The Year of Christmas Traditions

I was a little bit obsessive about traditions this year...making sure we have them, making sure we did them, and trying my very hardest to actually enjoy them (thus my absence from blogging). There is something about traditions that is orderly and controlled and it just feels safe and comfortable.

So here we are enjoying some favorite traditions...

Temple Square Lights

We went to Temple Square to see the lights for Family Home Evening (though not on a Monday night) and it was truly one of the coldest nights I have ever experienced! We bundled the kids up as well as we could (since we hadn't purchased a parka for Chloe yet). Our car's thermometer said it was 15 degrees outside...but it was really closer to 8 and windy. Bitter cold! The plus side of that was no crowds. We literally walked up to the nativity scene outside the visitors center right as the nativity started and we were the only ones there! Amazing! The second row of pictures is the kids watching the nativity...it was so sweet to see the awe and wonder in their faces in the split seconds I caught these pictures before they started throwing snowballs in the general direction of the manger scene (fresh snow+cold kids+no crowds=antsy kids who want to move). Despite the cold, we had a great time just being together after a week of parties and finals and craziness! Have I ever mentioned that I adore my little family!?

Going to See Santa

This is a definite must for us each year. We normally go to the cute little Sugarhouse shack, but they changed their hours and started making you buy (rediculously expensive) pictures in order to take your own, so we just took the kids to see Santa at Seth's work. The Santa was so wonderful and the kids were all dressed up, but he wasn't a sit-on-my-lap Santa...more of a stand together for a picture Santa. We attempted some pictures while we waited for Seth to come over from his floor, but in all of them Brynn's face seems to be saying, "Why do I keep getting my face squished?" Morgan was so excited as he walked right up to santa, borrowed some reindeer antlers and told Santa that he wanted some cars, a Peter Pan costume and a Captain hook costume. Chloe was anxious as we waited in line, and burst into tears when we tried to get her to go and tell him what she wanted. Finally I convinced her to go up if She could stand on the other side of Brynn and me. She still wouldn't talk to him, but ofter some unsuccessful coercing, Santa gave her some magic reindeer food from his sack and she warmed up enough to tell him what she wanted for Christmas.

"I want a Cinderella," she said, and stuck out her hand to receive it.

I laughed and told her that Santa would bring it to our house on Christmas as long as she was good. Silly Girl! Brynn didn't really care one way or another, but she liked Santa's jingle bells!

Christmas Slumber Party

This is a new tradition for us this year, but it was so fun that I know we will be doing it for many years to come. The plan was to get in our jammies, pop some popcorn, watch a Christmas Movie (ELF, of course), and have a sleepover under the tree, but the kids were pretty tired and I was trying to finish up some sewing projects, so we nixed the sleepover under the tree part. Maybe in another year or 2.