My favorite Actor: Carson!

A few weekends ago, we went to watch Carson debut in Tarzan as one of the apes.  He was adorable....and a great actor as well!  The play was so incredibly well-done and the kids were completely engaged in the story.  Carson was completely convincing as an ape---I might even be a little scared of him picking lice off of me and eating them! :)

 Let the show begin!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Like everybody else, I LOVE this time of year!  I love the music, the lights, the hustle and bustle, the traditions, the focus on things of meaning, like the birth of our savior.

Here are some pictures that remind me of the Christmas season:

 Advent Calendars

 Jaxson decorating our home with lights

(It's a Charlie Brown Christmas at our home this year)

My new pyramid in my classroom:  so fröhlich und schön!

Adventsingen 2012

I took Taylor and Jaxson to Adventsingen this year.  They loved it and were the best audience!  I loved hearing them sing the German hymns.  Thanks for a great night, kids!

Happy 40th Birthday, Dana!

 We went over the Dana and Yo's house for a birthday celebration for Dana.  Yummy cake, lots of laughs;  simply good times in Cedar Hills!

Christkindlmarkt & Temple Square 2012

 We enjoyed one of the most fun Saturdays as a family.  The first annual Christkindlmarkt was held at This Is The Place park in east Salt Lake City and we were there!  We invited Poppie and Grandma Barbie to join us in the adventure and they were fun to have along.  As we strolled to the market, we ran into our cousins, Brian and Sonya, Divo and Charelle along with Aunt Joan and Uncle Jim.  They had been at the Dutch store to celebrate the annual visit from Sinterklaas and then Divo (who is German) took them up to the park.

I wanted my kids to experience what a German Christmas Market was like.  We got all sorts of wonderful entertainment with the alp horns and a fantastic yodeler.  There were reindeer and booths galore for us to explore.  I finally found some Lebkuchen and Pfeffernüsskeks for us to try.  Yes, way less sugar but delicious to me (and Austin). 

 Aunt Joanie and Grandma Barbie

 We went into a tent for story telling.  Taylor got to read the part of the father.  She was so cute.

City Creek Center

Yes, Yes, I can see what ALL the fuss is about now!  City Creek was phenomenal.  It was clean, trendy and simply beautiful.  I couldn't get over all of the waterfalls and fish in the water of the creek which ran down the middle of the walkway.  We didn't take much time to explore but loved our walk through it.

Temple Square at Christmas Time

 It was a warm, busy night at the square and the lights were as magical as ever.  We took some lovely shots of our family along the way.  When we went into the Visitor's Center, Poppie convinced us to watch the 25 minute video called, "Mr. Krueger's Christmas" and we are so happy we did.

After a few hours at Temple Square, we headed for some good eats.  There was a 3 hour wait at The Cheesecake Factory for a party of 5 (URGGGG) so we moved ourselves down to south SLC to eat at Iggys Sports Grill.  The kids were polite and well-behaved.  We enjoyed a scrumptious dinner and great conversation with our grandparents.  By the end of dinner, the kids were exhausted and asleep within minutes of being in the SUV.  When we went to bed, Dave kissed me and thanked me for planning such a fun day for our family.