December

 Lego grown up Christmas Party.

 Our favorite Christmas tree farm.

 Springfield Ward Christmas Party

 2015 Ornaments: Family-A book symbolizing that we write our own stories.  Optimism and gratitude help you change your story.  Ruby- ukulele, Cooper-pocket knife, Rocky-nerf darts  AND a POOP SACK.  That is his favorite word.  It came up while we were doing Mad Libs once.  The word comes in handy when you burn dinner.

 Lego Family Party

 My friend Springer sent us a snowflake ornament made out of salt crystals from the Great Salt Lake several year ago.  It wouldn't be Christmas with out someone licking the ornament.

 Friend Christmas Parties

The Rich Family out of Gingerbread

 Gingerbread houses in Kindergarten

 Secret Santas

 Twinkle toes

 Christmas eve bike ride.  70 degrees!

 Candy fest 2015 disguised as making gingerbread houses.

Christmas jammies.  Too bad Ruby's were huge on her.

 Our Christmas eve was magical.  Ruby started a new tradition in our family of the 12 days of Christmas for each other.  We all wrote kind notes to each other for the 12 days and stuck them in our Christmas stockings.  Each person had 48 notes that other family members had written about them.  There is nothing better than hearing your kids words of love and gratitude to each other.  Some of them were very silly (I like your ear) some of them were very heart felt and brought tears to my eyes.  Christmas could have ended at this point for me.  It was magical.

 Christmas morning was the normal kids begging parents to wake up.  What wasn't normal though is the kids didn't seek what they were getting.  They were truly thrilled to give the handmade gifts they were so excited about giving each other.  I was so proud of them.  We were showered in kind gifts from near and far.

 I told the kids I would make whatever they wanted for Christmas: manicotti, chicken tikka masala, clam chowder in bread bowl, etc.  Cooper decided that the meal he wanted most was egg salad sandwiches on store bought white bread.  Poor kid has to eat fresh ground whole wheat bread that his mom makes.  The best part of the meal is that we had a picnic on our lawn!  I am guessing that was a once in a lifetime opportunity in Massachusetts.