December

I loved my pretty house (and didn't love those white seat cushions very much)

Our advent calendars for the kiddos! We made them for family home evening on December 1st.

And we decorated our gingerbread houses. I hope to be brave enough to make gingerbread houses int he future but this is what I will do for now.

I put Isaac and Lucy in a one-week trial with the swim team. I LOVED it and Isaac thoguht it was torture. Lucy was getting excited about it by the end. It was hard to stop but it is also hard to have Isaac in something he doesn't like and Lucy knew she had soccer coming up.

With my friend Tiffany Thomas, I sewed my pillow cases. I was so proud and happy about it--and a little bugged that I missed a few pillowcases. Such a great thing! Definitely want more sewing lessons.

President Monson used to say we had memories to serve as our roses in December. I love that this rose in our front yard was in full bloom in December.

I took my girls to the Nutcracker. It was awesome.

This was Lucy's ticket for the Polar Express, where she was the main lead, "Little Girl." She did such a wonderful job.

Darling Brooklyn waiting for the play to start.

And a band concert for Isaac. They were pretty good. It was a bummer that he had to leave in the middle of the school year--they were going to play some more great music. Now I kind of second guess my decision not to finish the school year, but Doug and I didn't want to be apart for that long and have the kiddos not have their dad for that long. He couldn't imagine living away from them for that long and I totally get it.

Doug at the Christmas roller skating party with some of his team members. It was really fun, but one lady fell and Doug worried that she would sue the company.

The little boys' feet were all of a sudden almost the same size! I need to find Cason's size-up shoes before school starts, by the way. Memo to me.

This was one of the coolest things we have ever done at Christmastime! Doug got tickets for our whole family to see the lights at the Mariner's stadium. We got to do detective work, searching for all of Santa's reindeer in this enormous maze. Just tons of fun. Doug sent this pic to the family and added a head to this octopus-looking light thing.

I wish I could see what the stick-it note says. I'm sure it was something very cute.

Doug ice skating with the young men.

I wrote the ward newsletter again with Adrian doing all the formatting. We made a great time once more.

So, so cute.

Molly and I did such a fun run! I think it was a five milerun, and my goal was to run it at a sub-8 pace, even though I really worried about setting that goal and being disappointed with myself. Even with a potty break at the start of the race with Molly, I got a sub-8 pace!

This was the board they would stick in front of our table at our favorite Japanese sushi place. It was so good!

Fun Christmas jammies for all and slippers for most on Christmas eve.

We left out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, and this is what they left us.

The big Christmas morning! We took a lot of videos but not a bunch of pictures.

Isaac figuring out his crazy little wheeled toy. Several of us have gotten injured riding that thing.

Peanut helped Corban become Batman. Costumes are still one of his very favorite things in July. He was running around in a Captain America costume with a Superman mask for quite a while today.

Our neighbors Luke and Randy spoiled our family with toys for all the kids. Their grandma Jane and mom Laurie were so good to us. Jane drove the girls to the bus stop every single day and picked them every day, even when Luke was at the afterschool program.

We got to go to the zoo and acquarium.

We decided to go to Seattle in the pouring rain, thinking way fewere perople would come because the weather was so appalling. We were wrong. It was jam packed at Pike's Place Market and we got to ride the ferris wheel as a family. It was incredible.

And I'll end December with the last photo I took of the girls playing piano together.