December in SLC

Celebrating the Christmas season from the heart of Salt Lake City can feel downright magical.  Most days, I drive past the Salt Lake Temple on my way to and from work.  This familiar sight becomes breathtaking when bejeweled by all the lights.

I took these photos while Brooklyn and Talia were in the baptistry.  I dropped them off, then slipped into the Assembly Hall to enjoy a free holiday concert.  Every once in a while chauffeuring has its perks.

A few days later, we found ourselves back in the Assembly Hall for stake conference.  We took this picture while spying on our friends and their adorable new baby girl.


In early December, Jason took a trip to Chicago to help Lance with some projects around his apartment.  Meanwhile, I took the kids to the Christkindlmarkt at This is the Place Heritage Park.  It was a bit chilly, so we were grateful for the barrels to keep us warm.

Kling, glöckchen, klingelingeling--one of my favorite German carols.

Here's Brooklyn enjoying a Weisswurst mit süßem Senf.  (White sausage with sweet mustard--every bit as delectable as I remember.)

You know a Christkindlmarkt is authentic when it is attended not only by Nikolaus...

...but Krampus as well.  How well I remember being in Austria for my first (and only) Krampuslauf!

Fortunately our kids spent more time with St. Nikolaus than the horned Krampus that punishes those who have misbehaved.

Since my memory of the Austrian Christkindlmarkt also includes a beautiful snowfall, I grew nostalgic as snow fell for us in Salt Lake as well.  The kids were less impressed.

Fortunately Annika was more approving of the snow pack at Brighton.  We've had some fabulous ski excursions this year, courtesy of our season passes.  They were a splurge, but totally worth it.

Annika and Eli get ready for their first run.

While Annie may love skiing, it definitely wears her out.  Here she is the first time on the ski bus.

And here she is the second time.  The crowded bus didn't bother her!

Just another pretty day on the mountain.

Love these cuties. 

My very favorite ski excursions?  Weekday ski dates with my hubby.  Twice we've headed up the mountain for a few hours in the morning and made it back to work by noon.


Back at home, Annika set up a reindeer-making station where we all got to make our very own reindeer necklaces.  Not quite sure what I'm doing here--trying to give Talia a red nose?

Here's Jason starting to trim the tree. 


And here's Talia putting on some final decorations. 

Talia again, sitting beneath a different tree at Justin and Brianna's new home in Millcreek.  While we miss having them in the Avenues, we are so glad J&B found such a lovely place for their family.

Decorating Aunt Brianna's sugar cookies.  Yum!

And here we are eating dinner all together, this time at Charles and Susie's home in Logan.

While the primary purpose of our visit was to hear Grandma Susie and the American Festival Chorus perform with Lexi Walker (the concert was fantastic!), we also had fun making santas out of toilet paper rolls.

Plus, you can never get enough snuggle time with grandpa.

Back to Salt Lake City, we headed downtown one evening to see the window displays at Macy's...

...before boarding the free Jingle Bus to see the lights.

We enjoyed the nativities around Temple Square...

...and admired the giant tree in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

My favorite part?  Visiting the Giving Machine to help Light the World.  I was touched to see the generosity of so many, with some even donating enough to purchase a cow.  Our kids chose to give some backpacks and mac & cheese.

Speaking of giving, instead of organizing a Christmas party, our ward hosted a neighborhood service project where we made lunch kits to distribute to kids who wouldn't have access to school meals over the holiday break.  Super fun!

A few days later we headed over to Red Butte Gardens for their winter solstice celebration.  We wrote down our sunny hopes for the new year...

made wreathlets...

...and decorated gnomes.

I'm pretty sure that ice chucking not on the original event schedule.

Nothing says solstice like super long shadows.

Never the same garden twice.

Next up on our crazy December events: neighbor gifts.  I was personally tired of sugary treats, so we looked for something different to give away. 

Here's a neighbor friend playing with our gingerbread play dough.  It smells so good, plus you can roll out as many cookies as you want without worrying about calories.

Truthfully, when it comes to gingerbread, my kids prefer the real deal.  Luckily for them, our friends the Wrights invited us all over for a gingerbread house party.  So fun!

While December was chock-full of parties and events, my very favorite moments were when we gathered at home as a family.  I absolutely adore lighting the candles on our advent wreath...

opening up our Advent calendars...

...and focusing on Christ through our Christmas devotional scriptures, stories, and songs.

I may have cried the day that I took the tree down, but given our new Come, Follow Me Program, I'm hopeful that these devotionals will continue.

A Washington Thanksgiving and a Vancouver Dolphin

Winter vacation has been fabulous.  I can't tell you how much I am enjoying the relaxed pace without the stress of work, school, or extracurriculars.  On a normal day, Brooklyn leaves the house at 6:45, we walk Eli to the bus at 7:00, Talia leaves at 7:50 to help out at the library, and I drop Annika off on my way to work at 8:25.  In contrast, for the past two days I've let the kids sleep until 10:00.  What can I say?  They needed to catch up.

This photo of our sleepy Eli was actually taken during Thanksgiving vacation.  The long drive to Washington must have really worn him out since he was too tired to make it into bed.

Come Thanksgiving morning, we were re-energized and ready to go.  Our first order of business was a fun family turkey trot at Point Ruston.

We were a bit underdressed, so Aunt Callie helped us accessorize.  Looking foxy, Brooklyn.

Zoe seemed less thrilled with her ensemble.

Here are Eila and I coming down the chute for our grand finish.

This sweetie seemed to thoroughly enjoy her running debut.

Back at home, it was time to start making some table decorations.

Eila and Anders enjoying some yummy appetizers while the turkey cooks.

This turkey's sizzling.

All gathered for our fancy feast.  With much to be grateful for, family is at the very top of my list.

The next morning, we gathered together once again to crack open the Thanksgiving pinata that Annika assisted we make/bring.  She wanted an octopus, but I think it turned out more like a squid.  Here's Anders giving our creation a whack.

Annika gives it a whirl, as seen from up above.

Eila's next.  Note how Callie has wisely nominated herself wall protector.

That's a dangerous job, especially when Eli up to bat.

In the end, it was Brooklyn who defeated our very own Kraken.

Bounty for all.

Some might think that the drive from Salt Lake City to Seattle is long enough, but we decided to tack on a few more miles.  Any guesses where we went? 

(Tim Hortons gave it away, eh.)

Vancouver, Canada!  Here we are making our way onto Granville Island.

It may have been a bit drizzly, but with Washingtonians in our midst, we still had plenty of fun.

Inside the market, Annika was completely fascinated by the fish.

In the end, tourtiere (French Canadian meat pie) seemed a better purchase.

The cranberry chutney they served it with was delicious!

Last but not least, some family photos taken in front of the Vancouver skyline.

Callie and her little Eila goofball.

The Wilhoit men (Adam and Anders) join the photo fun.

Love this family!

Sisters forever.

Adding in the next generation of big and little sis.

Brooklyn looks happy in toddler land.

Talia Lily in the rose light.

It was pitch black by the time we made it to our airbnb in Burnaby, so this is what we saw when morning arrived.  While it may not have been perfect, it had plenty of beds to accommodate our crew.


We didn't hang out long, however,  We had places to go and something very special to see.

After months and months of daily begging to see a "real life dolphin," Annika found out that her dreams were coming true.

Meet Helen, Vancouver aquarium's white-sided dolphin.  You can see here that she lost her pectoral fins after they got caught in a fishing net.

A great look at her blowhole.  (Photo credit goes to Talia.)

Eagerly waiting for the dolphin training to begin.

At last, here she is!  Note Papa Kay applauding in the corner.

Pectoral fins or no, Helen sure has hops!

Amazing!  Annika has great taste in her obsessions.  (By the way, since our visit to the Vancouver Aquarium, Annika prays for Helen by name at every meal.)

While Helen may be their biggest attraction, the Vancouver Aquarium has lots of other fun animals as well.  I could watch these sea otters frolic all day long.

Hard to believe this walrus is only a toddler!

Inside, I was less thrilled to see the electric eel.

However, I did find it pretty cool that this Christmas tree is powered by the eel's electrical current.

 

Jellyfish are so hypnotizing.

Annika was particularly intrigued by these garden eels that burrow into the sand.

And remember: a little kelp goes a long way.

After watching the sea lions, otters, walruses, and dolphin dine on fish, we were ready for some vittles of our own.  This Australian Bakery was the perfect solution.  No fish to be found, but had anyone ordered the Hopper, we could have eaten kangaroo.

I ordered my steak and mushroom pie "peaked" with mashed potatoed, smashed peas, and gravy.

Oh my goodness, it was so tasty!

A meal to delight diners of all ages.


That evening, Papa Kay took the older crew out to the Heritage Christmas display at the Burnaby Village Museum.

If we'd known how much fun it would be, we probably would have dragged the rest of the crew with us.

Check out Papa Kay riding the vintage 1912 carousel!  Definitely an evening to remember.

On Sunday morning we headed to sacrament meeting in Vancouver.  Don't Annika and Eila look sweet in their matching Christmas dresses?

After church we took one final excursion to Burnaby Mountain Park, a scenic spot that Jason discovered while out for a run.

Thanks for the memorable weekend in Vancouver, NomiAnn and Papa Kay.  It was delightful.

And now Anders, I'm afraid it's time to settle into the carseat.  You can count on a long wait at customs.

Back to Edgewood, Washington at last.  Tired, but happy.

Adam and Callie, thanks for always making us feel so welcome.  An especially big thanks for sharing your little ones with us as well.

We promise to bring our crazy back soon.