Aubreys mission

 

We went to the temple on December 19th with our cute niece Aubrey! She will be serving in the Argentina Mendoza Mission. 

Her farewell was on Sunday December 28th. She gave a beautiful talk and mentioned how hard it was to have her mom pass away when she was nine years old. She looks so much like her mom at that age. I'm grateful that she and Halle have grown up together. 

We had breakfast at Cody and Kristin's new home afterwards. Aubrey will start her mission on January 5th. We are so happy for her! She is going to be an amazing missionary!

Christmas is here

 

Kev took this picture of Ollie and I hanging out before the kids came down. I bought myself new pj's for Christmas and I love them. 

We let Parker come down the stairs first this year. 

Addy was very happy that she got her new vanity for her room!

Parker loved the new license plate cover we got him. It says, "when hell freezes over I will ski there too." His Santa gift was a bike rack for his car. 

Halle's Santa gift was Beats Headphones. She was also happy about the huge EMT emergency kit that we got her. 

Hayden got another big Lego set to keep him happily building for hours. 

We always looks forward to our yummy waffle breakfast together. It was nice having everyone help out with the cooking this year. 

We went up to Kev's parents house that afternoon. Hayden enjoyed hanging out with his cousins Ethan and Austin. 

Halle had fun with her cousins Bailey and Cassie. We hurried home after to watch the next episode of Stranger Things. 

Christmas eve

  

Mike and Amy's family came over on Christmas Eve. We had pizza for dinner, opened up presents, and played games. We were missing Dad, Loni, & Kayley. They went to CA for Christmas this year. 

That night the kids opened up their Christmas pj's.  Instead of a Christmas book I bought a Christmas game. We played Santa, Cookie, Elf, Candy, Snowman. 

We got Ollie to wear the Santa hat for a picture. 

We watched the movie The Polar Express while Kev put up the wall to prevent the kids from seeing their gifts. 

Parker's birthday!

 

Parker turned 21 years old on December 23rd! I made him an eggy with a hat on top for breakfast. It is my grandmas recipe. 

Parker pulled an elaborate prank for his birthday. At midnight he posted that he was engaged. He used AI to create this photoshopped image of him with the famous actress Mckenna Grace. Many people fell for his prank. I woke up to a text from my friend Kathleen saying congrats on Parker's engagement and asking me if I liked her. I was so confused and got on social media to find out what was going on. 

Parker and I went and did some birthday traditions together. We went to Waffle luv and the balloon store. 

He was a good sport to do some last minute Christmas errands at Walmart. 

We went bowling that afternoon at Fat Cats. He got the top score in the family. 

We had Raising Canes for dinner. Then he opened up his presents from us. His big gift was a new ski helmet. 

I made him peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies for dessert. We love how Parker lives life to the fullest. One of the highlights of this year was his first solo flight. We loved being there to cheer him on. He had another awesome year at BYU. He brings happiness and laughter to our family!

Christmas traditions

 

We went to the mall to visit the Giving Machines on December 15th. We also went to the Riverwoods Mall to get some chocolate and see the lights. I look forward to this every year. 

We made treats to deliver to the neighbors. Our neighbors the Beckers made us this beautiful sour dough loaf. I appreciate it even more knowing how much work goes into making these. 

Hayden had a doctors appointment at PCH on December 18th. We had a magical Santa moment while we were there. We heard the jingling of bells coming down the hallway and saw that it was Santa. He was handing out plush toys to all the kids. Hayden was happy to get one as well. It was the sweetest thing seeing him hand one to a little baby that was on oxygen. Service is really what Christmas is all about!

I love Christmas Sunday! I always feel the spirit strongest through music. I was grateful to be able to sing with our ward choir. We sang, "And his name shall be called Wonderful". Our whole program focused on the names of Christ and their meaning. Some of my favorite names of his are; the good shepherd, light of the world, advocate, healer, and redeemer. 

We had the Grant family party on Sunday December 21st.  We had the party at Bruce's church this time. They are tearing down the Reid School to build Ivory homes. We had soup for dinner and enjoyed talking with cousins. 

Kenna and Bryson came by on December 23rd. They opened up their Christmas gifts from us. Kenna loved the McDonalds back pack that Halle gave her! 

I had the kids create our traditional Christmas pyramid!

Addy's dance showcase

 

Addy had her Christmas dance showcase on December 13th! I love watching her perform! She has been sick most of the last month. She missed many dance classes. I'm extra proud of her for catching back up and still doing her best. It was good to have her grandparents come and cheer her on!

Christkindlmarkt

 

Kev suggested that we go to Christkindlmarkt for our date on December 5th. It was his Friday off from work and we went during the day. We had never been before and both enjoyed it!

Kev served his mission in Germany and was looking forward to trying all the German food. We bought this Milka chocolate bar to share. 

I enjoyed looking at all the shops. It reminded me of Swiss Days and there were even vendors that I recognized. We decided to try this potato skewer from a food truck. It was warm and delicious! My favorite thing we tried was a Stroop Waffle. 

We got a bratwurst and fries to share. Kev said it wasn't as good as the food in Germany. It made me realize even more that I want to visit these countries. 

I bought a little wooden village lantern before we left. I'm excited to display it in January. It was a fun date night for us and made me more excited for Christmas!