Leading Up To Christmas

This month has been crazy. We've had much family and fun, and because of that I'm way behind on updates. So here is what happened leading up to Christmas, and then I'll do a second post with all our holiday adventures later.






We've been busy going to my brother's Christmas Band concert.


I'm the first of three Nelson kids to play the clarinet. Total trend setter here.









We've been playing some card games and Ammon was practicing his poker face.

Then Ammon and I made cookies while everyone else was out Christmas shopping.


I told Ammon to smile AND keep his eyes open. Apparently that's a painful process, because this picture is his attempt, hahaha.







We then took those cookies to our Ward Christmas party the next day.

Our ward party was a breakfast/pajama party and we enjoyed delicious chocolate chip or blueberry pancakes with sausage and eggs and fruit. The primary kids sang and then we tried to fit our whole family in the giant picture frame for a picture. The only person you can't quite get is my dad; if you look close between Ammon and Kayleen, you can see his forehead. I sure loved wearing sweats to a party and have it be publicly acceptable.

We also had a jewelry-making day. My aunt came down and brought all her supplies and we made some jewelry and played some games.

Lydia loved showing of her necklace we strung together.

All of this was fun, but I was most excited for our ONE snow day. As mentioned previously, I was sorely missing snow and I wanted at least one day of it. Well I got my wish.

We woke up and there was a couple inches of snow. Of course school was cancelled, because it's Washington, so we bundled up and headed outside. The kids had an ABSOLUTE blast.

We decided to make snow angels, and Kayleen was really afraid of getting her pants wet so she looks like she's being tortured in this picture, and it's hilarious. Ammon did good with his legs but didn't quite know what to do with his arms so he just kind of held them up like chicken. Lydia was pro and made not one, but two snow angels!

We had a snow ball fight and Uncle Ryan used his great uncle skills and pulled the kids down the small hill in the backyard on the sled. He then even walked them to the nearby park so they could enjoy a bigger hill. When they all made it back, both my kids were crying because they were so cold and their poor hands were bright red and freezing. Hot cocoa and dry, warm clothes fixed them right up and we were able to cuddle inside until it all melted later that day. It was glorious. I loved having that morning of a white Christmas season.

It's really chaotic here when it snows. It took our next-door neighbor forty minutes to get home from our church building which is only two miles from our house. Forty minutes to go two miles. Cars were sliding out of control everywhere. No one here knows how to drive in the snow, they are never prepared with plows, and refuse to salt the roads...so it turns into absolute chaos. Luckily, Brigham was able to work from home so he didn't have to worry about the mess.

It was actually this day that everyone starting showing up and my Mom spent over an hour on the freeway trying to make her way to the airport to get my brother and his girlfriend. So here is where I'll cut off to prepare for the second post with all our Christmas festivities!