Alan saved a lot of his vacation time for Christmas this year, so we got to go to Arizona for almost two wonderful weeks. We enjoyed some sunshine and fairly warm weather and didn't miss the record rainfalls they had in Oregon one bit.
We got to stay with our good friends from college - Glen, Rachel and their 3 cute kiddos - for a night on our way down. They were such wonderful hosts especially since we wound up being at their house for a lot longer than we had planned. Thank you Glen and Rachel!
Spencer was in love with Caleb's train table. We hardly saw him while we were there because he was too busy playing with it. Good thing already Santa knew how much he liked trains. ;)
We played at a park and soaked in a little sun for a while.
My entire family (there are 13 of us now) came home for Christmas this year and it was awesome! I never wanted to have friends over to my house in high school because there were so many little kids hanging around all the time. I never would have guessed how much I would miss them and enjoy being with them when we got older. I had such a wonderful time joking and just hanging out with my siblings and parents. We're very blessed to have a family that gets along so well even though I have no doubt that my parents questioned that every day when we were little.
The week before Christmas is always my favorite part of the season. Being with family, cheesy Christmas movies, Christmas stories, fudge, the anticipation of Christmas morning, and all of our other traditions make it such a meaningful time. This year, that week was extra special because I had been able to focus on the Savior's birth more than I normally do. Check out
The Shepherd's Song by Larry Barkdull (Deseret Book) for a really great read next season.
Spencer got more attention than he knew what to do with and loved every minute of it. Michelle was so good to share all of her toys and there was always someone for him to play with. I actually started to miss him after hardly playing with him at all for several days.
Alan acting tough while helping build a patio without a jacket. It wasn't
that warm.
He was also the official fudge maker.
Spencer discovered Grandma's Putt-putt computer game and spent A LOT of time playing it with whoever was willing.
Grandpa put new sand in the sandbox just for Spencer and Porter. Spencer had a great time filling his bucket and putting sticks in the sand to make a birthday cake. It was so nice to be outside and stay dry and warm for a little while.
My talented husband. He never practices, but I'm always impressed when I hear him play.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions - decorating gingerbread houses. This was Spencer's first time to participate. He ate way more candy than what actually got on his house.
The traditional gingerbread house picture.
Musical Michelle. She loved playing Lindsey's guitar and singing Christmas songs for everyone.
Christmas Eve afternoon was warm and sunny so we went to the park. Here's Elise sliding with Porter.
I finally managed to get a picture of my Dad. He's always elusive in my pictures. It was fun to watch him with his grandsons. He's a really good grandpa.
We always knew Lindsey should have been in the circus! jk!
