December

After decorating the tree, we were all for the Christmas spirit.
We got a lot of hay for the horse and the boys had a ton of fun unloading all of it and climbing on it.

 J.D. worked on the booth for the hunting guide company... he is so talented!

 One day I want my kitchen to be this rustic! I love it!

Since the weather was so cold, we played a lot at the church. Monty loves to pose!

 I worked on a stocking for Hazyn too!

 J.D. and Dawson got to go to a Jazz game! Dawson signed up for basketball this year and part of signing up is getting jazz tickets!

 We celebrated Monty's 3rd birthday!! He was SOOO excited for his birthday and just couldn't wait to have a party!

We went swimming at the indoor pool in Fillmore! Monty loves to swim and it is such a huge benefit to have an indoor pool in the community! There wasn't any other members of the community who wanted to swim that day so we ended up with the pool to ourselves!

The owners even let us have these huge pool toys for free!

Monty was just happy to have kids to play with. He didn't even care about the presents, it was a huge bonus! He got a basketball hoop for indoors, a big dump truck, dusty crophopper toys, and lots of candy.

He is our happy kid, and you could definitely see his happiness shining through his entire body.

We love Christmas time and have so many traditions. We read a story every night, we read a scripture to go along with the story and really try hard to remember the Savior. The kids watch the Nativity movies throughout the whole month. It really helps remind us of why we celebrate Christmas.

This year Dawson asked if Santa was true. I said, "Absolutely! I still believe in Santa. I don't care what anyone says. Santa is the spirit of giving! He may not exist physically, but then again he does through each of us. We give like the Savior gave to us." It was a pretty special moment and Dawson didn't question it at all after that. He believed in Santa. I love it!

My parents bought our entire family tickets to go ride the Polar Express in Heber, UT! The anticipation leading up to this event was all worth it!
One the way up there, we taught Monty what the lights of the stop light mean. We were parked watching the light switch from color to color. We would say, "What does green mean?" And Monty would say, "Green Go!" We would laugh every time because it sounded like 'gringo!'

My family is full of so much energy and we danced and danced and sang the entire time. We saw Santa and he gave each person a bell.

 My dad even had fun!

Auntie Jamie got to hold Hazyn for a lot of the ride.

We even saw the north pole!

We didn't see Dawson because he sat with all the older cousins and was having too much fun!

Here is Grammy and Grandpa with all their grandkids after the ride!

We stayed in Orem that night and the adults got to eat at Sakura for the night while the older cousins babysat the younger ones at the hotel. This is probably one of my most favorite traditions.

The next day we had to get home for the Christmas program for our little town. Dawson was part of the program this year and was determined to not miss it. I sewed his costume that afternoon and it turned out pretty good! We got to see Santa finally!

 Afterwards we went to our friends the Lemon's house and played games, and watched Rudolph come! We played that game with the whipped cream! I don't think I have ever laughed so hard!

Monty and Dawson wanted to play it all night! We even got J.D. in on it!

We had Parker run through the mountain behind us with a long stick and a red light taped to the top. We thought he would try to hide himself, but he didn't. He went running out in the open and then totally buffed it going down the hill, then tried to keep going... All of the adults couldn't breathe for minutes afterwards because we were laughing so hard. It was an unforgettable moment.

We went home and took pics in front of the Christmas tree.

We went upstairs to our bedroom and watched the old school Christmas movie. The kids loved it and soon fell asleep. We woke up and all ran downstairs to see what Santa had brought!
Monty didn't even care about his bike, he just wanted the watch he got in his stocking! lol!

Dawson got a pellet gun, and Hazyn got a lot of new clothes with some shape blocks!

The kids loved Christmas and spent the morning looking at everything, playing, and showing us all the new things they discovered!

The next day, J.D. and I went to Richfield to get ourselves a new TV and my Christmas present... curtains! I was so excited! I keep wanting all these new little additions to the house and each holiday that's all I ask for.

We went to bed so happy and so grateful for the Savior and all that he had given us. I'm so grateful for how hard J.D. works so we can give our kids things. It's not a big Christmas, but i wouldn't want it any other way. I loved that we went to Church that day and got to feel the spirit so strong.

It definitely helps remind me of what is important.

 Sweet tender moments like these. It doesn't matter if the house is clean, or if our hair is always done...

 For New Years we just spend a quiet night at our house with the family. Dawson and I were the only ones to make it to midnight and watch it on TV. It was a quiet way to start the new year!