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On Christmas Eve, we carry on Chris’s family tradition by having a large German dinner with Christmas cookies for dessert. It was my family’s tradition to light a German pyramid, which we now do with our boys. We talked about the Nativity; Davin dressed as a shepherd and Rowan was a king. We sang Christmas carols and before we even asked Davin if he was ready for bed, he bolted up the stairs and started getting himself ready. I thought for sure that it would take awhile to get the boys to settle down but both went to sleep rather quickly. The next morning I woke up around 7:15. I looked at the clock in surprise, wondering where my 5:30 am wake-up crew was. Lying in bed, I waited to hear a thump of little feet hitting the floor and the click of their bedroom door. Waking at 7:15 is a usual wake-up time for the boys for any day, let alone Christmas. Unable to go back to sleep, I listened to the heavy rain outside, hoping some deep and profound Christmas thoughts would come my way, but al...

As I watched the news reports of the Midwest getting slammed with snow and the long lines at the airports as flights were cancelled, I gave a small sigh of relief not to be traveling this year. Although I miss family dearly during the holidays, it has now been three years of not traveling and I haven’t missed that part too much. We are starting to establish our traditions and I noticed it more this year. Davin is old enough to remember what we did last year and notice that we are doing the same thing again this year. He is starting to anticipate what we are supposed to do at Christmas time and it is fun to have him recognize a decoration from last year or that we decorate German cookies on Christmas Eve. It is the first step towards recognizing the meaning behind these traditions and why we do them. Because Davin recognized Christmas and knew what to anticipate, December was the longest month yet in his entire childhood. We even had an advent calendar to help him understand how many...

Salt Lake City is one of my favorite cities to visit. Obviously there is a cultural attachment in addition to many memories, but there are new discoveries too. We have a list of favorite restaurants and places to visit, so we don’t complain too much when we go back to my home for a visit. One of our recent favorites is the Gateway Discovery museum. The boys love this museum, especially the big ball exhibit and the real helicopter. We had a great time escaping here a couple of times for some good little boy fun (and we didn’t mind that they let us in with our reciprocal pass from our museum at home). We finished our trip by going out to dinner to celebrate Amy’s birthday and then paying homage to the lights at Temple Square. The boys loved them despite the late hour and cold weather. Walking around with Chris reminded me of the year that we got engaged and the night I told him yes (no, it wasn’t the same night he asked me, poor boy). It’s a good thing he is patient with me, even still.

Thanksgiving week is a busy week for my family in that we have three birthdays within a week of each other: Dad, Rowan, and Amy. Davin was super excited about all of the birthdays and even wanted his own candle when we did a birthday breakfast for Amy and Rowan. Rowan figured out how to blow out his own candles, so he took care of business this year. Rowan’s birthday was on the day of the BYU vs. Utah game, so we headed to Provo to celebrate and go to the game. We met Karl and his family at Thanksgiving Point to visit the animals but decided it was too cold to stay, so we headed to a park in Provo instead. We met the rest of our group at Brick Oven for lunch where Rowan got his own birthday treat. Rowan had a great time at the game where he cheered loudly, took a nap in the third quarter, and then cheered again for the exciting overtime conclusion. On Sunday we had cake and ice cream for Rowan and Amy, and opened presents. Not a bad weekend for the big number two!

We spent Thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family and had dinner at his sister’s house. It was so fun to see everyone and to catch up with what they have been up to. We didn’t mind eating food either. Rowan slept through another Thanksgiving dinner (he slept through his first one last year), so maybe he’ll join us next year. Chris’s nap time came after dinner but he came around in time for pie. Of course, with my family we can’t have just one party. The next day we got together with my mom’s side of the family for an after-Thanksgiving party. We played at the church, ate dinner, and made caramel apples. Davin had a great time playing with his older cousins! Karl and Angela came to Utah for a quick visit and we had fun seeing them. It is always fun to get the little cousins together!

One of the main highlights of the trip was going to two BYU football games at the Lavell Edwards Stadium. It was so fun to be back on campus for a game; we haven’t been since we were first married. The games were awesome, too! Davin went to both games and Rowan came with us for the BYU vs. Utah game. The boys loved the games, especially eating popcorn and hot chocolate. Of course hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma was a big plus. We were awfully happy that BYU won both games, especially the nail-biter with the U of U.

A week before Thanksgiving we embarked on yet another journey to visit family in Utah. I actually looked forward to the flight; Rowan was nearly two and could be entertained with a movie, so the prospect of keeping both boys somewhat contained until we landed seemed feasible. We have a knack for picking wild days to fly. The entire FAA system crashed (because of a glitch in Salt Lake City, ironically enough) and our flight was cancelled. The staff worked to reroute our flights but the prospect of arriving in SLC at a reasonable time seemed grim. By some miracle, we landed in Dallas 20 minutes early and made a quick connection, landing in SLC at the same time as our original flight. We were so glad to be there and with our luggage no less! When we travel to Utah, there are always so many friends and family to visit. We had a great time catching up with some friends that we haven’t seen for awhile. Their families have multiplied and it was so fun to meet their kids and have our kids play...