Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

...But these two are delightful!

Deck the Halls

Decorating the Christmas tree is always a fun and exciting time. It is something that Elle and I look forward to with great anticipation. However, this year, we have to decorate a little differently—unconventional if you will. This year, since Hudson is mobile, we have to only decorate the top half of the tree—no low decorating for us. Hudson is a rough, love-to-destroy, can’t-wait-to-get-my-hands-on kind of boy, and shiny ornaments are just too tempting. So our tree looks a little sad near the bottom, but the ornaments—and Elle—are happy to be high and out of reach. Hudson was none to happy with our antics, but he has resigned himself to hitting the undecorated tree branches whenever possible. I just hope he doesn’t tip it over. I better not give him any ideas.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for these two.

Meet and Greet with Santa

Elle always looks forward to her yearly meet and greet with Santa (with all of the Christmas activities we do each year, she ends up with around 3-4 meet and greets). Our first of this year was to meet Santa at the mall. Elle was just beside herself with the anticipation of actually seeing Santa and telling him of her wishes and desires for Christmas. She could hardly contain her excitement. It was exuding and just bursting from her. She loves Christmas.

After waiting in line—which was not too long—Elle was able to finally sit on Santa’s lap and divulge all of the items on her Christmas list. Santa was very kind, and listened to each of her requests (a Clarice from Build-a-Bear and a Rainbow Dash bath pony). When she was done revealing her Christmas list, Santa then told her all of the names of the reindeer, and talked with her about other Christmas items. Elle loved every minute of it. She was very happy sitting on Santa’s lap. Santa was so kind and nice. Her first meet and greet was a definite success.

Hudson’s experience with his first meet and greet was not so fun or nice—it resulted in tears. Before actually sitting on Santa’s lap, he eyed him up and down. He was unconcerned with the jolly, red guy when Elle sat on his lap, but when I set him on Santa’s knee and then walked away, he became very concerned. He immediately arched his back, cried and tried to get away. It was cute and funny at the same time. I tried giving him a candy cane—bribery—but he was not impressed. He wanted off, and he wanted nothing to do with Santa. Maybe next year.



I do love this picture. Elle looks so sweet and happy; and Hudson looks so red, splotchy and mad.

First Haircut

Hudson has needed a haircut for quite some time (the back top of his hair tends to grow at a more rapid rate than the rest of his hair, causing what is commonly known as a comb over); however, I have not as of yet cut his hair—even with the comb over. I always seem to have a hard time cutting my children’s hair. I think it stems back to when Elle’s hair never—and still hardly—grew. I still have to keep her hair short, because the back of her hair grows quicker than the front. But even with my reluctance, I finally cut Hudson’s hair. He was not overly concerned, and allowed me to snip his baby locks off. I was happy to have the back at an even length; and it is fun to now style his hair. I am very happy that he received his first haircut. No more comb overs in my house—especially when that someone is only one.

Let It Snow

We woke up the past two mornings to find falling snow outside our windows. We were all pretty excited about this change in the weather, because each of us is quite fond of the winter season. We missed the snow while we lived in California, so when winter comes along, we welcome the snow with open arms. Elle was the most excited about the falling snow. She immediately had to don her winter gear—which was a little short on account of her growing since the last winter season—and trudge outside to play in the skiff of snow. She immediately started eating all of the snow she could find—which basically amounted to handfuls of dirty, leafy snow. I tried to tell her that most of the snow she was consuming was not clean, but she was not concerned at all. She ate to her hearts content, and then she proceeded to fill up a bowl to make a snow cone. I guess I should just be glad the snow only contained dirt and nothing yellow.




This is also pretty much the first time Hudson has experienced snow. Last year he was too young to do much venturing, so this year is all new to him. However, his first experience was not a pleasant one. First we had to get him all decked out in his winter apparel—not very comfortable, and hard to walk in—and then we stuck him outside in the cold. He was not overly impressed, but did not think much of it. However, when he actually tried to walk in his uncomfortable snow gear, he face planted not once, but twice in the snow—not a very pleasant experience at all. And after the second face plant, he was done playing in the snow. He preferred to watch everyone else from the comfort of his window. Maybe his second experience with snow will be better than the first.

Leaves

We can’t get enough of playing in the leaves. Everyday finds us out there raking, jumping, throwing and playing. It is so much fun. Hudson is particularly fond of raking; and Elle prefers to throw the leaves on anyone and everyone. Fall can be so entertaining



These three are the best of friends.

Time With Dad

Johnny and Elle love to go watch the BSU volleyball games. Elle loves this time with her father. She gets to stay up late, watch volleyball and have alone time with her dad.

Magic. Make-believe. Imagination.

Five hours to a destination is a long time. So long, in fact, that Hudson is not allowed on such excursions—he gets to stay home and spend time with his father. But five hours seems like nothing when the ending destination is none other than Disney on Ice. Yes, Elle, Jae Cee, my mom and I all had the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake and attend Mickey and Minnie’s Magical Adventure. Every hour stuck in the car was worth it, because the show, and our front row seats, were amazing. Elle absolutely loved it. Characters she loves and adores were brought to life on the rink. Magic, make-believe and imagination were in full-throttle during the duration of the event. There was so much to see, observe and take in. It was incredible. We loved it.

Our five-hour trip also gave us the opportunity to go to Temple Square and view the Salt Lake Temple. Elle has not as of yet had the opportunity to see this particular temple, and she was overjoyed at the prospect of doing so. When we walked through the gates of Temple Square, Elle was very impressed. She could not believe how big the temple is, or how beautiful. She loved it. Viewing the temple was a definite highlight of the day. And since travelers need food in order to survive their travels, we ate in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, which allotted us a breathtaking view of the temple. Lastly, we went and saw the Christ statue, and explored the exhibits in the visitor’s center. It was all so very wonderful.

But sadly, at the end of the day, we had to turn around and once again travel five hours to return home. But Elle, who was exhausted from the excitement and fun of the day, slept almost the entire way—a nice bonus for all travelers involved. The rest of us talked and enjoyed ourselves immensely. So, although five hours is a long time to travel, its length doesn’t seem significant when one travels in good company and has an exciting and fun destination.