We know how to kick off December! It's by finding a Christmas tree! Baum's up on Grandview Hill is our local go-to. Good enough to satisfy both Grinch and Who!
Henry, BTW, does not wear pants. Only shorts. Unless it's below freezing or we're expecting snow and we force him to wear pants. Fortunately, our tree excursion was a bright, not-frigid December day.
Micah brushed up on his parenting skillz. He takes fatherhood very seriously, if you can't tell. He loves to play "Family" and be the Dad, especially when his Dad is the "Brudder."
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Eliza's book recommendation for December is, "Dear Zoo."
Flaps to lift, animal sounds to make, oh my! She wants it read to her 112 times daily.
Sheridan took a ballet class at the Covey Center this fall. Their performance was to "Waltz of the Flowers" and she felt every inch the graceful ballerina.
She adores ballet.
Tyler had a work party at UVU and three of these kids got their faces painted. It was some of the best face painting I've seen. The balloon artist was also amazing. Amelia missed out on the face painting due to a 2nd Grade A Christmas Carol performance in which she needed to sing. But she scored an awesome penguin and a snake. Winner, Winner!
Eliza mastered the art of climbing onto the table in December. Our lives have not been the same since. She spends many stolen moments upon the tabletop, wreaking havoc. Merry Christmas to us!
December is also performance time! Jack joined the Beginning Band this year, playing the flute his Great-Grandfather gave Tyler. Either the flute was magic or Jack has some music skills, because his conductor bumped him up to Intermediate Band for the second semester!
Sheridan performed with the 6th Grade choir. While she didn't choose choir, she fell in love with it and had a great performance.
Vigues traditionally make Candy Houses at Christmas. I have been the weakest link in that tradition, but this year I got out and got the goods. The kids had a wonderful time and made some very unique creations.
Micah and Cole's masterpiece
Sheridan's country cottage
Henry's underwater fortress which was under attack by a horde of ravenous gummy bears. You can't make these things up.
Amelia's classic cabin
Jack's mid-century modern retreat
Christmas Eve Eve Sunday
Jack and I tried to make a buche de noel. It didn't turn out perfect, but it was really rich and delicious. Despite Eliza trying to claim some contribution to the tasty treat, she actually was less help than you'd think.
We had our traditional FriendsEve which is really just turkey dinner with some of our friends who are basically family on Christmas Eve. It is one of the traditions I look forward to the most, even if our turkey the last few years has taken way longer than it should have. We have really been blessed with some amazing friends.
This year, I actually remembered to take some pictures whilst opening gifts! But I didn't want to overload this post with pictures of stuff. I'd much rather overload it with people, and the fun memories we made.
But since Cole was determined to get this specific picture with his lizard fabric and lizard robot...well, it was cute and so classically Cole.
We wrapped up the year with Eliza's Dolly Parton impression...
with Micah's expedition through snowy fields to the Fort...
with an impromptu concert from Cole and his carpool buddy...
and with fun game nights! (This is Rhino Hero, a super-fun stacking game we played all through Winter Break and on. Thanks, Rachel!)
One of the late December highlights was a family trip to the Aquarium. Although some of the kids had been with school or with friends, neither Tyler nor I have visited the aquarium. It was beautiful and far bigger than we'd expected.
Other than Micah trying to take off several times and multiple children's fear of the jellyfish room, the aquarium was a fabulous adventure for our family (once Cole stopped freaking out about having to see spiders...before he'd even seen them). The otters, poison dart frogs, and sloths were some favorites, but the penguins were the family favorite. They were so cute and playful!
Henry was so excited to see his favorite animal up close and personal. I was so glad this cute little penguin came in for a closeup.
Tyler and Micah were pretty enthralled by the penguins' antics.
The shark tunnel was REALLY a great way to wrap up our aquarium experience.
The worst part? The exit is THROUGH the gift shop. Those people are evil geniuses.
This year had some crazy ins and outs, but we were grateful to spend it together. Now excuse me while I go remove Eliza from the drawer...
