I guess that's how we do it in our house! Next year, I might just make one of my own while the boys are sleeping simply to keep around for the season!

Above: Seemingly innocent things become weapons of war in this house. You may think this is just a tube of wrapping paper. Well, it is not, it is an instrument of death and destruction!

Above: Just trying on some old 3D glasses from one of Mom and Dad's dates waaaaay back in the day.

Above: We built a snowman! It is actually not very easy to do up here! It takes just the right kind of snow. Usually, our snow is too powdery and you can't get it to pack. However, after a big snowstorm, the snow melted just enough to get a little wet so it would stick together...and our little snowman was born.

More December updates to come shortly!

November!

I think I took so many pictures in October that I got kind of pictured out. I really didn't take that many pictures in November as a result! Thus, only one post for November! Here goes...

Above: We went to Dia de los Muertos at Thanksgiving Point with the Washburn cousins the first week in November.

Above: Papa even took us on a tour of the Museum of Natural Curiosity (the new children's museum that is being built). It will be done probably in May. The kids had a great time on the tour.

Above: Even the outside of the museum is cool!

Above: These boys love to build. Here they are building with their foam puzzles. Peter built a T-Rex and Johnny built a snake (it is a cobra).

Above: Cute guy! I helped with the snake a little bit.

Above: We went to visit Nammy at work one day while Dad was out of town.

Above: We also had a field trip to the Salt Lake City Public Library. We didn't have time to explore the inside very much, but the boys had a lot of fun exploring outside.

Above: We also got Happy Meals and had a little picnic.

Above: We went right to the very top of the library and got to look down on the city.

Above: We made a great discovery in November. We went to Sub Zero Ice Cream because you can build your own ice cream--starting with the base. That meant that I didn't have to worry about any pesky allergens sneaking into my boys treats. It was totally worth it. The boys loved it and had so much fun.

Above: My sweet little builder.

Above: Okay, I know this totally isn't okay, but I snapped a few pictures of Peter during his very first Primary program. He just looked so cute and I couldn't resist. I will in the future though, I promise.

Above: Building with Daddy! Look behind us to see the coolest marble run ever. It went from the top of our bookcase right down to the floor.

Above: We went for allergy appointments in November and got really good news! Johnny is no longer allergic to eggs! He has grown out of that allergy and his body has healed itself! His allergy to nuts became less severe, so we need to schedule a food challenge to see if he is cleared to eat peanuts again. As for Peter, he is no longer allergic to coconut, sesame seeds, almonds, or macadamia nuts anymore! Plus, his allergies towards walnuts and pecans lessened (though they are still serious). Peter will need to have food challenges for sunflower seeds and hazelnuts because he may be cleared to eat those again too. Cashews and pistachios will still send him into anaphylactic shock, but the good news is that a vaccine is being developed which is only a few years down the road that will protect him against that kind of a reaction. So, I was one happy mama and we ate almonds all the rest of the month!

Above: Peter, the artist. He and Johnny love to draw now. They didn't used to, but they have really developed a love of it. It makes me happy. I love to see their drawings, and it is a great way for them to spend their time.

Above: I said "Say 'Cheese!,'" not "Be Cheesy!"

Above: Alright, now this is just getting ridiculous.

Above: Just computer surfing with Daddy.

Above: We went to the last BYU home game of the season, and it was FREEZING! We were only able to stay for the first quarter as a result.

 Above: The boys had a good time, even if they were cold. BYU was doing really great. They scored a lot during that first quarter.

Above: Here is Peter being silly while Dad photobombs us.

Above: Poor little Johnny. So cold!

Above: On our way back to the car.

Above: Once we got the boys warm, they were sooooo wild on the drive home!

Above: Longest drive home from Provo EVER. (Johnny is a little blurry because my lens was a little wet from the snow outside).

Above: Well, I'm glad they had a good time on the ride home.

Above: Here is some of Johnny's artwork.

Above: One of my friends (Carrie Scott) was in a stake production of Fiddler on the Roof that was family friendly, so we took the boys.

Above: I knew they wouldn't last very long and that we would end up leaving early (we did--we left only about 45 minutes in), but they really enjoyed it while we were there. Peter, for the record, was better behaved than Johnny. Going to a play kind of brought out the naughty in Johnny.

Above: Now, skip forward to Thanksgiving! The day was so busy that I only snapped a few shots of dinner and afterward. My brother, Nephi, and his family were in town. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my house so that we would have a little more space. It was a lot of fun.

Above: Here is Peter being a gracious host.

Above: It was so fun to have Maddie, Kinlie, and Katelynn come to visit!

Above: The aftermath of dinner. Oh, and true to form, Clayton covered his face for the camera, Nephi ignored it, and Sean made a silly face (while Emily looked lovely).

Above: Maybe after pie isn't the best time to take pictures of everyone. We were all pretty full.

Above: We just love that silly Sean!

Above: Cute Grant and beautiful Kim!

Above: It was so nice to have Derrick and Megan come up too!

Well, that is about it. I need to check through my phone pictures, and maybe then I will have some more to add. Now, on to December and all of our Christmas festivities!