Temple Square with the Charltons

Aimee & I decided it had been far too long since we had been to Temple Square at Christmas to see the lights. Who were we to deny our lovely kidlings such a wonderful experience? All this being said, we opted to take FHE on the road. After bundling up, we all squeezed into the car (not an easy feat with with little Brockster now on board) & headed to SLC. As per usual on any event we try to plan, there seemed to be obstacle after obstacle...Aimee & I bounded them effortlessly. We would not be stopped...we were women on a mission to enjoy a spiritual lighting extravaganza with our kids whether they wanted to or not! Dyl fell asleep on the way up, which set his mood right off the bat...um...the kid does not wake up easily & big bro, Aidan, is more than willing to assist in the waking...nice.

The air was extra crispy cold & the underground parking structure was closed to the public. Yet another reason to live an exemplary life so that you can get the coveted underground parking once you are a General Authority or something of importance in the Church;) I'm kidding, I'm kidding...sort of...:) Anywho, we found a parking place & then set-out on the trek to the Temple. Apparently, Aimee & I weren't the only ones that felt like the lights were worth seeing on FHE...needless to say, I felt an even stronger bond with the Pioneers of old as the massses crossed the vast plains (okay...North Temple Dr) & pressed forward & endured the cold bitter elements so that we might get to promised land (alright! I'm sure the pioneers didn't have Gortex or fleeced lined coats, gloves, & boots, but it doesn't diminish from our experience...does it?).

WE got in the gates along with the rest of the hoards & made our way to the Nativity. It's always fun to see the story laid out before us w/ the big booming voice recounting the events that lead up to Christ's birth. I love to see the 3 Wisemen on the camels & the Shepherd in the field with his flock. The best is at the end with the light shining in the manger as Mary & Joseph look fondly on their newborn son...*insert sound of needle scratching across record* "Is that IT!?! That was lame! We didn't even get to go in the barn place!"....thanks, Dyl. To his credit, I did mention that he was rudely awakened by his brother right?

We then ventured over to the old Tabernacle & enjoyed some beautiful music played through the huge pipe organ. IT was amazing. Of course, that needle scratched again...so we pressed forward...

We decided to move on & venture closer to the Temple itself. We stopped & took some pics by the beautiful fountain. Monty had the brilliant idea of suggesting that the kids strip down & jump in to grab the coins out...I'm sure he was joking (you were joking, right, Monty?), but the kids thought that sounded like the coolest thing ever! Dylan especially. He had his coat off & was ready to go.Aimee & I nipped that in the bud quickly, but that set-off the lovely mood for the next 20 mins. Nothing says "Families can be together forever" like your 5 yr old standing in Temple Square screaming at the top of his lungs "I HATE YOU!!!! YOU ARE FAT!!!"...that second part is apparently his newest equivalent of the meanest possible thing he can think to say...nice....Needless to say, we had several people starring at us...I could only laugh at this point. I just let him know that I loved him very much & continued on with the adventure.

He did eventually calm down after some soothing words from Aimee & the fact that he became distracted by his urgent need to use a bathroom. We quickly made our way to the Visitors' Center where we found what we sought, as well as, some much needed warmth & shelter. When everything was taken care, we made our way to the top level to enjoy the calming voice as we sat & looked upon the Christus. It was an excellent finish to a memorable night:)

Just hangin' with Thurl & the guys

Just like Dylan got to go on a date with me to a U of U game, Aidan got a date night too. He opted for a Jazz game. We just happened to go on the same night as Mallorie's birthday, so we saw the Charltons at the game. They were giving away fleece blankets that night with the Jazz logo, so we got there REALLY early....like 5pm...the game didn't start 'til after 7. We were able to each get a blanket & then go in and hang out inside. Some of the players & coaches were out signing autographs on the floor, so the kids were all over that. We decided to go up & watch a bit of the pre-game show to kill a litle bit of time before the game & lo * behold...Thurl Bailey was walking up with us. You know me & my loud mouth, I spoke up & told some camera dude that it was Mal's birthday...next thing I know they are shooting footage of Thurl signing her jersey & then took all of us to get our pic with the guys at the sports desk.
The best part of the night: the fact that we literally stayed all of 2 mins of the game before Aidan said...um, it's really loud. I think I am ready to go:) Another major contributor to the want for a hasty departure was the fact that Dyl was home with they boys' favorite sitter, Dane Ostergaard. Nothings cooler than an older kid who really kicks butt at Star Wars Legos video game:)

Traditions...Gingerbread houses w/ the Charltons

Every year we love to decorate gingerbread houses with Mallorie & Sophie Charlton. Typically this little tradition takes place at the Charlton home with Monty right in the midst of the chaos. However, this year I opted to let Aimee & Monty have some quiet time while I held the annual festivity at our home. We went "Polar Express" style & dressed in our jammies. We ate lots of pizza & soda & then got to the good stuff. This year I wisened up a bit & got TWO houses...1 for the big kids & 1 for the little ones. I also opted to hot glue the houses together prior to decorating. Can I just tell you, that made all the difference in the world!

Anyway, as if the Wiseman household did not have enough candy to decorate the houses, I went & bought BAGS of candy to really allow for optimal coverage. I do believe Dyl & Sophie were more content with eating the decor, but they did manage to do a pretty darn good job. Mal & Aid were a bit disheartened at the initial progress of their house, but I hopped in & we were able to turn it around lickety-split. Both houses turned out great & we had lots of fun in the process. As you can tell, Dyl is laying under the table because fatigue was taking it's ugly toll on his demeanor...oh well, we pressed forward.

We ended the night with our other tradition of driving around while we counted lights on houses. The kids were pretty excited because we got well past 200 before I decided we were done. We ended with going to see the lightshow that the Holdmans in Cedar Hills having been doing for the last couple of years. IT is extremely impressive. Check it out at...http://www.holdman.com/christmas. I'm telling you, it doesn't get much better than this. :)

Have a holly, jolly Christmas....

We are so excited for the holidays! As most of you know, I love the Fall. My enthusiasm has carried over to the boys. They are so excited when the leaves start to change colors & the air begins to smell sweeter & sweeter(which it really does in UT). We love Halloween....then Thanksgiving...then Christmas! This year I went through the work of digging out the Thanksgiving decorations only to have my youngest beg to "put just one Christmas decoration out...please, Mom! Just one!"...which of course, turned into the little stinker sneaking down to drag up one here & one there. So as to not have an eclectic assortment of decorations, I opted to go all out for Christmas days before Turkey Day. It's rare that we get my parents here for the holidays, so the boys wanted to go all out. Needless to say, the house looked festive & cheery by the time Mom & Dad arrived (conveniently in time for Mom to make Thanksgiving dinner...he he he). I'm kidding, of course. We actually enjoyed a very mellow holiday. We went for the traditional movie & then enjoyed a late, but delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Afterwards, we went to Mikey & Heidi Briscos' new home (lucky for me my good friend has moved to PG) to visit with the various branches of the Renouf Family...which of course entailed engorging ourselves a bit more with the scrumptious desserts prepared by Erin, Heidi, & Mary Kate (by the way, check out Erin's featured column on Rachel Rae''s website). Needless to say, FUN was had by all!

Well, I'll post more later, but I just wanted to post something so you all knew we were still alive & kickin' in UT. :)