Temple Square

I love to see all the Christmas lights this time of year. It's fun to just drive down the street at night and see everyone's houses all lit up and in all the different colors. Sometimes it justs makes me smile!!! One of my favorite traditions is to see the lights at temple square. We were able to go down there one Sunday night this month and walk around. It's always so beautiful to see the grounds all lit up. What a peaceful place it is...even when it 20 degrees outside.

Serving Together

My family always does some type of service project around the Christmas holiday season. This year we tried something new! It was really a lot of fun. We went to the Utah Food Bank up in Salt Lake and helped sort food. We went through pallets of surplus food brought in from stores in the area. We went through and packed boxes to make sure the food was still in good condition. It was amazing to see what the food bank was like and a fractions of all that goes into it. We had a fun time and even the little kids were able to help out. We sure are getting to be quite the big group when we all get together! It's the best!

Christmas Come and Gone

I can't be believe how fast Christmas has come and gone. I love this time of year!!! It's been a busy month with lots of parties with family & friends, cookie making, Christmas lights, decorating, and all the other festivities that come along with this wonderful season. Here are a few of the highlights..

We had a fun get-a-way up to the cabin. There was lots of snow and lots of playing. We have a great sledding hill right in the back. It was pretty bitter cold, but we endured and had a blast. It's pretty amazing to sink into snow up to you hips. No one got hurt and only one run into a tree! Later that evening, we(I should say the parents) put all the little kids to bed and we had a great time figuring out the new wii game system. It's amazing how competitive the 'adults' became. We played everything from tennis, baseball, and bowling. But I'd have to say the boxing is what really got our heart rate up. It was great to see even mom and dad punch it out in a match.

Surprise

We had a great Thanksgiving last week! We started out the week with a little surprise. We decided to fly to Michigan and spend the holiday with Stephen's family. They had no idea we were coming for the big feast. We let his brother and sister know we were making to trip... just to make sure they would be around when we got there. We took a red eye flight out Tuesday night and got into Detroit early Wednesday morning. We made the drive up to Midland and first stopped at Stephen's brother's house. (They live just a few minutes away and didn't want to miss the look on everyone's faces.) We walked right in the front door and said hello. They were busy in the kitchen with all the holiday preparations! I wish I had a pictures of the look on their faces. It was great! Jaws dropped and a few 'what are you doing here's' were said! I loved it! It was so much fun and well worth it all, in those first few minutes. We had a wonderful trip out there that went by way too fast. Here are some of the highlights! We loved eating lots of yummy turkey and mashed potatoes. We were able to see Grandma and Grandpa Wilke. Played a competitive game of dominoes. Went out to lunch and shopping with all the girls and stayed up to the wee hours in the morning playing x-box! We sure do miss them all and cherish the time we're able to spend with them. I really realized how fun it is to be spontaneous and surprise others! It's great!