ZOO Lights

We love to go see different Christmas lights around town.  This year we went to see the Denver ZOO lights!  It was a great night!  We were going to go the Monday before Christmas, but we decided last minute to pass the Stomach bug through our family!  So, we ended up going the Monday after.  It was probably a warmer night anyways!  It was a great night out with the family!  The ZOO does a great job decorating.  It was so fun to see all the different animals in lights!  Lily only had one complaint, we didn't get to see enough of the REAL animals!  she knows that when you go to the ZOO you get to see the animals.  When we left she asked if the next time we go to the ZOO if we could see more animals!  She did however LOVE the lights and the HOT CHOCOLATE!  We look forward to going again next year!

 Before we left, Lily told us we had to bring the double stroller in case she got cold!  We bundled the kids up with lots of blankets and they stayed toasty warm! 

Christmas 2011

Christmas morning was so GREAT!  It was so exciting to see Lily get so excited over EVERYTHING!  First of all she noticed that Santa ate his cookies and the Reindeer ate "nibbled" their carrots!  Then she got very excited about all the gifts.  Most importantly, she knew we were celebrating the baby Jesus' birthday!  We spent a few minutes looking at the gifts that Santa brought before we Skyped with Grandparents.  First up we Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa Warner as we opened the gifts from them!  They sent the kids the most adorable outfits!  (I had a friend take some pictures of the kids in their outfits I will post when I get them from her!)  We then Skyped with the whole Gray clan!  It was so much fun to be able to let the grandparents see the kids open their gifts and to see them open ours!  I sure do LOVE technology!  After we were done with Skyping, we finished with our gifts and then got ready for Church and our breakfast tradition.  We have taken the tradition from the Gray family to do Crepes and Omelets for Christmas breakfast.  Part of the tradition is to invite friends to share in the deliciousness!  Since Church was at 11, we had everyone come over at 9 and we all visited until we all headed to Church, which was AMAZING!  I always love the Christmas Music program! 

 Logan got all things boy!  TJ was so excited to finally be able to buy TONKA trucks!  He sure did enjoy his gifts! and the paper!!

 Logan checking out Lily's stocking goodies!

 Another family tradition we have is "THE BIG BOX."  The big box is a gift that comes early from Santa.  It shows up any time before Christmas with a tag stating it is from Santa.  No one knows who the big box is for until Christmas morning.  There is a lot of excitement building around the gift and who it is for.  Well this year the big box was for Lily AND Logan!  They got a wagon!  I cant wait to take them for lots of rides in it!

 Lily got all things Girl!  She scored in the Dress Up department!  She changes outfits all day long!

This year we got some art work for our bare walls!  We have been wanting some big pictures for our walls and so we FINALLY got some!  We are SO excited to have these hanging in our home!

 Rocking out with her new guitar from her brother Logan!  She was our breakfast entertainment!

 A sneak peak of Logan's outfit!

After Church, we came home and had Nap time!!!!!!!  After nap time the kids enjoyed playing as I got Dinner ready!  We had the Torres family over to celebrate with us!  We had a delicious meal of Ham balls and Hot Chicken salad!  

Lily and Logan playing with Logan's elephant from Lily! 

They are so much fun to watch play together!  They both laugh and smile the whole time!

Lily and Valeria playing Dress Up.

 Christmas was Wonderful!  It was spent with great friends and enjoying our little family!  We are so very grateful for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!  It is through him that we are able to be an Eternal family!  I pray that my children always look to Christ for direction in all things.  What a gift we have been given!  Santa is nice and fun, but the real true reason WE celebrate Christmas is because of our Savior Jesus Christ!  For the true meaning of Christmas is Christ!  May we never lose sight of that fact!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve started with breakfast at IHOP.  Lily requested we eat at a Restaurant.  (She thinks any special occasion should involve a meal at a restaurant!)  We were very lucky and got to see one of Santa's helpers - because Santa himself was already out working- having breakfast.  He was so cute and had candy canes for the kids that he handed out as he walked around to the different tables!  Lily thought that was pretty cool!

 Logan got to have his very own pancake for breakfast!  This kid LOVES to eat real people food!

 After breakfast we did some last minute grocery shopping and then headed home for some fun!  We just hung out until we had dinner plans with the Torres family.  Since they are from Mexico and they have their big celebration on Christmas Eve, we headed over to their house to share in the fun!  Aleida made a great meal and we had a great time spending the evening watching the kids play and visiting!  It is so great to have such great friends!  We also really enjoyed learning about the way they celebrate Christmas in Mexico!

Gingerbread Houses

Each year we dedicate one night before Christmas as our Gingerbread decorating night!  This year we had our great friends Jorge, Aleida and Valleria over to share in the tradition!  It was the first time they had the privilege of making a gingerbread house!  It was so fun to share this American Tradition with them!  This is one of Lily's favorite activities and she sure did a great job, well at least until she wanted Mom to finish it! 

 Ready to put her creative juices to work!  She had a lot of great ideas for our house!  Maybe next year she will get to do her very own house!

 Once Lily was done, she headed up the stairs to put her PJs on and her coat?! and then Daddy read the kids a story! 

 This is our finished house.  Lily insisted that we have a snowman in the front yard!

 These two sure enjoy spending time together!