Christmas

Christmas 2016

 

We started a new tradition this year of taking a drive in daddy's red car (no top) to look at the Christmas lights and getting donuts and hot cocoa afterwards.  I guess that is a nice thing thing about not having snow at Christmastime! There is a street near our home that goes all out with their Christmas lights. Santa Clause even shows up there to give little kids candy canes. Finn was so excited to see him and tell him he wants a "blue skateboard!" 

 

 

I made homemade peppermint and orange flavored marshmallows to go with all the Stephen's hot chocolate we stocked up on in Utah.  

 

Finn has two teachers, Michelle and Cathy and a school director, Kathy. We appreciate their patience and love for Finn.  For their Christmas gifts we expressed our thanks for all the time they spend with Finn by giving them timers from Anthropologie.

Ben emceed the Ward Party again this  year. He came up with minute to win it games and fear factor Our ward members are fearless! There were boogers (yes boogers of other people) eaten, along with live goldfish and all kinds of grubs. Contestants had to put mini marshmallows in their nose and then eat them, later they had to do it again and then give them to the person next to them to eat. GROSS.

Ben got into his part as emcee by wearing a festive Christmas suit. Everyone wanted their picture with him, including Fox.

 

We attempted getting pictures with Santa at Bass Pro, however Santa was booked and the line was mega long. So, the boys took a ride on the carousel, took pictures with the festive decor and enjoyed roaming the store and looking at the fishies. No professional photo with Santa this year; we'll be sure to catch him next year though.

 

  

  

  

On Christmas Eve we had the Cardons, Ellsworths, Kevin Denzel and the Woodruffs over to reenact the nativity, have a candle lighting, eat good food and enjoy a birthday cake for Jesus.

 

 

 

  

  

This Christmas we were all sick with major colds. Finn just got over his but Ben was pretty miserable and I lost my voice.  We still managed to throw a party and get all the presents under the tree, enjoy watching the kids open presents in the morning.  As a parent, Christmas has become exciting again. I loved shopping for my boys and watching them get so excited over tearing apart the wrapping paper and playing with their new toys.

 

 

For Christmas Finn received a blue skateboard (he would not stop talking about it for weeks leading up to Christmas, ninja turtle socks and nite light, hex bugs, remote control car, walkie talkies, spiderman magnet board, and a jelly belly machine.  Fox received a toy puppy that barks and walks (he wouldn't let go of him until the battery finally died, toy dinosaurs, large legos, squigz (suction building toys), and toy cars.

It's a GIRL!

Ben and I couldn't be more excited to add another little one to our family.
Due date: May 10, 2017.

We went in for an ultrasound at 15 weeks and after some jumping jacks and handstands we were able to see that it's a... GIRL!!!!!  My intuition was right, I felt our next baby would be a girl, and this pregnancy has been quite different; I've been much sicker than in my past pregnancies.  However, I am 19 weeks now and feeling great, the nausea has subsided and my energy has boosted (thus, I am getting things done, like this blog post).  I am looking forward to everything pink and pretty. I've begun girl clothes shopping (who am I kidding, I began that long ago!) and I'm having fun planning a girly nursery.

Ben is excited for a little girl; I am sure that she will be his little princess and will be spoiled by him. I look forward to seeing how he interacts with her compared to how rough and tumble he is with his boys.  Finn and Fox love babies. It will be fun to see them love on her. Whenever Finn sees a baby he says "aww, super cute!" and he touches their cheek softly and wants to hold or play with them. Fox is intrigued by babies but he tends to be a bit rough with them. Fox is in for a rude awakening when his mommy is busy with a baby and can't give him ALL the attention he wants. He is definitely a mamma's boy and follows me around the house all day.  Finn likes to say his tummy hurts and that there is a baby inside. He definitely hears and remembers what I have to say.  Three children 4 and under will be interesting, fun and tough but we are looking forward to it!

 

 

 

During our family photo session we took pictures with pink felt ball garland to announce we are pregnant and having a girl. The pictures turned out cute and candid.  We announced to Ben's family that we are pregnant at our Thanksgiving reunion in Utah. We brought out a candy jar of all pink candy and told everyone we have a treat to share.  All the kids surrounded the jar and began gobbling it up.  Ben asked, "do you know why all the candy is pink?" Our niece, Annie, responded, "because you, love us!" Ben's sister Abby guessed it, but it took longer than we thought it would for everyone to catch on.  Once our families knew, we posted pictures on Facebook and Instagram so that all our friends would know.



 

On our way to Utah, we stopped at Cadillac Ranch and enjoyed being graffiti artists for a little while, as we spray painted some Caddy's.  Even Finn had his turn with the can, maybe not the best idea since hot pink ended up on his hat and face. We brought home a piece of layered spray paint, shaped like a Cadillac, that was chipped off one of the cars. It is amazing how many layers of spray paint is collected over the years. It was a fun and much needed stop along our 22 hour drive.

 

  

Aspen Grove Snarr Family Thanksgiving

We took a road trip to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with Ben's family in a log cabin, in Aspen Grove. As excited as we were to visit family and play with the cousins, we dreaded this 22 hour drive with two toddlers. It was one hell of a drive, that's for sure. ;) Trying to entertain our boys while they sat buckled up for hours was not easy. We made lots of stops along the way--like Cadillac Ranch, a fossil and rock museum and restaurants with play places.  Along the way, we drove through the red rocks in Southern Utah--what a gorgeous place. Finn looked out window and continually exclaimed how he wanted to ride a skateboard down them.  Finn is our fearless dare devil who knows a thrill when he sees one. It took us about 3 days until we finally arrived in Utah at Ben's Grandma's house. She took us to Grandpa Larsen's grave since he died last year and we hadn't been able to attend the funeral. We placed flowers and even a BYU flag by the grave before we departed for dinner and some quality time visiting with Great Grandma. 

 

  

  

Wearing Great Grandpa Larsen's shoes.

 

Dressed up all nice for the baby blessing, sitting on Great Grandma Betty's bench outside her home.

The next morning, we attended the baby blessing of our nephew, Gavin. It was done in the beautiful home that Ali and Eric moved into not long ago. Friends and family gathered and it was such a sweet occasion to be a part of.

 

 
Finn sang "I am a Child of God" with the kids at the blessing. He may not have known all the words but he acted like he did!

We took off for Aspen Grove where Syd had it decorated with a "Bee" theme, since the focus of the Reunion was the "6 B's": be grateful, be smart, be clean, be true, be humble, be prayerful.

It snowed while we were there, making it even more fun for all of the little kids. We brought tons of glow sticks for the cousins to have a dance party one evening. We also spent lots of time in the game room and movie room where we played pool, table tennis and watched movies.  For Thanksgiving dinner, we left the cabin and cooked up a storm at Abby and Tony's house, just 15 minutes away, at the bottom of the mountain. We then celebrated Christmas by exchanging gifts and all of the cousins dressed in the pj's from Nana and Pop Pop.  

 
Nana and Ruby, dressed like a bumble bee.

 

 
 Kensi, Gavin and Fox

 

 
 
Top to Bottom/Oldest to Youngest:
Jackson, Annabelle, Kensington, Oliver, Colton, Winston, Finn, Grayson, Sylvie, Ruby, Fox

After our time in Aspen Grove, we visited Temple Square with Lee and Syd and ate dinner at Ho Ho Gourmet (Ben's favorite Chinese food in Utah).  Syd watched our boys one evening while Ben and I spent a night at the Peary Hotel. We saw a show at Desert Star Playhouse, visited Anthony's antiques, went shopping and ate really well.  It was a much needed getaway for the two of us.

 

 
 

Ben and I went to a Utah Utes Basketball game with his High School buddy, Geoff Cotti. Ben is a die-hard fan, so it was fun to root on the Utes.

On our way home from Utah, we met up with my parents for breakfast at I-hop. They were on their way to Las Vegas from Idaho, to spend a much more pleasant winter there.  It was nice to see them and the boys enjoyed their Christmas gifts--magnet board and noise making animal book.

 

Our trip home took 2 days instead of 3.  We booked it and were so excited to get out of the cramped, dirty car of ours. Hopefully I am reminded not to do another road trip with toddlers when it is proposed again. However, it was worth it. We had a wonderful time.