December Festivities

We've had an exciting Christmas season so far! There's always so much to do in December. It's my favorite time of year, and as with everything else, it's so much more fun with Isabelle around. Kids just make everything seem more exciting!

We kicked off our holiday season with a trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express! We had such a great time! Isabelle was so excited to ride on the train. The kids had a blast! The elves served us luke warm hot chocolate and Mrs. Claus gave us some of her famous store-bought chocolate chip cookies. In other words, it wasn't quite as spectacular as the book or movie, but the kids could've cared less. They got to wear their pajamas and we sang Christmas carols while riding on a train to the North Pole- what could be better than that? Isabelle loved when Santa came through and gave her a special bell. We really had a fun time! Isabelle is still talking about her train ride. Every time we see a train or cross the tracks by our house, she says she wants to ride the train, and gets so happy!

Isabelle loves Santa! I wasn't sure how she would react to him this year, but we've visited with him probably ten times now. I don't know why I worried, because she loves old men. Everywhere we go, she makes friends with them! It took her a couple of times to warm up to Santa, but now she walks right up to him, jumps on his lap, and tells him what she wants for Christmas! Sometimes she gets a little stage fright, and just smiles and stares at him, but most of the time now, she could chat with him forever. She tells him she wants a baby doll, a dog, and a slide. She came up with the slide all by herself when she was flipping through a toy catalog. She told me that she was going to tell Santa she wanted a slide (not with those exact words, but well enough that I understood). Isabelle is constantly talking about Santa. She also loves to play with the nativities around the house, and has started talking about Jesus a lot lately too, which makes me so happy!

We've been to see both the lights at Temple Square and at Christmas Village so far this month and Isabelle has loved them! She especially loved Christmas Village because of the little houses. Everything is just her size there. I know we'll be visiting there at least a couple more times this month because she was so dang cute running around to each house with her little hat and mittens on!

This is just such an exciting time of year. Everything seems so magical around Christmastime! I love the holidays- the parties, the shopping, the decorating, the candy-making. It's definitely easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of the holidays and I just hope we can all remember the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of our wonderful Savior. I hope that James and I will be able to instill this in Isabelle's perspective of Christmas. Though she doesn't understand much yet, I think she already knows the importance of Jesus in our Christmas holiday- at least I hope so!

Waiting for our ride on the Polar Express

Isabelle waiting patiently

Cousins- Jill, Isabelle, Gracie

Waiting for Santa with Emma

Isabelle made friends with the guy across the aisle

Waiting at the mall to visit Santa

A little nervous this visit, so Mommy sat on Santa's lap

Standing in front of the big tree at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Grandma and Papa with all of the grandkids- this is as good as it gets

Daddy and Belly Boo

Cute girls! Isabelle and her cousins

Mommyy keeping Isabelle from falling in the water

This is the place we call "our spot". This is where James and I got engaged. My brother constantly makes fun of us because we always have to have our picture taken here when we come to the temple grounds.

Twirling!

Looking out at the beautiful temple