Birthday pictures

We finally got Halle's birthday pictures and they turned out great. I was a little shocked that we got anything worth developing because she was in constant motion the whole time. I have no idea when she was actually posed in any of these poses. The photographer really did a great job.

Santa Claus was Early!

Santa Claus came a day early to our house this year to fit our schedule. It was so nice of him to be flexible for us. We hung our stockings and put out the milk and treats for him. Halle was most excited about the orange she found in her stocking this morning. Never mind the other stuff. She also got "shoes just like mommy." I wasn't aware that I had pink heels, but who knows. After we enjoyed our Christmas morning, we found her having good old fashioned fun in her "Herbie" car, otherwise known as the file box.

This picture is at Grandma and Grandpa's house from Monday. We celebrated early there too since half of our families who all live out of town were obligated to work on Christmas. We hope to see them soon in January. Halle got a cash register from Grandma that she knew exactly how to use, a Candyland game, and some light yellow playdough that we discovered makes a good plate of scrambled eggs.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas no matter when or where you get to celebrate. We miss seeing everybody that isn't with us this year, and we hope to see you soon. It's just not the same without you.

A Day at the Museum

We went to see the gingerbread and nativity displays at the museum the other day, and they had such a fun kids play area. We ended up spending more time there exploring. I didn't realize it had changed so much.

Halle was encouraged by Abbie's bravery to crawl through the rock caves. Here they are just chillin' together.

She also found a fabulous log cabin to play in. She didn't seem to mind that the table and chairs were slightly less than authentic. We still had to drag her away.

And last of all, the wooden horse. What a day!

A Snowy Christmas

And here we are again with plenty of snow for a white Christmas. It came down all at once on Monday, and the wind was so strong that we stayed over night at Grandmas house instead of risking the road. Thank heavens we did. It was a mess the next day. When we got home the next evening, we had to go borrow shovels from the neighbors just to get into our garage.

This is a picture from inside our front door. Those are supposed to be steps down from our covered porch, but you wouldn't know it. Some places across the formerly shoveled sidewalk were waist deep.

The snow had stuck to every little branch of the trees during the storm, and it was absolutely beautiful the next morning.

And here is Halle who is always super excited to "help" with the shoveling any time someone steps out the door. If she sees Neal getting ready to leave the house, she bolts to find her boots and snow pants. It doesn't matter how many layers I make her wear out there. She is just beyond excited to play. It's a real let down and a bucket of tears if daddy is just going to work, so sometimes he has to sneak away to save me from the aftermath of disappointment.

The end of our sunday school class

We are getting to the end of the year and we will be teaching a new group of kids in another week. Neal and I teach the 11 year olds that will be turning 12 in Sunday School, and it has been so much fun. Our class has been so great. We made up a review game that we play every once in a while that involves Halle's hats, and they get so into it that we decided to get a group picture. Here they are being awesome sports about it.

Happy Birthday Halle

Halle did have a birthday a few weeks ago, and I am now just getting to her post. It has been a crazy month for us. She was so excited to be the princess, and grandma even brought her very own princess cake for her which was a real treat.

We also had a chance to see Halle's birth father during a quick trip to Utah last week. It was so good to see him again and we had a very nice visit.

Dress-Up Days

Halle's Aunt Anneka made this tutu for her a couple of months ago, and I was just now able to get a picture of her in it. She loves wearing it with her crown and twirling. Of course, I couldn't get her to look at the camera, but you get the idea.
Aedin came over one night while his parents were at a party, and they had a blast with Halle's hats. After I took the first picture, they ran back to get new ones so they could pose again. Aedin is tipping his hat while riding the stick horse. Halle is holding a cow flashlight that also apparently "goes" with the cowboy theme.

Then the rest of the night they were cheerleaders. It took four adults to pry the poms from their hands when it was time to part ways. They were just having way too much fun.