Sami Claus Party

The last few Christmases my parents have been on a mission, so we missed a few years of one of my favorite traditions.  Since before I was born, my mom's side of the family celebrated the Swiss-German Sami Claus day on December 6.  I remember those family parties when I was a child and there was always such an air of joy, fun and anticipation each year.  I am grateful my mom is willing to continue the tradition and that Sami Claus is so willing to attend.

Sometime before the party, my mother meticulously made graham cracker gingerbread houses for every grandchild in attendance.  Then she had bowls and bowls of candy and little bags of icing and the kids went to town on decorating their very own little gingerbread houses.  Brian looks at his and talks about it every single day since the party. He is so proud that he decorated it all by himself.  Timmy mostly enjoyed eating the candy.

After a delicious dinner that included cheese and chocolate fondue, we sang carols while waiting for Sami Claus to arrive.

Allison took this beautiful picture of Sami Claus trudging through the snow to visit us all.  Somehow I was so focused on what was happening with the kids inside that I missed taking in the beauty of the Ranch on that day.  I love this picture.

The kids loved visiting with Sami Claus and getting a stocking full of goodies and toys.  I think they may have felt so comfortable because Sami Claus' voice sounded much like Grandpa's voice.

Thank you Mom and Dad so much for all the work and love and time you put into the Sami Claus party this year.  It was unforgettable and I love that my kids get to participate in such a fun and memorable tradition.

Temple Square Visit

Our little trip to see the lights at Temple Square was a smashing success this year.  It was warm (for December), there were not many people there, and the boys loved every minute.

I think we started a tradition last year of taking TRAX downtown.  Our boys will not have it any other way from now on I think.  They love riding the train.  It was Timmy's favorite part for sure.  Brian says he likes everything about the trip.

We ate dinner at City Creek and let the boys get some energy out at the dinosaur play area there.

Then we crossed the street and enjoyed the beauties of Temple Square at Christmas time.

Thankful Turkeys

Before we get any further into December and Christmas celebrations, I want to record our Thanksgiving happenings.  If I were to give one word that summed up our Thanksgiving experience, it would have to be TURKEYS!  My own two little turkeys made more turkeys and learned more about turkeys than I thought possible.  With all of Brian's preschool projects combined with Timmy's gym class projects and their make up home projects we are definitely all turkey crafted out.  It was really fun though and both boys loved all the turkeys.  The few in the picture below are seriously only a few from the piles of turkey crafts.

We did make a simple Thankful Turkey this year and put a feather on every day that listed something we were grateful for.  I am glad we did this because it gave the boys a visual and I think by the end even Timmy understood what being thankful means.  He was coming up with some good ones without any prompting from me.  Here's a few things we are thankful for this year:
Brian - bed, popcorn, Heavenly Father, friends, everything, the whole earth, our furniture, our city and country, our bedrooms, tables, chairs and couches
Timmy - trains, my bed, mommy's car, our house, my mama and baby giraffe, fishy crackers, my owl, oatmeal, tennis, excavator tractors.
Mom - our neighborhood, my parents, my bed, our warm house, Mark's job, my phone, clothes, the gym, my two little boys.
Dad - computers, cars, yummy food, my bed, socks.

We were lucky this year to have TWO Thanksgiving dinners.  We went to the Ranch for Thanksgiving lunch and to the Hsiao house for Thanksgiving dinner.  I got pictures at the Ranch and only one from the Hsiao house.  I must have been tired by the end of the day.  My mom completely outdid herself with the Thanksgiving presentation and the food this year.  It was amazing!

 Brian is seriously beyond happy when he's with his cousins.

Not only did my mom have the whole place decorated and a huge feast of delicious food, but she also had little fun things for the kids to do, like making apple candy turkeys.  My boys were in Heaven.  Timmy ate his (including the apple) too fast for me to get a picture.

We did make it down to the Hsiao house for even more delicious food.  They even ordered duck for the special occasion, which made Mark's Thanksgiving for sure.  Then we had a sleep over there which the boys loved.  The next morning Mark spent hours cutting lots and lots of trees with his dad.  They did so much work!  It was a little nerve wracking watching Mark way up in the tree with his huge chainsaw.  He displayed some more hidden talents of his.  He is really really good with a chainsaw and incredibly spry when it comes to climbing trees.

It was a wonderful, lovely, thankful Thanksgiving full of food, family, fun and turkeys!