Thursday, December 30, 2010

Christmas Season

This year's Christmas dinner was the Sunday before Christmas,
with everyone who was in town,
including Jackson and Cara from Michigan,
and Jordan, Camilla and Walker from Iowa.

 Grandpa read the Christmas story out of the Bible
while the kids built the scene using Playmobile Nativity figures.


Our Grand Party
A party with Grammy and Grandpa for the over-age-4 grandchildren.
Pizza, impromtu Puppet Show, Cookie decorating,
and then shop for a book


First group of performers:

Ford and William

Followed by:

Taylor and Hardy

Parker and Redd
- who did an original version of The Christmas Carol.






U Bowl Game Party at the Snow's
       The best part was not the game. It was our littlest Ute fans



LIGHTS AT TEMPLE SQUARE
 Stan and I were joined by Jordan, Camilla, Walker, and Emma,
Camilla's sister.
It was a beautiful site!







Walker could only take so much fun.  He fell asleep inspite of the crowds and the cold.



We discovered a Nigerian nativity
on display in the JSMB...looks familiar.

Christmas Eve
        As we sat down to a nice, quiet, candle-light dinner with Jackson and Cara, Brandon arrived playing his trumpet with Ford holding the music, and the rest of the family singing carols. A fun surprise.



Christmas Day and after...

Walker loved Llama Llama and the Red Pajamas


 Danny promised that this time next year he would look like this.



 Ava brought her new doll, which she named "Merry Christmas Santa"

 Great-Grandpa Butters joined us, and brought us some of his homemade peanut brittle.

 Notice the green outside.
This was not a white Christmas, but very soon,
the next week to be exact, the snow came again.
And we could try out our new snowblower. Thanks, everyone!
 Jackson was there to help with the cord.
 An electric snow blower has been on the wish list for many years.


Thursday, December 9, 2010

THANKSGIVING and beyond...

Thanksgiving at home with Brandon's family and Ashlee's family.
The kids outnumbered the adults. 




Ford loved the dark meat


 A little lego activity after dinner


 Miss Ava modeling the hand-me-down apron.


There was lots of snow the end of November, and it just kept snowing;
with frigid temperatures to keep the snow hanging around.
Nature's beauty unmatched.



A week after Thanksgiving, Ava turned three.
Grandma knit her a PINK headband by request,
to replace the red U headband.




With the snow melting, the deer are showing up
uninvited into the backyard.
This buck was not afraid of the camera behind the glass.
It barely interrupted his nibbling.