For Fun

Yes, we had Christmas.  Yes, it was fantastic!  Yes, Gabe is suffering from a Christmas Hangover.  But since I don't have time to go into detail right now...enjoy our silly faces!  It is now almost impossible to get Gabe to take a normal picture. 

Hope everyone had a safe and blessed Christmas.  Much love to you all!

Festive, Fun, and FREEZING!

Tonight we bundled up and braved the 38 degree weather to take Gabe to Hogle Zoo to see Zoo Lights.  At Christmas time, Hogle Zoo goes all out by putting up thousands and thousands of lights.  We have never been before but now that Gabe is REALLY into Christmas this year, we figured we would give it a shot.

 What we didn't know is that Santa was making a special visit to the zoo tonight.  While we waited in line, Gabe wrote up a list of the things he would like for Christmas-the first thing on his list was candy.  We had a little bit of a wait because Santa was extra friendly and took the time to really talk to each kid.  It was very special.

 Gabe was overwhelmed by all the beautiful lights.  We had to keep reminding him to stay with us.  But of course, even with all the extra things to look at we have to stop at his favorite places too.

 I will admit that I kept getting a little distracted myself.  For example, I loved the peacock lights.  I think Ry and I need one for our house next year.

 And this is the bridge that goes between the Rocky Shores exhibit and the Asian Highlands exhibit...this picture does NOT do it justice because I thought it was breathtaking. 

 Even better was that Gabe like the bridge just as much as I did.

 And the night wouldn't have been complete without a ride on the carousel.

 Another shot of the lights that doesn't really convey how gorgeous the zoo looks.

 I think these two figures were Gabe's favorites: a giraffe and an elephant.

So despite the fact that my nose is still trying to defrost, Zoo Lights was a lot of fun.  If you can find the time to get up to the zoo, you should.  Just be sure to dress warm and pregame with some hot cocoa.  

Much love to you all!

Happy December

After we went to the Festival of Trees on Thursday, Gabe could hardly wait to get our Christmas tree set up.   Once we got it finished, Gabe turned off the lights and just sat in front of the tree and looked at it.  I love getting to see Christmas through Gabe's eyes.  I even don't mind having to pay a larger power bill for this month because he won't let us turn the tree off anymore.  Much love to you all!

Extra Spicy!

I think I just discovered what Gabe really wants for Christmas.

Much love to you all!

Festival of Trees 2012

Utah has a tradition called The Festival Trees and Ryan decided that it would be fun to take the kids on Thursday night.  I am not sure if other states have similar festivals but in Utah people decorate and donate Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths, quilts, and Christmas crafts.  Then the Festival sells them and all the money raised goes to benefit the Primary Children's Medical Center.  This year the festival had over 700 trees plus all the other stuff I mentioned.  It was really neat just to see all these amazing trees piled into one room.  Below is a picture of the kids standing in front of one of their favorite trees which was inspired by the movie "Despicable Me."

 What the kids were most excited for was the Kids Corner where there were all sorts of activities and crafts.  Sera could hardly wait for her turn on the bubble machine.  She kept popping the bubbles before I could get a picture of her actually in the bubble.

 Luckily, Gabe was a little more unsure of what to do and I was able to get a picture of him inside the bubble.

 The next thing we did was make sand necklaces.  Sera made a really neat rainbow pattern in her bottle.

 Gabe did mostly blue sand with a little yellow and red.   Once the bottles were filled with sand, a long ribbon was tied on it so they could wear them as necklaces.

 This is Sera trying to find the best prize possible at the Giving Tree.

 The one thing Gabe really wanted to do was to climb in this little phone booth and called the elves at the North Pole.  He was so excited that he got to talk to an elf.

 And of course, we had to stop and say hello to Santa.  Sera asked for a Furby and Gabe asked for stickers and candy.  Yes...stickers and candy. 

 And here is a big tree that was set up just outside the big room full of trees.  When Gabe first saw this tree his mouth fell open and he said, "Wow...I can't believe it."  

Even though my feet were sore after walking on concrete floors for 3 hours, it was a fun night.  I wish we could have spent more time looking at all the trees but I am glad that the kids had fun.  I cannot wait until next year!  Much love to you all!