Well, we had a great Christmas this year, as you can see by the look on Maggie's face. She loved helping me un-decorate the tree. I spent countless hours (well...minutes) picking up ornaments, trying to get the little wire things back in to the tops of the balls, and trying to find a place to put them on the tree. If I were smart I guess I just wouldn't have decorated the bottom 2', but what fun would that have been for Maggie? See, I just have the best interest of my children at heart.Before we left for Utah we got together with some friends for a yummy soup dinner and gingerbread house making extravaganza. It was so much fun...Tyler loved decorating his mini-house and the big house for the family. Jacob could really care less. I think his mini-graham cracker house had about one piece of candy on it. He just sat at the table and ate the candy out of the bowls. A child after my own heart....
The boys both had school Christmas programs. Tyler is in the back row on the left, waving. He sang a few songs with his class. He did great, it was fun to watch him. Although I am surprised he didn't have to go to the bathroom while he was up there (inevitably, every time he gets up to sing in sacrament with Primary he has to pee).
Obviously Jacob was very excited about his school program--Santa Claus even came!
Then we went out to Utah. Overall it was a fun time--we got to spend time with family, play in the snow, etc. We met up a couple times with my grandpa. Tyler took right to him. He wanted to hold his hand when we were out walking. It was so sweet. The boys still talk about going to see him. Can you believe he is 91 year old!?!
We don't have any snow clothes for Maggie so she didn't get to venture out into the cold too much. But I did my best to keep her warm and let her play out on the deck. She LOVED it!
Her favorite part was picking up chunks of snow off the deck and eating them. She was very fascinated by the whole snow thing.
And I am sure you can all guess how much the boys loved playing in the snow. Total novelty for my kids (and myself--growing up I always thought you "visited" the snow, no one actually lives in it!) Jacob made plenty of snow angels (and would proceed to ruin them right after). He also enjoyed eating the snow.....maybe my kids are dehydrated?
Tyler had the most fun. He explored everywhere, laid in the snow, face planted himself in the snow (on purpose), etc.
I helped them build a mini-snowman (not only did I not have snow boots, but the snow there is very hard to make a snowman out of). Once again, the boys destroyed it not 2 minutes after this picture--shocking.
One of the favorite activities while we were inside was this little "buggy" stroller. It is for a doll, but Maggie fit just perfectly. The boys would run her around the kitchen and she would laugh and laugh and kick her legs up and down. She had a blast!
Jacob decided to give it a go too--you can see this isn't quite as much an "action" shot.... he kept telling Maggie, "Faster!" She did her best.
Even thought Maggie slept TERRIBLY she had fun playing with all the kids and loved getting so much attention from everyone. She is such an attention hog--If she saw another adult holding a baby she would go up to them and whine until they picked her up--even if she didn't know them! We found she prefers men. She spent the majority of her time at Great Grandpa Swenson's Christmas get-together on Eric's cousin's husband's lap...she had never even laid eyes on him before! Her favorite, though, was Uncle Mat. If he was around, she was on his lap. Little flirt.
We spent an afternoon sledding. What fun!
The most fun was that we didn't have to hike the sleds and ourselves back up the hill--the people we were with had 4-wheelers...lazy man's "sled-lift"!
Christmas morning! Santa came and did a great job. He brought Tyler exactly what he has been asking for for weeks! Good job Santa. The sheer joy on Tyler's face was priceless. He hasn't stopped playing with that toy since the moment he first laid eyes on it.
Maggie opened her gifts, but prefers the boys stuff instead. You can see she isn't too excited about her "Pretty Learning Purse."
Jacob got a Batman and Robin helicopter set and a pirate ship. They battle the Star Wars tank that Tyler got. Jacob also was caught hiding on the stairs eating Christmas candy. When Eric asked him what he was doing he said, "I had to eat it over here because Mommy said I couldn't have any." Duh dad.
We borrowed a coat from some friends, it was a little big and Maggie didn't enjoy wearing it. You can see Jacob in the background NOT putting his shoes on. Classic.
Once again, the favorite buggy. She would put grandma's tupperware in it and push it around. Sleep tight little Rubbermaid!
We had a fun time, and it was nice to see everyone. But I am glad to be home!
The boys both had school Christmas programs. Tyler is in the back row on the left, waving. He sang a few songs with his class. He did great, it was fun to watch him. Although I am surprised he didn't have to go to the bathroom while he was up there (inevitably, every time he gets up to sing in sacrament with Primary he has to pee).
Obviously Jacob was very excited about his school program--Santa Claus even came!
Then we went out to Utah. Overall it was a fun time--we got to spend time with family, play in the snow, etc. We met up a couple times with my grandpa. Tyler took right to him. He wanted to hold his hand when we were out walking. It was so sweet. The boys still talk about going to see him. Can you believe he is 91 year old!?!
We don't have any snow clothes for Maggie so she didn't get to venture out into the cold too much. But I did my best to keep her warm and let her play out on the deck. She LOVED it!
Her favorite part was picking up chunks of snow off the deck and eating them. She was very fascinated by the whole snow thing.
And I am sure you can all guess how much the boys loved playing in the snow. Total novelty for my kids (and myself--growing up I always thought you "visited" the snow, no one actually lives in it!) Jacob made plenty of snow angels (and would proceed to ruin them right after). He also enjoyed eating the snow.....maybe my kids are dehydrated?
Tyler had the most fun. He explored everywhere, laid in the snow, face planted himself in the snow (on purpose), etc.
I helped them build a mini-snowman (not only did I not have snow boots, but the snow there is very hard to make a snowman out of). Once again, the boys destroyed it not 2 minutes after this picture--shocking.
One of the favorite activities while we were inside was this little "buggy" stroller. It is for a doll, but Maggie fit just perfectly. The boys would run her around the kitchen and she would laugh and laugh and kick her legs up and down. She had a blast!
Jacob decided to give it a go too--you can see this isn't quite as much an "action" shot.... he kept telling Maggie, "Faster!" She did her best.
Even thought Maggie slept TERRIBLY she had fun playing with all the kids and loved getting so much attention from everyone. She is such an attention hog--If she saw another adult holding a baby she would go up to them and whine until they picked her up--even if she didn't know them! We found she prefers men. She spent the majority of her time at Great Grandpa Swenson's Christmas get-together on Eric's cousin's husband's lap...she had never even laid eyes on him before! Her favorite, though, was Uncle Mat. If he was around, she was on his lap. Little flirt.
We spent an afternoon sledding. What fun!
The most fun was that we didn't have to hike the sleds and ourselves back up the hill--the people we were with had 4-wheelers...lazy man's "sled-lift"!
Christmas morning! Santa came and did a great job. He brought Tyler exactly what he has been asking for for weeks! Good job Santa. The sheer joy on Tyler's face was priceless. He hasn't stopped playing with that toy since the moment he first laid eyes on it.
Maggie opened her gifts, but prefers the boys stuff instead. You can see she isn't too excited about her "Pretty Learning Purse."
Jacob got a Batman and Robin helicopter set and a pirate ship. They battle the Star Wars tank that Tyler got. Jacob also was caught hiding on the stairs eating Christmas candy. When Eric asked him what he was doing he said, "I had to eat it over here because Mommy said I couldn't have any." Duh dad. 
We borrowed a coat from some friends, it was a little big and Maggie didn't enjoy wearing it. You can see Jacob in the background NOT putting his shoes on. Classic.
Once again, the favorite buggy. She would put grandma's tupperware in it and push it around. Sleep tight little Rubbermaid!
We had a fun time, and it was nice to see everyone. But I am glad to be home! 
