It's a Wonderful Life

Last Saturday some of us went and saw Wicked in San Francisco.  Erik, kindly, took care of Jackson and Wyatt at his parents' house.  I had never seen that show before, and I really liked it.  I have to say, I was a teensy bit dissapointed because we had an understudy and a stand-in for both leads, but they were still great.  Just not Kristen Chenoweth or Idnia Menzel great.  Musicals really are my third great love in my life (after family and the gospel).  Does this make me a nerd?  Yes!  Do I care?  No!  The dancing, the beautiful music, the emotion all rolled into one  . . . really how could people not enjoy them?

I was so happy to be home during Christmas.  Especially because I hadn't been in two years.  It's always great to be doing the traditions that I grew up doing :)   Jackson and Anne working on the gingerbread houses.  I swear by the end of last week, I was sweating sugar! On Tuesday night, we got a special visit from Santa Claus himself.  Of course my boys wouldn't go within a 15 ft. radius of him, but they liked watching their cousins! On Wednesday night, we had a "Christmas Around the World" celebration per Laurel's excellent suggestion.  Everyone picked a different country and made/bought/had someone else make a dish from that country.  While we ate, everyone said a little something about the country's celebration.  It was a lot of fun.  One of Erik's employees brings in homemade tamales sometimes and since we were doing Honduras this worked out pretty well :) Wyatt and Grandmother having a good time Last year my Mom bough...

Last Friday, we started our Christmas celebration by driving up to Livermore.  We had a wonderful time.  It was great that most of Erik's siblings could be there (we missed you Hunt family!!).  I'll be adding some pictures later because our camera battery died right before our gift exchange, but here's what I got :) On Saturday we went to "Deacon Dave's" house.  He's a man in Livermore that puts on a really spectacular light show every year.  It really was amazing (it topped the one in Visalia) Wyatt liked trying to fit his body inside the gates. On Sunday, we did our Nativity.  Erik's mom and Kelsey did such a great job  of finding and gathering costumes this year.  Here is Erik as one of the wise men. I was pretty surprised that Jackson ended up being Joseph.  He is usually pretty shy about being front and center, but maybe having Adelyn at his side as Mary helped.  He loves playing with that girl! On Monday, we went...

This one of my favorite things about living in Visalia.  Unfortunately, because it gets so hazy and foggy here, they are not always on display.  After living in Utah, I have loved being able to look toward the mountains.  They are just so majestic, and make me so grateful for how beautiful and varied our world is :)

Sunday evening we went to a house around the corner that really goes all out with their lights.  Its was like an explosion of nativity scenes, Santas, laser light shows, music, and a whole lot of Christmas lights.  Every weekend evening at 6:00 pm they put on a "snow show" as well.  It was pretty much a machine that spat out soapy foam.  At first Jackson was kind of weirded out by it, but hey, this kid will take snow where he can get it! What a winter wonderland! Wyatt was just confused.  I really think it was sweet of this family to put this on.  It must be a huge expense and hassle.  I have to admit that I felt a lump in my throat during the program.  I just love how Christmas brings a community together, even if it veers on the tacky side sometimes :)

I finished phase 1 of my "Christmas Treats Extravaganza."  It will be a miracle if I am in the same size come January :) 

Yesterday we went to this really cute Christmas tree farm.  Sadly, Wyatt is still sick so I hated being outside in the "cold" (it wasn't Rexburg cold, but it was chilly for not having coats!)  He still had a great time, but next year I'll bring warmer stuff so we can stay even longer :)  The farm had lots of fun places for kids to play surrounded by hills and trees.  Jackson and Wyatt loved this little playhouse and castle that we found. Peek-a-boo.  Wyatt loves to play games.  If he even hears the word "peek-a-boo,"  he will immediately start to cover his eyes and play.  He also just started playing duck, duck, goose which is hilarious.  He will randomly walk over to one of us and pat us on the head, make a playful grunt, and start to run away.  Such a funny boy!!   It looks like they are plotting something against their daddy :) What a handsome boy! When I was searching for a place to get our tree I saw that this p...