December Happenings

We spent the week before Christmas in Branson, Missouri. It's also known as the 'Family Friendly Las Vegas of the Midwest' so you can imagine our excitement. :) We spent a day at Silver Dollar City which is a big amusement park. We lucked out with perfect weather for December. 

After a family water ride, Emma and I hit up a show while the boys went on some more rides. We saw 'A Christmas Carol'. It's one of my favorite books and my goal is to read it every year at Christmas time, but this year I counted watching the show as reading it. It was really well done, though Emma didn't seem to appreciate it since she fell asleep. 

After the boys first roller coaster this was their reaction: Tyler: Thumbs up! Gavin: Thumbs down! Spencer: "Where am I and what am I doing here?" 

We had a quick lunch of classic amusement park food (hot dogs and hamburgers) and Brant was wonder-dad holding Tyler while feeding Emma (and trying to eat for himself in-between). I was too busy taking pictures to help out. 

The longest line we had to wait in was for the train. We waited over an hour, but I think it was worth it. The train went all around the park and they had a little nativity story at the end. Tyler's super pumped, you can tell. 

Spencer and Gavin loved the train. 

Back in our hotel room Brant finished up a giant bowl of cereal. We stayed somewhere with a kitchen so we made most of the food there instead of eating out which was nice. 

Except for the two times we went to Krispy Kreme for donuts. The cashier may or may not have recognized me the second time there...

Our last day in Branson we went to Branson Landing which has some shops and a cool waterfront. Brant was demonstrating his jump-up-and-tap moves. This picture doesn't do the height he got justice, but you can tell he was really enjoying himself. :) 

We came back home just in time for Christmas Eve traditions. In Brant's family they open love presents every Christmas Eve. That's a present that one family member makes for another family member. This year Brant's parents had us so they made the boys a teepee. It is really cool. The boys have already used it as a hide-out in their nerf wars and as a fortress while playing Book of Mormon characters.  

On Christmas morning the boys were more than helpful showing Emma how to open presents. She didn't really get into it this year, but she did look really cute. 

Emma was as happy as always even though she woke up with a cold on Christmas morning. 

Gavin got a new bike! He was really excited and it'll be nice for him to be able to ride bikes around the neighborhood with the other kids. 

Tyler got a Batman gadget set from Brant's parents. It was the first present he opened and we could have just stopped Christmas for him right there since he was so excited about it. He makes us call him 'Batman' half of the time. He calls me 'Wonder Woman' so it works out okay. 

We had a little New Year's Eve party with a few families. We usually go to the Jones' in Dallas, but we're a little further away now. We took one of their traditions and played a 'Year in Review' game. It was really fun. 2015 was a busy year with a new baby, a graduation, a new job, and a move. We feel very blessed, but we're looking forward to a calmer 2016!