12.18.2011

December 2011

December 1
Letters to Santa are in and the holiday anticipation is in high gear!

December 2
New Christmas movie and hot cocoa are a great way to get into the spirit.

December 3
Thanks to our school principal, we all enjoyed a Christmas festival at the symphony.

December 4
To remind us of the true meaning of the Christmas season we love to watch the LDS Church's First Presidency Christmas Devotional from Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

December 5
The missionaries and us demonstrated our architectural and design prowess in trying to come up with the best gingerbread house ever!

December 6
The women gathered and brought cookies, lots of cookies! The RS Cookie Exchange was a big success and all enjoyed the new creations and traditional masterpieces available.

December 7
The activity for tonight was painting nutcrackers from the dollar store.

December 8
With Bobbi's new folding technique, the snowflakes this year turned out great!  She sewed them together vertically and hung them from the roof and they are ready for the rest of winter.

December 9
Daddy's work children's Christmas party was a blast at the science center (well they all loved it but not necessarily the Santa part)

December 10
To combat the stresses of the season, a little pampering is always welcome.

December 11
A highlight of the season for us was dinner and visiting with our beloved Gehmlich's

December 12
A new adventure for our family is a membership at the YMCA to see a more active, healthy family in 2012 and have lots of fun in the process!

December 13
With free passes in hand we decided to hit the links and improve our short game, it was more like hockey for the young ones but we all had fun.

December 14
Let the Christmas concerts begin! T has been in a singing group since September and they did some single and group songs.  Her solo was well received and wowed the crowd!

December 15
New Christmas storybooks were a fun way to spend the evening.

December 16
Our tradition of spending an evening looking at Christmas lights brought us to the mall downtown to enjoy the glorious Christmas display. It was phenomenal!
December 17
The ward Christmas party was a huge success. TJ sang a solo (Away In A Manger) and all four girls sang "Christmas Bells" together. We are so proud of them and their courage!

December 18
The Cantata was a wonderful success. Lyndon, Bobbi, and TJ were the narrators and had solos as well. The spirit was felt strongly by all who attended, and the Hallelujah chorus at the end was triumphant!

December 19
The girls all did an amazing job at their Christmas concert - "The Xmas Files". TJ was one of the head angels, B was a fantastic Caroler, BB was the smallest and cutest little angel, and JJ was some Christmas lights. Wonderful production!

December 20
Sometimes you need an ice cream treat..even in the winter. Delish!

December 21
Bobbi celebrated her birthday with a night out at a wonderful hotel. The kids joined in the fun at the beginning of the night by playing at the waterpark. Bobbi got to relax in the hotel room that opened right onto the waterpark. Add in a Chinese food dinner and some cold stone ice cream for dessert = a perfect evening!

December 22
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without acting out the Nativity story. We were so grateful to have our friends, the Northcotts, join us. We definitely needed a handsome Joseph, a strapping Wise Man, and their gorgeous little angel to make our Nativity cast complete!
December 23
We celebrate "Christmas Adam" by sleeping in front of the tree. The girls were lucky to have their very own tree to sleep in front of downstairs!
December 24
This photo is actually from Christmas morning, but on Christmas Eve, we read the Christmas story and the girls get to open one gift..Pajamas! B's were spot on with guitars all over them.

December 25
Christmas morning was a blur as we opened gifts in Regina, then headed straightway to Calgary to join family for Christmas dinner! It's always a great time when the siblings get together :)

December 26
We all enjoyed our visit to the NEW Spark Science Center! Very state of the art, very cool, very open. I loved it. Lots to explore and lots of fun to be had!

December 27
This photo is coming. I spent a couple of days with my sister, Laurie, and we had too much fun to be legal. Today we laughed SO HARD at the movies that my stomach hurt. I need to do that more often.

December 28
Dinner at a fabulous Chinese Food place with Laurie and Lewis. We always have great conversation and I find out I love them even more after each and every visit!

December 29
Devon spoiled me once again with my second trip up in an airplane. The sunset view was unbelievable, and Lyndon even flew most of the time himself. Thanks for an amazing experience, Dev!

December 30
Never let your brother choose the cards for "Headbanz". Especially if he is playing with his siblings. That's just asking for trouble! I had a fantastic, though too short, visit with Kathy and her amazing family. It was wonderful to see Aaron, too. I miss my family sooo much!

December 31
The East Stake never goes half-way with their celebrations, and the New Year's bash was no different. The decorations were amazing. I wish I could have captured them better. The food was outstanding, and the company was great. Too bad Jules, Erica B., and I took off early to catch Mission Impossible 4!

Last entry for 2011. I know everyone says this, but it seems like time is flying faster each year. I'm grateful to have photos to remind me of what we did, and who we were in 2011. Now it's time to face a brand new year and a brand new start!