Happy New Year!

We joined my family and Aunt and Uncle from California at their hotel in Salt Lake tonight for some swimming. We haven't been swimming for some time and Gabrielle really had a good time. We are now home and will enjoy a movie and head to bed. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Christmas Morning

When Brandon got Gabrielle up and told her that Santa had come she just kept saying, HO HO HO and then when she saw what he had left she told him thank you! She had fun with all her gifts, even though she wasn't interested in opening all of them. She liked passing them out to everyone and it seemed Brandon's brother was given most of them, even if they weren't his. She must have wanted him to have them all!

Seahawks Game

We met up with our friends Steve and Teresa for the Seahawks vs. Ravens game. We braved the wet, cold weather and did a bit of tailgating before the game. It is always fun to be at a professional game with the crowd and atmosphere. We were lucky to be up high enough that our seats were covered so we didn't have to get wet. Seahawks won the game, which is always good.

Seattle

We just returned from spending the holidays with Brandon's family in Seattle. We went downtown one night and had dinner, rode the "train", merry go round and enjoyed seeing the lights and sounds of christmas.

Sledding

We had a big snowstorm last night and this morning and after shoveling the driveway we went to a small hill to do some sledding. Gabrielle had a great time and wanted to keep going.

Family Christmas Party

We got together with my family last night to celebrate Christmas. We had a wonderful dinner and exchanged our gifts and then ended the night with a game of scum. We had a great time.

Temple Square Christmas Lights

We had dinner in Salt Lake tonight with my family and then they headed off to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert and we walked around temple sqaure. We joined thousand of other people doing the same thing for the evening, but had a good time. We rode trax to and from temple square to the gateway, which Gabrielle liked, but I don't think it was as much a "train" as she was thinking or gets to see each day out our back window. It was very cold, but we were pretty bundled up. Gabrielle loved seeing all the lights and decorations. Brandon met up with his brother and a friend from Seattle to go to the Jazz vs. Sonics game and we came home. I love this time of year and am glad that we got to go and be a part of the holiday season downtown.

Ward Party

We had our ward christmas brunch this morning. It ended with a visit from Santa. Gabrielle did a little better, but still would not sit on his lap. I sat on his lap holding her and the camera, but here is a picture of her friend enjoying their treats from Santa.

O Christmas Tree

We picked up our tree yesturday in Provo and let it thaw out until today. Gabrielle was a good helper with the lights. I still need to get around to putting the decorations up, she can help with that tomorrow.

Santa Claus

We have been talking about Santa Claus all week to gear Gabrielle up for today. She recognizes our decorations and says, "ho ho ho" and she was excited to see him, but did not want to get to close. She clung to Brandon like it was life or death and would not look at him. Once we stepped away she was all happy again and saying "ho ho ho" like she loved seeing him. We went to Cabela's which was nice. Santa was dressed like Santa and we had no line.