Christmas 2016

Chelsea and Spencer came to be with us on Christmas Eve day.  The kids went to see Rogue One together while I stayed home and made gingerbread house cookies and prepared Christmas Eve dinner.  Matt worked until 5 pm.  He had a VERY busy day at the InstaCare.  Check out the pic of him sprawled out on the floor.  He was pooped!
We had delicious ham, roasted potatoes, rolls, and green salad with sliced pears, pomegranate seeds, toasted pecans and feta cheese.  So good.
After dinner, with the movie A Christmas Story playing, we decorated the gingerbread house cookies.  So much easier than making 3D houses.  But just as fun.
Instead of having a pajama hunt, I bought Stance socks for everyone and that is what the kids went searching for around the house.
We gave our presents to Chelsea and Spencer and they went home before the snow came to have their first Christmas morning together in their little apartment.
Christmas Day was on Sunday this year, so we slept in a bit, got ready for church, and then attended the YSA ward at 10:00.  It had snowed a bunch and the roads hadn't been plowed yet.  A little treacherous, but the one hour service was beautiful.  We came home, made a yummy breakfast, then opened our gifts.  It was a relaxing Christmas day.

More December Family Fun

I celebrated my 45th birthday with my awesome husband.  We went to this new place downtown for lunch.  We love eating out together.  Matt gave me a beautiful navy blue Le Creuset oval dutch oven from William Sonoma.  I've been wanting to splurge on one of those for a very long time.  

The Daybreak Young Single Adult Ward had their Christmas party.  They were having an ugly sweater contest so we donned ours but didn't participate for the prizes.  They had a nice program and nativity displays.  These awesome YSA's put on a fun party, catered by Chick-Fil-A.

I'm co-teaching an institute/Sunday school class called Preparing for Eternal Marriage.  I took a group pic for my dad's Light the World video showing some service I have done.

We had a nice Eastman get-together.  We had dinner, I did my flannel board nativity story for the kiddos, and then we helped G&G Eastman decorate their Christmas tree.

Poor Emma tested positive for the flu the week before Christmas.  We got her diagnosed super early so we were able to get her on Tamiflu.  That, combined with a priesthood blessing, knocked that flu out within a couple of days.

Josh came home from Utah State the night Emma got sick.  Thankfully, it didn't spread to anybody else!  The next day, Matt tried to take Josh to Brighton, but the storm made it so that Brighton didn't open for the day.  The two of them headed back down Big Cottonwood Canyon, and this is what they got into.  The canyon closed down for three hours, and there they sat.  Not a fun ski day as planned.

 But several days later, and again after Christmas, they were able to get back to Brighton and enjoyed the snow together.

                                      

Emma and Josh braved freezing cold temps on a gorgeous late afternoon and went sledding together in Daybreak.

And again on another day at Suicide Hill.  Pure ice that day.

And speaking of ice... we finally got to go ice skating at the Olympic Oval in Kearns.  That was a fun outing with my fav 20 and 15 year olds.

12 Days of Christmas: A Utah Family Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Christmas Ornaments

This year, our whole family is in Utah for Christmas!  For our Twelve Days, we are celebrating all things Utah.  Our annual ornaments are handmade here in this great state.  Each shining glass star should remind us that we need to look to our Savior for direction and peace.   

Handmade by Piggy and Dirt

On the second day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

The Tree of Life

Tonight we are heading to Draper City Park to see the spectacular “Tree of Life”.  It’s a unique lights display right here in Utah.  On our way, let’s listen to the Book of Mormon account of Lehi’s dream and think about how we all want each family member to hold to the iron rod and partake of the tree’s fruit, the love of God. 

Mom and Dad

Emma

On the third day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Swig Hot Chocolate

A Utah original!  Yep, Swig started the soda craze that has Utahns lining up.  They are known for their yummy soda creations and soft sugar cookies.  But wait! There’s more!  Let’s go warm up tonight with some tasty hot chocolate. 

On the fourth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Our Utah Family Portrait

Since Emma tested positive for flu, we will miss the play, Juanito Bandito’s Christmas, tonight.  So instead, we will open our beautiful family portrait that was taken up near Sundance, Utah.  What a gorgeous state we live in now, and what a good looking family we are!  

Heather Telford Photography

On the fifth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Lehi Roller Mills Treats and Footloose

Footloose was filmed in Lehi, Utah in 1984.  Back then, Lehi was a small farming community with a flour mill at its center.  Built 110 years ago, it still exists today, now surrounded by busy roads, restaurants, and stores.  Lehi Roller Mills is known for their flour and mixes that are packaged up in printed cotton fabric bags.  Here is some blueberry muffin mix and some hot cereal we can enjoy.  Let’s also watch Footloose today and see what beautiful Utah looked like 30 years ago. 

On the sixth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Our Annual Christmas Book

Here is another book to add to our growing collection.  This fun one will take us on Santa’s sleigh over our gorgeous Salt Lake valley.  Get comfy on the couch, pretend you’re six years old again, and let mom read you a new Christmas story.

On the seventh day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Our first annual YSA Bishop’s Open House

We have an opportunity tonight to give service in a different way.  Yes, it’s a party of sorts.  But we are giving our time and talents to support, encourage, lead, (and feed!) the wonderful members of dad’s church congregation.  Let’s help each other get ready for the fun by preparing our home and baking yummy treats. 

(no picture was taken, darn it!)

On the eighth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

A Utah Puzzle

Our family enjoys puzzles, and this one is sure to be entertaining and maybe even educational!  It’s 1000 pieces of Utah facts, images, and a map.  Clear off the table and let’s get going on it!  

On the ninth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Christmas In Color

This Christmas light display is perfect for Utah families.  That huge family of 15 can pay the same as that family of four!  So pile in the car (dad can even wear his slippers because we don’t have to get out) and let’s drive through the coolest musical Christmas lights we've ever seen (hopefully).

On the tenth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

A Movie with the Fam

It’s movie day for us!  Today we will be going to see “Sing” together.  

That’s all there is to say about that.  Tomorrow we’ll go ice skating at the Utah Olympic Oval.  Sorry it didnt' work out to go today like I planned.

   

On the eleventh day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

The Wright Family Christmas Party

Tonight’s the night you’ve been waiting for!  Who doesn’t love dollar gifts, Little Caesars pizza, and a visit from our Swedish Jultomten?  We need to head to the store to find fun, little items for our gift exchange.  

Spencer got to meet Jultomten for the 1st time

Getting set up to watch the movie G&G made for our Light the World theme

On the twelfth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love

Gingerbread House Decorating

We are so happy that you all are in our Utah home tonight to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  A house is only a home when there is love inside.  And we’ve got plenty of that!  Let’s give a little love to these gingerbread houses by decorating them with colorful candies and frosting.