Thanksgiving went by like a blur of baking and kids barfing, haha....with the exception of this lovely tradition, it was great. Turkey day doesn't feel quite right until I get to enjoy a beautiful turkey trot up Emigration Canyon with my dear friends Jackie and Megs. Megan's SIL Jess joined us this year too, she is so fun! The snow on the trees was magical and the air was crisp and clear. It made my holiday! Especially after a night of changing sheets and cleaning carpets. Poor Lambchops:(
Thanksgiving weekend brought a beautiful snowstorm and some very excited children!
Another fun outing Mitch and I enjoyed was date night to a BYU basketball game in these awesome floor seats! Go Cougs!
December came in like a whirlwind as it always does. Starting with a visit from our favorite Elf, Edna. She had quite an arrival with her powdered sugar trailing behind her and a brown paper package with Christmas jammies in tow.
Ruby finished her Junior Jazz basketball league in December too, she did an amazing job and made so much progress from the beginning of the season. We love seeing her try new things that she loves! She scored lots of baskets too, it was adorable to see her excitement!
Next up, picking out our Christmas tree! After three failed tree lot attempts, Smith's marketplace would have to do, haha! We found the perfect tree and off we went. Love these beautiful babies of ours!
Our December excitement continued with the Lamb family tradition of lights and dinner Downtown. This is one of our favorite traditions to see our family and enjoy beautiful Temple Square all lit up in her Christmas best.
Sadly, December also gave us the farewell of the golden mullet as we affectionately call Lewey's mop. It was a sad day and I was barely able to convince myself to take him to the appointment. He looks so handsome now but wow, so grown up instantly!:((
The second weekend in December, I got to take a quick trip home to attend my Grandpa Arden's wedding. It was interesting sitting in a sealing room for my 83 year old grandpa haha but I'm happy he's happy and Sandy seems lovely. The best part was I got to see lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, etc, that I haven't seen in years. It has been nearly two years since I've been home, too long!
The newlyweds....
The newlyweds....
My Dad and his sibs
Aunties and girl cousins are my jam!
There's no place like home with these uncles and cousins!
The handsome groom
After we cleaned up the reception.... we had an amazing cousin Christmas party thanks to Aunt Bee's mad party-planning skills.
Sunday was some good quality family time!
It was such a nice trip home.... there are so many reasons I miss AZ, but these people are chief among them.
December continued to impress with great traditions old and new....
Advent activities like making a flannel board nativity scene with my girls
Glass ornament decorating
A field trip to Junior Achievement Biztown Day with Arden. She did awesome as CFO of City Hall! She won Hardest Worker out of both schools! She was so excited about this experience and it didn't disappoint! She was amazing! Way to go Bea!
Snow storms and snowmen..
A visit from Grandma and Grandpa!!! Woohoo!!! The girls couldn't wait to make gingerbread houses with Grandma...
A ski day with Grandma - what a treat!
Christmas Eve-eve or Christmas Adam as I like to call it, haha, we enjoyed a super fun hayride and caroling with the neighborhood and mom and dad. Thanks to Mitch for making the trailer such a perfect setup!
A wonderful Christmas Eve Mexican Feast thanks to Dad's amazing Green Chili and Arizona tamales!
A favorite tradition - the sibling gift exchange on Christmas Eve!
Grandma rocked those elf jammies!
And a new tradition ..... I walked downstairs to find the girls exchanging homemade gifts (drawings and notes) after I'd sent them to brush teeth on Christmas Eve. Such sweet sisters .... most of the time, haha.
Christmas morning brought a beautiful white blanket of beauty! Dad helped Mitch clear the neighbors' walks and driveways so Mitch could stay on top of the walks at the church. Little did we know this was Dad's first time running a snow blower, haha! He was a pro! Nice work Gramps!
And my notoriously horrible Christmas morning pics
A special musical program for Sacrament meeting on Christmas Sunday. It brought the best Spirit into our Christmas.
New Sunday duds for my sweethearts
I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves us so much and sent us to earth and who gave His Son so I can be with my family now and forever. Merry Christmas!
Here's our card we sent to friends and family:
Here's our card we sent to friends and family:
We chased away the post Christmas blues with a trip to the Rec Center for swimming and walking the track.
Followed by an evening downtown to see the Temple Lights
and.... the Ballet West Nutracker! This was Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas gift to the girls this year and boy did they deliver! What an incredible performance this always is! This was mom, June, and Ruby's first time to see it and they were in awe.... it was the perfect night!
My parents have never left home for the holidays so it was truly a special treat to have them share Christmas with us. We've been alone so many Christmases ... and we've learned to love our home away from home friends and family but there is nothing like sharing Christmas with your eternal people:)
After mom and dad left, that same day....Susan played in a 4x4 soccer tournament! She played great! And with only one sub, she was feeling that Christmas break something fierce haha.
That same night, the Rigby cousins came for our annual Rigby/Lamb Winter Extravaganza Cousin-pallooza!
We did all our favorites....
sledding
Family gatherings
Skiing!
More sledding!
Game night
A good ol fashioned barn raising ... brought you by the Lamb brothers and brothers'-in-law
And a rockin New Year's party! We love this Rigby visit so much and look forward to it for months. Thank you for making such a sacrifice to be here Chris and Liz, it means everything!
The girls wanted to surprise the cousin with the decorations for NYE... this was one special touch they gave our family PIC, haha!
And my fondest greetings to the New Year are always made with Jdawg and our first run of the year at midnight! Even with smoggy air and slippery roads, it's the perfect tradition!
Here's to you 2017!