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.