Marshmallow World

Last Monday we finally got the giant snowstorm I've been wishing for all month!  It was much better than the storm we got on Thanksgiving.  We got over a foot of snow!  Some places in Utah got over two feet.  It was crazy and so much fun!  Bryce came home after taking one of his finals and he had a few hours until he had to go to work so we all bundled up and went outside to play in it.  
Rory is our little snow dog.  She loves the snow and had a blast running and rolling around it it! 
We tried to make a snowman but the snow was too powdery and soft.  We couldn't get it to stick together at all, so instead we made snow angels and pulled Claire around in the sled.  We hooked Rory up to the sled again and her pull Claire a few times too.  We're supposed to get snow again this week so I think its safe to say even after a questionable December we'll be getting a White Christmas!  

Christmas Magic

The Christmas Season has been so much with Claire this year.  She's getting old enough to understand more of the magic and excitement.  Christmas is always a special time of year but it becomes magical once again when you are a parent.  I love it so much.  I love how Claire is in awe at everything, Christmas lights, the Christmas tree, our Nativity set, etc.  As excited as I am for Christmas morning to finally get here, I don't really want it to end yet!  Claire loves when we plug in our tree every evening.  Last week I got my camera out so I could take a few pictures of her admiring the tree.  We turned off all the lights in the house and then plugged in the tree.  She LOVED it.  She had to show the tree to her Reindeer she has become quite attached to.  It was technically supposed to be for her stocking, but she was with me when I bought it and I let her hold it in the cart to keep her occupied while I did my shopping.  I figured I'd be able to sneak it away and hide it once we got home and she'd forget about it.  WRONG.  She hasn't let that Reindeer out of her sight.  She carries it around everywhere and has to take all her naps and go to sleep with it.  So....she ended up getting one of her stocking stuffers early :).

Only 4 more sleeps until Christmas.  We can hardly wait!

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The magic of the Christmas season is just too good with her this year!

"A portrait of my daughter once a week, every week, in 2015."

Ogden 25th Street Christmas Village

Last Tuesday we went to Ogden's Christmas Village on 25th street with my family.  It was so much fun!  We took Claire last year so we were excited to take her again since she's old enough to enjoy it a bit more this time around.  Claire loved seeing all the lights and the little houses, but mostly she was excited that her cousin Lydia came with us. 
After we made our way through the village we checked the line to see Santa and it was super long.  We decided it wasn't worth the wait because we are taking her to a breakfast with Santa where my sister teaches preschool this Saturday, so she would see still see him eventually.  We ended the night with dinner at Mcdonalds so the girls could play together in the play place.  Claire climbed all the way to the top and went down the slide by herself for the first time ever.  She only did it once because she happened to be right behind Lydia and saw her do it first.  After that she kept crying when she'd get stranded up at the top and Bryce had to go get her and help her down.  We had a great night and I was happy we were able to cross another item off of our Christmas bucket list!

Christmas Tree 2015

Like last year, we were on the ball again this year and we bought our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.  Putting up the Christmas tree is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.  I love the spirit it brings into our home and the daily reminder it is of what we are celebrating.  

It was so much fun having Claire help us decorate this year.  She had so much fun and kept saying "Wow!" and "Booful!" the whole time.  I love that she is old enough this year to be more involved and start understanding a bit more.   

Claire's new hiding spot.

We finally bought a star for our tree this year, after 4 years of just using a big bow.  Claire got the honor of helping Bryce put it on top of the tree.

We are all ready for Christmas now.  I wrapped all our gifts later while Claire was napping, except for a few that are still coming in the mail from our Black Friday orders.  I try to have most all of my shopping and preparations done by the beginning of December so I can just enjoy the rest of the month and try to focus on The Savior and the real reason we celebrate Christmas.  I love the video I posted below from lds.org.  I have watched it several times and I still tear up every time I watch it.  It shares such a beautiful message.  If you have a minute it is definitely worth your while to watch!

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Little Snowbunny

"A portrait of my daughter once a week, every week, in 2015."