Christmas Day

Santa Came!!
Autumn loved her giant Panda!
Brooke got her doll... just what she wanted!
Autumn was a little tired still! Chloe woke up before the sun that morning!
Chloe loved everything she got!
Ciera was excited about her Hannah Montana stuff!
After we opened presents (and got them all out of the packaging... no small task) we played for a while and then took off for the airport to pick up Grandma. It was snowing a bit on our way down but nothing too bad. After we went through the hassles at the airport, we got on the road back home. It was snowing a lot more! We were driving through the blizzard of the year to get home, but we made it safe and sound, and had a great visit!

Sledding, Bowling, and Acting... oh my!

Christmas Eve was a full day. We went sledding in the morning (which I forgot to take pictures of). There is a park close by that has some great sledding hills, and the girls didn't want to do anything to steep or fast, so we tried it. It took a while for them to get comfortable... but it ended up being fun! I am sure we will go again before the end of winter!
In the afternoon we went to the bowling alley with some friends for some good old fashioned fun! The girls had a blast! The adults played on one lane and all the kids were on another. It was really fun to watch the kids. They did such a great job! Dave and I had fun too. I beat Dave on our first game, but he beat me the second game. The girls want to bowl more often now, but I don't know!
Brooke and Nolan spent most of their time kissin' and huggin' instead of bowling!
In the evening, after our fun day of sledding and bowling, we read the Christmas story in the scriptures and the girls acted it out. They were too cute. Brooke and Autumn were wise men, Ciera was a shepherd, and Chloe was an angel. (Dave and I were Joseph and Mary... and we had a doll baby!)
After our nativity, Santa came early, and the girls each got a stuffed bear with clothes and accessories. They played for a few minutes and then climbed into bed to dream sweet dreams and wait for Santa Claus to come! It was a great day!

The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;


The stockings were hung... with care,
In the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;


The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads...

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!

Christmas beauties

At least Autumn was smiling as she was walking away this time... so it made a cute picture!
Not smiling... but cute nonetheless!
Little, sparkly Brooke. She loves the snowflakes on her dress!
Chloe is growing up so fast! She was beautiful.
Beautiful Ciera Marie. She had a talk in primary yesterday. She wanted to talk about "giving" and Christmas. She did a great job. She is getting to be such a grown up young lady.

This year for Christmas we are trying to keep our focus on the Savior, we have been talking about the Christmas Story every day, and trying to teach our girls that it is important to have love and charity for everyone. We have been trying to find little ways to include service in this season.

However... I am really excited to see our girls on Christmas Day! They each received a letter from Santa in the mail on Saturday, and they are very excited to see what he will bring them on Thursday! They have been very good this year, so I think it will be good!!

New Nativity Pictures

Pictures of the Wise Men... this one was fun to see the different drawings!
Angels drawn by angels!

We have been having so much fun doing our Nativity drawings this year... I can't wait to see the rest!

Fun in the Sun (Oops! I mean snow!)

Isn't Autumn adorable?
Brookie was lovin' the snow!
This was the "not crazy, please" face I got from Chloe!
Cute Cici giving me a smile.

We had fun today in the snow... we got SO much! The girls loved being out in it (for a little while)!

Ciera's Piano Recital

Ciera was in her first ever piano recital tonight. She played two pieces: Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. There were many music students that played... but Ciera was by far the best and the cutest (Not that we are biased in any way)! She did such a great job and we are so proud of her!