Children's Museum

Monday, the day after Christmas, we went to Salt Lake to Temple Square so that we could see the Christmas lights. Before they turned on the lights we had time to go to the Children's Museum and let the kids play. Here is Emma standing by the boat that Nephi built. She caught a little pink fish.

Grandpa and Joshua loved buiulding a city.

Hallie was very busy making dinner for the missionaries.

Emma and Savanna loved the dressing up in the big dresses and dancing to the music.

Savanna fushing from the Nephi's ship.

Kacey, Kendal and Kristen hanging out and watching the kids play.

Joshua decided that he was going to make dinner too.

The Christmas story

We all went out to the barn to read the Christmas story and experience a little bit of what it must have been like to be born in a stable.

Annabell wanted to know what we were doing in her barn in the middle of the night. She kept peeking through the wall wondering what all these people were up to.

We have a plastic Mary and Joseph with a baby Jesus that light up. Karl put them out in the barn so we could tell the story of Christ's birth. The little girls wanted to touch baby Jesus and hold him. It was so precious!

Christmas day 2011

Kendal, Alissa, Savanna and Hallie came to visit with us and open presents on Christmas day.

Kristen had fun playing with all the kids. I think she is the favorite aunt.

Emma loved her new princess dolls.

Ben and Alison came to join us for dinner later in the day.

Marianne Blunck also came to visit.

Ben and Alison McMurry.

Visit to the LA Temple

Karl and I were able to go to LA to visit the Wilson family.  Here we are visiting the LA Temple grounds so that we could see the Christmas lights.  Joel and Amelia had a lot of fun posing for the camera.. Of course they had to pose in their own special way.

We loved our visit to California. It was so warm that we were able to walk around the Temple with only a light jacket.

While we were at the LA Temple visitors center we ran into my Uncle Donno (Grandpa Brinkerhoff's brother)and Aunt Trudy's granddaughter. Her name is Sister Bailey Brinkerhoff. She is Kim's third cousin. We all expressed a desire to get to know our families better.

Wilsons night out

Kim and Brad are ready to go to a work party with their friends. Grandma and Grandpa loved babysitting for the evening!

Grandpa and kids relax as we watch a movie. Snuggle time is the best!

Joel and Amelia snuggle together while they watch a movie on Kim's phone.
This is such a precious picture.

Playing at the park

We decided to play at the park after the dance recital.

Joel loved the swings.

Amelia rides a dinosaur.

Amelia's dance recital

Ameila is taking a tap dancing class and we were blessed to be able to go see her dance recital in December when we went to LA to take the Wilson family their Christmas presents. Here are Amelia and Joel hanging out in the gym waiting for mom and dad to pick them up.

Grandma and Grandpa pose for a picture with Joel and Amelia before the recital.

The Wilson family are ready for some fun, just look at Joel's face. He is a little part animal.

Polar Express

Savanna made a new friend as we traveled to the North Pole on the Polar Express. Her name is "Rudy" and she kept us all very entertained. We sang Christmas carols, ate cookies and had hot chocolate. The Brighton High School choir sang for us and we had an absolute perfect evening.








Abby's Grandma and Grandpa were able to join us for this great evening. We are so glad they did.













Kristen and Hallie snuggle as we travel on the train. It was magical!










Santa boarded the train and slowly made his way through the train talking to each of the children. Savanna wanted me to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas because she was a little afraid of him. I told her that it would be okay and that I would help her talk to him. When Santa finally came to our seats Savanna held up a little finger each time she mentioned what she wanted. As you can see in the background, Hallie held on to her mom where she felt safe and secure.
Savanna enjoyed singing with the other children on the train. Here she is walking back to her seat.
Kendal and Alissa got a little time together to enjoy the moment.
Dad and I had so much fun and feel very blessed to have such a wonderful family.