And then there were six...: Christmastime is a favorite time...

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Christmastime is a favorite time...

I love Christmas and everything that goes with it. I love decorating my house, trimming the tree, Elf on the Shelf, listening to the music (fm.100 is played constantly the month of December!), wrapping presents, and getting in all of the traditions we have developed over the years. Some of these are simple like making cookies for Santa and others require a bit of effort such as going to see the lights when it is below freezing outside. Regardless, they are all important to me because they add to the spirit of the season.
This year, with Tucker being gone for two of those weeks, I took it upon myself to keep the kids, and myself!, busy with fun little Christmas activities. The twins were able to write awesome letters to Santa, complete with pictures, addressed envelopes, and stamps...

Roman's written masterpiece:

"I wot (want) a poofee (poofy) ginee peg (guinea pig) wef (with) a caj (cage) and a wee (wii) wef mreo (mario) in et (it)." Love it!

Capri's colorful creation:

Capri asked for a "real life hamster" and a cage as well as a purple pony.

Nothing like making and decorating cookies-I swear we have to do this for every holiday!

Another must for the holidays is passing out neighborhood gifts. The kids really get into this and I love the fact that they insist on being the ones to run door to door! I just sit in the car and enjoy watching them!

Another tradition we have started is going to see The Nutcracker with the girls. This year my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law Drew, and I all accompanied Capri to the ballet. We again went to Olive Garden first for dinner and then just walked across the street to the theater. We had incredible seats and were anxious for it to start...

Capri loved it even more this year and kept commenting on the beautiful costumes and the familiar music. She wants to be a ballerina when she grows up so of course she loved watching the dancing most!

A very happy girl and I after the show...

Speaking of ballet, Karoline and Capri got have a special dance class where they danced to The Nutcracker and got to wear Santa hats. Capri participated in Koko's class and looked too cute...

The Elf on the Shelf has become a favorite tradition and the kids get anxious each and every night to see where that little guy is the next morning. They are SO excited when they find him and then talk about what he must have done the night before. The first time he came, he brought letters and coloring books and we again watched the movie and read the book. The kids named him Chippy...

The Lights at Temple Square

It's something we have to do every year. That's all there is to it! Sometimes it seems crazy to haul everyone downtown only to be bundled up in the freezing weather as we walk around. Yet, we are always glad we go. The kids enjoy it more and more each year and I love keeping the tradition alive with our growing Curtis Clan. This year we went early to get some delicious dinner in at Blue Lemon. With full tummies, we then headed out to enjoy the lights, the temple, and each other's company. I love my family and I love that we can laugh at ourselves. For example, we walked across the street onto Temple Square and the guys are like, "Ok, let's take a picture...it's the only reason we came!" I love it. And I love that we got a pretty descent picture even with the sarcasm...