Christmas Pictures, etc.

Here I am finally getting to posting some pictures from Christmas and a few other December activities. I've enjoyed looking at everyone else's and am glad I can feel a little closer to you even though we were far away from many of you.

Spencer got to hang out with his cousin Olivia when her family came out for a wedding at the beginning of the month. Note his expression of awe in the second photo. He is always so happy to play and talk with the older kids.

We had a ward Christmas party and of course the children got to see Santa. Spencer did a lot better this year, perhaps it was because he had a friend by his side the whole way.

The yummy candy canes were worth it!

We went to the mall to see Santa and Spencer and his friend Andrea enjoyed a ride on both this train and one that was set up just for Christmas, which actually made me dizzy.

On Christmas Eve my family came over to our apartment and we enjoyed a yummy meal and a nice Christmas program with music, stories, and scriptures. My parents came out here because there were more of us in Utah than in Iowa and I was happy to have so many of us together, without any traveling on our part!

Uncle Neil keeping his nephew entertained.

We rented some card tables and chairs from the Wymount office so there would be room for all of us, and the grand total for keeping them for 10 days was $1.54. You are brillant, Daniel!

We had Christmas morning in our own apartment and it was lots of fun for me to watch Spencer open and play with his presents. When we told him it was time to open presents he said, "Happy Birthday to you!" Maybe next year he'll know the difference between birthdays and Christmas.

My sister Megan just returned from her mission in Italy (another reason my parents came out--we wanted to see her before she started school and it would have been so lonely at home with just the 3 of them) and she stayed at our place Christmas Eve and joined in our Christmas morning fun.

We headed over to Neil's house for the rest of the day and were bombarded by even more presents. When there are 13 people together it just takes a while to get through everything! And yeah, the cute little tree Emily and Jenny picked out looks pretty silly with so many presents "under" it.

Spencer was past due for a nap so he was really running out of steam by the end.
(Does this count as a belly shot, Tamara?)


My mom made these adorable Mary and Joseph outfits for the two two-year olds and they cooperated well enough to try them on.

Daniel has been very diligent about getting Spencer outside to exert his amble amount of energy each day even with all the cold weather, for which I am very grateful.

On our last day of Christmas break we went up to a place called "Jump On It" which had these inflatable jumping things as well as multiple trampolines lined up next to each other where everyone could jump to their heart's content. If I had been eager to go into labor early I may have joined in, but I decided to just watch from the side.

We really had a wonderful Christmas season and enjoyed getting together with family and friends to celebrate, as well as having lots of time on our own without school or any big travels. I appreciate the special spirit there is at Christmas and was grateful to have the opportunity to think more about my Savior and the wonderful gifts He has given us. I couldn't ask for anything more than my amazing husband, our precious son, and "baby sister" who is about to join us. We love you all!!!