The Best Of Christmas 2011

Nothing better than my two sweet kids on Christmas morning.Mater!

Don't bother me...I'm listening to Tom Petty.

9 in the morning and already her hair needs to be redone.

Poppa!

I like to play.

Business time.

Peekaboo!

Next-day Christmas with Grandma Sherrie.

The joy of being a kid at Christmas. The only thing better is being an adult and watching your kids experience that joy. Love you Izzypop and Skeeto!

Merry Christmas!

Sugar Plum Fairy Extravaganza

Tonight Izzypop and I were lucky enough to have a girls afternoon out with Grandma Sandi. We first dressed in our finest red and black...not planned :) and headed to Capitol Theater for a matinee showing of the Nutcracker.


The show was wonderful! And afterward, we got to go up on stage for a little tea party with none other than the Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara themselves! We had some yummy cookies, got to see a magic show, were able to check out some of the props and costumes up close, and got to get our pictures taken with the cast members. So exclusive!


Afterward, we went to Litza's Pizza. We don't have any pictures, but Izzypop did pose with her wide-mouthed nutcracker illustrating her spaghetti scarfing capabilities. This picture looks strangely familiar...

Thank you so much, Grandma Sandi for a wonderful afternoon! We love you!

Skating and Santa

The Hansen family Christmas party was this past weekend and was as good as the kids could have hoped it to be. We got a little skating in and some bouncy house fun.

Then came what Izzypop was really waiting for....The Big Man. Izzy and Skeeto were particularly mesmerized by his magic tricks.

At the ripe old age of five, Izzypop might be thinking she's getting a little old for this. She did ask Santa for Lite Sprites, though.

She got a crayon maker that melts the old nubs of your crayons and makes them into swirly new ones. Incidentally, this toy is pretty fun...even for grown ups. :)

Skeeto may be thinking he's a little too young for this. Don't take it personally Santa, he cries like that when I take him from Daddy too.

Skeeto quickly recovered and hasn't let go of his Lightning McQueen since. He spent the rest of the afternoon on the floor.

Tree Trimming

We had a great time trimming the tree the other day. Skeeto particularly liked the lights.

Izzypop is a great tree trimmer. She did awesome at putting the decorations on. Great job Izzy!

Light-seeing

The other night we were fortunate enough to go see the lights at Temple Square with Grandma Sherrie. The temple was beautiful.


The kids had a great time posing for pictures in front of the lights.





Although, sometimes some of us couldn't properly pose because of the giant coats we were wearing.


The very best part of the night was getting to spend time with Grandma....oh and the train ride....and the cookies

The Final Countdown

I have finally finished the advent calendar I have been working on since January. Okay, I haven't finished it, but I have finished enough to hang it up. Now if I can finish at least one little ornament a day, I will at least be able to keep up.

It Is That Time Again

Tonight we started the Christmas decorations. The stockings were hung, the leg lamp was put together and we swapped the print with the one in the office (ten points to the first person who knows why). We also decorated Iz's room a bit. Next will be the tree.

Hanging Out With Movie Stars

We met three movie stars the other day...Mater, Lightning McQueen and Finn McMissile. They were so nice and down to earth ;). We even got free swag.

Fall Princess

Izzypop helped her dad with leaf cleanup today. She ended up sitting in the gutter amidst a pile of leaves happy as a clam.

My Baby Wears Combat Boots!

I've always said that you only have to look at Skeeto's feet to tell that he is Brian's child.

First Snow

Yesterday we had the first snow of the season. Izzypop was so excited she could barely contain herself.


We of course had to build a snowman.


And I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the view. What a beautiful day!


It was enough to make a girl that hates snow love winter.

Marathon Halloween Part 4 -- The Finale

The October 31st Halloween festivities started early, with a 9 o'clock school parade. Izzypop and her Kindergarten class looked awesome! They went all over the school...even outside!




The next stop was Grandma Orr's office. I know I took more pictures than these two, but I think a little white rabbit may have gotten a hold of my camera. :(

The third stop on the Halloween Day Tour was Grandma and Grandpa Bennion's house.


At Grandma and Grandpa Bennion's house we all got out to do some actual, real-life trick-or-treating. Here's the white rabbit in the wild:


The last stop of the night was Aunt Joan's house. Grandma Sherrie had some fun with the kiddies (even took Izzypop for more trick-or-treating) while mom and dad got to enjoy some awesome chili.


Cuddling with Cousin Erica:


It was truly a fun Halloween...even if it was 4 days long. But by the end, we were all ready to rip our ears off.