The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This year for the holidays Trent got really excited. I don't know if it's because for the first time since his mission he hasn't been in school or if it's because this year Jane actually understood, for the most part, the whole "Christmas thing". Either way, Trent is our jolly elf this year! We decided, given the cost, that we'd invest in a fake tree this year. It saddens me but at the same time it's so much more practical for so many reasons. Trent and Jane had fun setting it up and then we had a fun FHE decorating it. We've had some good snow storms this month and with those, we've discovered another "joy" of being homeowners: shoveling your own driveway. What a work out! It's still fun to do but after a few more storms, I know we'll be sick of it and want to go back to "the good old days" of student housing where the walks and parking lots were cleared for you. Jane, however, will probably never get sick of the snow. She's not afraid of it this year and so she's had a wonderful time helping us shovel, sledding, and eating the snow. The second weekend in December we had the pleasure of attending the annual Bassett Family Christmas party. Thanks again Todd and Jenn for hosting! Last year everyone got all dressed up and we somehow missed that memo so this year we got dressed to the nines! Jane got to wear her new Christmas dress, Bubba his new Christmas sweater vest (very dashing), and Trent and I wore our Christmas sweaters. I even put my hair in curlers. But, you guessed it, no one else really dressed up!!! Guess we missed the memo again. oh well. It was a smashing party with the whole family there. Food, a talent show, and a visit from Santa! Jane was scared to death of the guy. As soon as he stepped in the door, she started screaming "NO!!!!" and shaking like a leaf. Poor kid. Maybe next year. . . Last weekend we decided to take a family tip to Thanksgiving point to drive through the lights. We got the kids all bundled up and ready to go, but when we got there, the line was seriously a mile long and not moving so we decided instead to go see Santa's reindeer. When we got there, it wasn't crowded AT ALL!! The reindeer were so cool, they even made me believe in Santa! Jane got to feed one. He ate right out of her hand and she wasn't scared! We were so proud of her!!!! She thought it was the best thing ever. On Sunday we went to Kaysville to decorate gingerbread houses with our friends Joe and Britney. It was such a fun night hanging out with them and watching our kids play together. Their son Tyson and Jane are about the same age and so are Bubba and their new little girl Brielle so we were all perfectly paired :) Yesterday we did a day of baking to make treats for our neighbors. We've lived here for about 6 months so we decided it was about time we met some of them. Jane loved helping make and eat the cookies. She was a mess by the time we were done, but oh so happy. We are excited for the week ahead and hope that you all have a merry little Christmas!