January

January is usually a sad let down after December but this year we had Disneyland to look forward to.  We also had some fun before we left.  

Alex and I played in the snow one day while Mia napped.  He wanted me to make a wizard snowman so this was my best attempt.

Unfortunately both Mia and Alex got a stomach bug this month.  Alex even got sick at school.  Mia spent an entire night on the couch throwing up every fifteen minutes.  She refused to throw up into a bucket or a towel and usually flung around while she got sick.  It was pretty awful.  If she tried to lay down she got sick so she finally fell asleep at about five in the morning sitting up against a pillow.  Luckily it didn't last long and it was all out of their system before we left on our trip.

We also got to celebrate Jaryn's birthday this month.  Nikole made an awesome Paw Patrol Cake that Mia could not wait to eat.

This month Alex finally lost his first tooth.  He would not let Brandon or me touch it but finally pulled it out himself while he was at school.

He got to put it in a little treasure box at school which he thought was very cool so a few weeks later when he lost his next tooth he made sure to wait until he was at school again to pull it out.  

Brandon had to borrow Alex's goggles to cut up some onions.  He didn't appreciate me taking a picture.

Christmas!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were lot of fun this year.  They are always packed full of family time which we love!  Brandon had to work during the day on Christmas eve so we missed him but we were glad he didn't have to work on Christmas.  

We started off the morning with the Clements family at the Original Pancake House.  We had to wait for a bit but the food is always worth the wait.  

Then we heading to Grandma and Grandpas to exchange presents with Trevor's family since they wouldn't be able to come down on Christmas.

Buddy left us a note telling us goodbye since it was his last day with us.  He told the kids they were very good so they had high hopes Santa would be stopping by.

At night we headed to Sarah, Jen and Bayley's house. We ate pizza and exchanged white elephant gifts which were hilarious as usual.  

We got home with just enough time to get cookies and veggies ready for Santa and his reindeer and then quickly get the kids to bed.  Mia and Alex were nice enough to taste test the cookies first before leaving them for Santa.

 We finished the night with a story.  This is the first Christmas Eve Brandon has been home for in a long time.  We were so glad he was!

Christmas morning was a lot of fun.  It was a little crazy because we didn't have a lot of time before we had to get to church so we had to drag Mia out of bed before she was quite ready to get up.  Alex of course had been up for awhile. 

Mia got upset at first because she immediately went for Alex's pile of stuff.  We told her no and that set her off.  Once she saw her pile she was just fine. It was a pretty funny start though.

Santa even brought the kids a new tepee for their play room.  They quickly enjoyed wrestling in it.

Before we could even finish opening all the presents it was time to head off to church.  I thought it would be nice to get a picture of Alex and Mia in their cute Sunday clothes but this was the best I could get.  They were a little excited to get home.  

A few more presents after church. 

Next we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Clements house.  We ate our second delicious breakfast of the day and opened even more presents.

Finally, we made it to Grandma and Grandpa Hettinger's.  We opened even more presents and ate our third delicious breakfast of the day.  Christmas is the best! 

Tons of new toys and Mia still just wanted Sarah's phone.

Breakfast is better with your shirt off.

Testing out her new blanket. 

The day after Christmas we headed down town for our tradition of seeing the lights at Temple Square.  We started at the Grand American to do their scavenger hunt.

It was freezing as usual but we lasted longer then last year.

Mia loves hanging out in her new Elsa dress.  Alex wanted to get get in on the fun and put on his Spiderman costume from when he was two.  

I'm so grateful for my sweet family and the chance to celebrate this season with them.  I hope we have as much fun in 2017!