The fun leading up to Christmas

The boys and I got to go stay at the Fields house while John and Destiny were celebrating their anniversary. We had so much fun! Brooklyn got all the kids organized for scripture reading that night and they put on an excellent play!

We took the boys on the Polar Express, and had an absolute blast. It was so fun and so magical, and I think we are going to make it a yearly tradition.

I don't know why but my children seem to think colder weather means you stay in your underwear all day. No matter what they are doing, practicing jumping on all of the furniture, or baking they are pretty much just always in their unders.

We went to the Limb family party in Evanston and the kids had a blast. They saw Santa and made gingerbread houses and met some new cousins they hadn't met before. It was fun!

The Field kids stayed the night at our house that night and then the next morning when we were getting ready for church the power went out and church ended up being cancelled. So they were all excited to get to stay in Jammie's and play.

All of the cousins :) 

We went caroling in the freezing cold wind and rain. Even though it was cold, it was a lot of fun.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed the cousin gift exchange.

We had the Field kids stay at our house again and we had a blast!! Brooklyn loved her gift she had gotten and was pumping out these hot pads like a machine!

We got to see Lainee's clogging recital, she was so cute!

We enjoyed the visit from the Field kids so much. I loved having a full house of kids :) then we got to see Ryker in his indoor soccer game, and we got to see him score an awesome goal!!! We had a very busy few weeks leading up to Christmas. Even though it was busy we enjoyed every second of it!

November and some of December

Hudson had a birthday! I can't believe I have a 5 year old!! Hudson is so smart, and he is so kind. He says the funniest things. He loves to tell jokes. He loves trains. He has one of the most open and tender hearts of anyone I know and he teaches me so much every day.

Jayson and I got to go to the temple to be there for our friends sealing. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed the little break. Thanks to John and Destiny for watching the boys while we went!

Colt and I had some cuddle time while Hudson was at preschool.

We met up with Jordan and Katie to see the new Hunger Games movie. It was so fun!

Then Colt had his birthday. He turned 3 and now loves to tell people he is a big boy. He is so imaginative and full of energy. He is so coordinated and adventurous. He is constantly keeping me on my toes. He is so lovable and loves to cuddle which I love :) I love this stage he is in where his personality is really starting to show.

He also shares his birthday with his great great Grandma Hatch. We love going to visit her. She is 97 this year!

The day before thanksgiving was a beautiful day so we had to take advantage and go to the park. It was so nice to get outside and get some fresh air.

I only took a few pictures from Thanksgiving, but we had such a wonderful time. The boys loved playing with their cousins and as always the food was delicious. 

We went to city creek and then to see the lights at temple square. It was so warm my boys weren't even wearing jackets. I'm glad we could go that night while it was so warm. It was a little crowded and the boys were so worn out, but we had a pretty good time. Thanks mom for inviting us!

The boys in their new Christmas sweaters. They are so handsome!

Our Christmas elf Elfie came back on December 1st and brought Christmas jammies for the boys and some fun treats. We are so excited for the Christmas season!

On December 3rd we did our tradition of releasing some balloons for my Grandpa Stan's birth anniversary. It was good to take a minute and think about him and his life. I was thinking about what he taught me, and he taught me that you can only be yourself. He was never afraid to be himself, and he lived his life how he wanted, and I think there is something really beautiful in that.

Then the boys and I headed down to John and Destiny's to stay with Brooklyn, Carter, and Ryker while they went to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Congrats to them on such beautiful kids and a beautiful life! We had so much fun. We went out to dinner and then drove around looking at Christmas lights. Then the kids put on a play. I sure do love those kids and it was fun to hang with them. The picture below is the next day when we left, we hustled back home to get Hudson home to preschool and he was just so worn out, he fell asleep at 7! It has been a busy couple of weeks and it's just going to get busier. I love Christmas!