The Tree of Hope

Cute Claire. She loves being outside. Finding a jacket-worthy day in December called for a bike ride to the park.

There is a park on the Farmington/Kaysville border that does a fun blow-up Christmas display around the walking trail lining the park. They boast that there are 100+ blowup Balloons. I had a goal to take the girls this year, and we made it happen just days before Christmas. 

The reason for the balloons is for the neighboorhood to celebrate the life of a sweet little girl who had died of brain cancer. This is the reason for the Tree of Hope. The balloon walk eventually leads to a magnificent tree lit up to rival any Tree of Life rendition I've seen. It is absolutely Beautiful!

My people under the Tree of Hope. 

The full effect

Claire took a turn on the scooter. She was instantly hooked.

Christmas Windows at the Grand America

I will forever love the Grand America Hotel. I think it's because I grew up in a small town and the wonder of a giant, fancy hotel gets to me every time. I make Greg take us to see the windows and Giant Gingerbread House every year, and I don't think it will ever get old.

The girls think it's funny to run from our kitchen into this wall. Hearing Claire's cackle puts a smile on my face every single time.

The windows this year told the story of the Night Before Christmas, except the main characters were a cute little mice family living in the walls. Now that I type that out, it sounds lame, but believe me when I say that I think these were my favorite windows yet.

Cute Sof on the reindeer. She takes a picture every year on this little deer. The lighting is amazing thanks to my awesome new iphone 11, which I love!

We stopped and actually went into the ridiculously expensive toy store this year. I'm pretty sure Claire could've stayed all night watching these monster screens. They were pretty cute.

In the moment, I often wonder why I go through such effort to take my kids places, because the whole time I feel like I'm herding cats. Then, when I look at the pictures and see the joy on their faces, I realize that it's because of the experience. They might not always remember the experience, but the joy they feel in the moment is always worth the extra effort.

A Christmas Bus to Remember

The Christmas Bus experience this year is one we won't quickly forget, for me at least.

Suffice it to say, Claire was a PILL the whole day! She didn't nap (as usual), but this day she really needed to. When we got to the Care Center to do the Christmas Program, she cried pretty much the entire time. So when she refused to be an angel for the Nativity, I had had enough, and stuck her in the car. She was fine, I promise.

Sof, on the other hand, was mostly cooperative (other than making me have a solo during her musical number), she was so excited to be Mary! Bless her. Kids ... #amiright?

Really, all Claire needed was food, so when we got to the church after the program, and she found some food (mainly apple sauce and root beer), she calmed right down. Hanger is a real thing people! and unfortunately, she gets it from her mama.

Mark and Kathy never disappoint in their family activities, and this year was a contest to see who could make the best snowman.

I'm pretty sure it was a tie. Every one was uniquely hilarious!

I don't have any pictures of actually riding the bus, but the girls were so excited to ride it. Cute Sof started out on her cousins laps but quickly returned to sit with Greg and I and she was enamored by the lights of Salt Lake while going up the hill from Beck Street towards the Capitol, to drop down towards the temple. Sometimes, it is fun to see things through a child's eyes. Claire was trying to walk her way down the aisle of the bus while it was stopping ... that girlfriend has no fear.

It was a REALLY cold night, and I didn't pack as warm as I should have for the girls, so by the time we walked back to the temple, Sof was freezing in the stroller and Claire was starting to lose it. Then, when we get to the corner and stand there waiting for the bus to come (which never did) and Claire was wailing, I lost it. I kicked a freezing Sof out of the stroller, stuck Claire in, and went for a walk around the conference center to try and get my temper under control. Turns out before I even got to my first corner, Claire was asleep in the stroller. She was exhausted.

By the time I got back to Greg, he told me that the bus was nowhere to be found, and everyone was ordering an Uber to get back to the church parking lot in Farmington. We ordered a Lyft and quickly found our driver and climbed in. Claire slept in my arms, without even waking up, and we climbed into the little civic with two kids and no carseats. Oh well. All Sof wanted was to munch on a cookie, and when she got her cookie, she was as content as she could be. As I observed her, happily munching on her cookie, completely oblivious to the hightened emotions around her, I had this thought, that this is why Christ tells us to become as little children, in order to enter his kingdom. Sofi held no hard feelings towards the missing bus, she held no animosity towards her screaming sister, she had no anger towards me for not packing warm enough clothing for her, all she needed was her cookie, and she was as happy as could be. It was a good lesson for me to try to control my anger, and work on patience when it comes to my sometimes uncontrollable children. Oftentimes, Sofi's calm demeanor is exactly what I need to give myself a reality check. I believe it is a gift she has, and it is a reason so many people love her. 

When we got to the car, Claire continued to sleep uninterrupted in my arms and slept that night peacefully in her clothes. She woke up as happy as could be, and it was a fun Sunday. Now that the Christmas Bus is behind us, I can smile and say it was a fun experience, but holy cow! The terrible two's have hit hard, and sometimes it's hard to not let Claire's innocent outbursts get to me. It's a work in progress, for sure.

Sofi's sweet Sunbeam teachers would text out a picture of our cute kids when they did their fun activities. Sofi came to LOVE these sweet sisters who taught her each week, and I am so glad she developed a love for Primary from their attentive teaching. Here she is in her class reenacting the Nativity. She made a beautiful Angel.

Sofia's Christmas Preschool Program

I continue to love Sofia's preschool teacher more and more with each passing month/holiday. She has such love for her student's and they love her. It's fun to know that Sof is in good hands whenever I drop her off.

Miss Joani kept to tradition and invited the parent's over for a Christmas program. It was adorable!

Sofi sat on Santa's lap. It was a big moment, and she was so nervous, but she did it! He was so cute and handed her some sleigh bells to jingle. He came prepared.

All thru December Sofi learned about Christmas in other countries at preschool. These are the cute skirts Santa gave each of the girls.

Claire was content to walk around with a cookie in each hand.

Sofia's Singing Program

Sof spent 4 months learning Christmas songs, and it all came to fruition one night. This is her singing at the dress rehearsal, and it was adorable! 

Here are the video's for your enjoyment. You're welcome!

The day of Sof's recital was a doozy, and I had to send Greg and Sofi separately to make it to the recital on time while I woke up Claire from a late nap. Then, when we got there, I realized my child was the only one not dressed up in some Christmas outfit. You might be thinking, "The blue's not bad Heidi, what's the big deal?" But we were on the back row, and you can't see her llama boots. 

Oh well. Sof sang awesome and enjoyed it, so who cares right?

Cue the llama boots.

Beginning of Christmas Cheer

We finally decorated our Christmas Tree 2 months after setting it up, and it was beautiful! We pulled these glasses out I forgot I had saved from Artic Circle and it was so worth it!

Sometimes I wonder what it's like inside her head.

I SCORED this bench one day. I decided to support the local stores and ordered a new Christmas piano book. When it was ready to be picked up, I went and saw this little beauty rotting in a corner. It was exactly what I had been looking for and it was love at first sight. I debated for maybe 6 seconds before turning around and walking back into the store to ask if I could have it, point blank. The next day, I got a text from the store owner telling me it was all mine! It is one of my projects to work on during busy season, and I can't wait to see how it turns out! It needs some major TLC, but that's not stopping me! 

The pictures from the big Spjute picture at the Boise Capitol didn't work out that I had snapped on my phone, so we borrowed my friend's porch one day. I cropped a few faces, but it mostly turned out okay. I'll be more on the ball family-picture wise next year (fingers crossed).

Claire running at a dead sprint.

She is the energy bunny reincarnated.

Not the best picture, but it will have to do. You would never know I switched out Greg's face.

Somehow Claire thinks this is comfortable.

Sofi had a "Slumber party birthday party" one night, so we had a few hours to kill with Claire, so we headed to Station park. Every 30 minutes they would do a 5 minute projector show on the buildings, and it was actually pretty cool, but it was freezing!

Our little marshmallow.

I love the evolution of the different pictures we have of our kids on this goose.

I was convinced this was our year for the girls to not be afraid of Santa. That was not the case.