Twas' the night before Christmas

and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Ok, that's not true, Ryan and I were stirring and getting things ready for our little creatures who were all snuggled in their bed. We went down to his sister's house in Orem for a German Christmas Eve. Finley played the piano at the last minute in the talent show, Berlin decided not to participate. The best part is that the kids always fall asleep on the car ride home which means once we carry them to bed we can get things setup/put out quickly.

Here is the tree after the elderly elves were done with it. Those poor elves could hardly stay awake long enough to crawl into their own bed. So excited for Christmas morning - but here's to hoping the kids don't wake up before 8 am!

Temple Square Christmas Lights & Candy Windows

We took the kids downtown for Family Home Evening this week to look at the candy window displays and the Temple lights. The weather (40 degrees) was downright warm compared to the past few weeks and it ended up being perfect for walking around outside.

 

 

 

 Schmoozing Santa at the Little America. 

   

Santa's workshop at Little America.

Fantastic night with the kids & Ryan. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas - finally!

Holiday Photo Booth 2013

At work I was in charge of the holiday photo booth. So I figured it would be fun to use the same props for our Christmas pics this year. So after church we hung our fresh garland on the barn door and had the kids pose. The kids were silly and it was pretty funny. Until the cold got the better of us.

We hope your holiday is full of laughter!

Love these two. They are the best thing in my life. 

St. Nicholas Day

December 5th - the evening of St. Nicholas Day, we decided to take the kids to the Christkindlmarkt at This is the Place park. They had lots of little booths set up selling Christmas Wares, German snacks & treats, a light parade, even St. Nicholas and his reindeer were there. Despite the 8 degree temps, we had a great time.

 

Berlin picked out this cute little angel ornament from one of the little shops. So cute on our tree. Ryan scored some Apple Beer for the holidays. l found a cute pyramid to add to our collection, however, I wasn't about to pay the price they wanted. So Finley and I contented ourselves with German Pretzels that were delicious!

Once Berlin couldn't feel her toes, we headed over to Siegfried's to warm up with some German comfort food. Sauerkraut, warm potato salad, Spaetzle, fried potatoes, schnitzel, and sausage ... MMMMM - yum! We loaded up on German mustard and meats for some Abendbrot (the German dinner of bread, cheese, and meat) the next day.

It was the perfect St. Nicholas Eve. 

The next day the kids woke up to goodies in their boots. Ryan and I were even surprised with a new pyramid and nutcracker. Boy, we must have been REAL good.

This is Herr Drosselmeyer from The Nutcracker. Ryan has wanted one of these for a long time, but not just any Herr Drosselmeyer - this specific one, which is vintage and VERY hard to find. Leave it to St. Nicholas to deliver!

 

I love pyramids, especially the fairytale ones they used to make. This one is darling with Snow White and the dwarfs on the base, Hansel & Gretel and the Witch in the middle. Love it. Perfect addition to our collection.

Tis' the Season

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. Sitting by the tree, snuggled under blankets, drinking hot cocoa, watching movies with the kids ... life doesn't get any better! 

The day after Thanksgiving, the tree came up. I had to re-string the artificial tree with new lights as they stopped working. I guess after 9 years that is to be expected. Note to self: wear gloves when re-stringing lights. My hands looked like they were in a catfight - and the cat won. The kids did a great job putting the ornaments on the tree. It is so much fun to talk about each ornament. Alot of them are from Ryan's childhood, picked up on past trips to Germany, or given to us by very dear friends. Some people like their tree color-coordinated and all fancy. Ours is hodgey-podge. Everything on it brings to mind an event or memory. It is a happy tree and I love it. Here she is in all her glory ...

We don't do Elf on the Shelf. I tend to be in this camp: Elf on the Shelf Haters  However, we do have 2 vintage elves that are from Ryan's childhood that we tuck into the tree. They stay there the whole time and I don't have to do any crazy crap, like making marshmallow messes, cleaning up spilled flour, and all the other lame stuff other moms make their elf do.

Creepy & wonderful all in one.