Christmas is finally here!

We had a blast this year. For one, Zach didn't have to work. Last year we did Christmas at 3:00 in the morning. It was fun but very untraditional. The year before that, we had to pay someone $100.00 to work Zach's shift. This year, he just got it off. So he was completely in the Christmas spirit. As we were putting Aspens gifts together that night, he kept pulling out more and more things he thought Aspen needed. I thought we set a limit on her this year and I thought I was done wrapping presents. I was so wrong :-). This was the first year that Aspen really had a wish list. Needless to say, she was pretty adamant about a few things on her Christmas list. Here were the most important ones:

1. Polly Pocket Race to the Mall

2. Hawkie Talkie's (Walkie Talkie's) "real one's, not pretend."

3. A Princess Jasmine Dress up

4. Roller Skates

5. A Chia Pet


She loved every present she got but when she opened the ones from her list, she literally screamed. Watching her get so excited made this Christmas magic for me. Another thing that made the morning special was that Grandma Cam, Josh and Marie joined us. Grandma Cam spent the night and Josh and Marie raced to our house the minute we called them to let them know that Aspen was awake. It really was a Christmas to remember.

Christmas Eve with the Coops

For as long as I can remember, Christmas Eve has been spent with my Family. We do the usual, eat dinner and unwrap a few presents but one of the funnest things we do is a white elephant exchange, adults only and for a good reason. My brother Brock usually comes us with the most unique ideas. Those of you who know my brother can only imagine what his "dirty" little mind comes up with. Believe me, you don't want to know :-). Thank you Brock! You make great memories. Here a couple of pictures from that night. The kids could not have been better. They knew it was their last chance to let Santa know just how good they had been this year.

Christmas Recital

Last night we went to see Aspen dance at her Christmas recital. Both she and Cassidy take a ballet/tap class at Starlite Dance Academy. Their dances were adorable. If you want to see something funny. Try watching a 5 year old do a step, shuffle, ball, step! The first dance was a tap dance done to the Beach Boy's song, Little Saint Nick. They were dressed in an oversized t-shirt with tinsel around the bottom and a furry hat.

The second dance was a ballet dance done to the Christmas Waltz by the Carpenter's. For this they traded their oversized t-shirts for a fairy skirt and ballet shoes. We were so proud of them. Stage-Freight? Not them! The girls absolutely love to perform. We took them out to Chili's afterwards to celebrate. What could be better than mac-n-cheese and cinnamon apples! Thank you KeLsie, Grandpa Coop and Grandma Cam for coming to Aspen's performance. It means a lot to her to have you there.

Madison, Aspen and Cassidy. Posing for a Picture after their recital


Aspen and her Grandpa Coop

Not your average snowman...

One of our favorite "Christmasy" things to do, is to drive around and
look at other people's Christmas lights. So the other night, we rounded
Aspen up and headed out the door. We saw many beautiful lights and
Christmas decorations but what we didn't expect to see was a snowman
the size of our garage. Here is a picture of the snowman. It is a bit
blurry but just to put things into perspective, the snowman's eye's are
made out of large plastic plates.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without...

Seeing the lights at Temple Square! So after our fun day of sledding, we decided Aspen needed to see the lights at Temple Square as well. Honestly, you can't fit too many things into one day can you :-). Aspen loved the lights and especially the nativity scene with baby Jesus. She was quite concerned by the fact that baby Jesus was in the cold with nothing but a blanket on. I told her numerous times that the baby wasn't real but she insisted that he was. So she wins! The lights were magical and with the snow covering the ground, you could really feel Christmas in the air. My favorite part about temple square is the reflection pond. I could stare at those tiny baubles of light, all night long. Even with all the people on the temple grounds, it would be hard to find a more peaceful and relaxing place.

Aspen striking her favorite pose.


A Family Picture


Grandma Cam

Oh Let it Snow!

We finally have snow. We had planned to take Aspen snow shoeing for the first time this past weekend. However, with the avalanche dangers, we chickened out. We decided to take her sledding instead. Playing in the snow is something Aspen looks forward to all year long. Honestly, what child doesn't. For me, I sometimes dread it. It is so much work just getting out the door. But in the end, it is all worth it. We met up with the Adam's at Sugarhouse park. They all looked so cute bundled up in their snow gear. Okay, actually Zach Adams looked a little bit like he belonged on the movie Fargo but you get my point. Here are a couple of pics from that day.

Tea for Four!

For the past few years, Hilary and I have made it a tradition to do
something as a surprise for each others birthday. The goal is to make
it as fun and as cheap as possible. This year for Hilary's birthday, we
went to a chocolate tasting event that was suppose to turn us into
Chocolate snobs. It turns out that "real" chocolate isn't really that
good. Better luck next year right. So for my birthday, Hilary kind of
broke the rules. She took both Aspen and I to a tea party at Gardner
Village. It was amazing. We went to a place calledProtea Cottage.
After picking out our tea, we relaxed as the girls dressed up as princesses
for a "Royal Feast. The royal feast consisted of biscuit-like scones
that we spread with raspberry jam, sweet lemon curd and clotted cream.
We ate finger sandwiches with chicken salad and cucumber-cream cheese.
The desserts were delicious. We had spice cake, petite fours frosted
like a gifts, sugar cookies with lemon curd and kiwis, orange slices
and grapes. Are you hungry yet! We were stuffed. Luckily, your allowed
to bring home the leftovers.

Family Pictures

We finally did it. We had family pictures taken, professionally that is. Thank you Liz! You did an amazing job. Here is our favorite one of Aspen. I will post more later.