January + February Photo Dump

Wow I can't believe we're already halfway through February 2016!  This year seems like it might go by just as fast as last year.  This won't be an involved post - just a few pictures.  I haven't taken very many this year, though.

I have like no pictures from the beginning of January.  We had a New Year's Day party, but I did not feel well that day, so I didn't really take any pictures of our friends who came to party with us. 

 Towards the end of the month, we had our first show at Hale Center Theatre - Beau Jest.  It's the story of a Jewish girl who hires an escort to play her made-up Jewish boyfriend.  It was incredibly funny and  a lot of fun.  We took a selfie before the show started.

This is one of the scriptures I've been "ponderizing" lately.  I love the message that the Lord will lead us throughout our lives towards the promised land if we keep His commandments and that we will know He is in control.  It is a great comfort to know He is guiding my steps.

On the Sunday of the Superbowl, Peter and I dressed to support our teams.  

Me, the Carolina Panthers (of course!), and Peter, the Denver Broncos.

I also made blue Carolina Panther snickerdoodles to share with his family (who are mostly Broncos fans, although one or two of them support the correct team). 

 Dressed in our teams colors that evening for the game.

This week, Peter sent me flowers at work for Valentine's day!  He even remembered that calla lillies were my favorite flower from our wedding! 

The 

Last night, Peter took me on a surprise Valentine's Date to the Utah Symphony, who was doing a 75 Year Celebration of Broadway with guest vocalists.  It was really fun.  Our two favorite numbers were "Defying Gravity" from Wicked and "Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera.  Morgan James sang "Defying Gravity", and she definitely had the power for that number.  Peter said he got goosebumps.  Hugh Panero, the singer who performed "Music of the Night" had played the Phantom on Broadway for 2500 performances!  When he started that song, we knew why.  It was gorgeous.

Christmas! Part 3

Tuesday night, we went to This Is The Place park for their evening Christmas celebration.  It was snowing, which made for slightly nerve-wracking driving conditions (we won't go into the crazy driver who scared us all half to death), but very pretty, if chilly, wandering at the park.

Reading the map.

Pretty wall decorations inside one of the houses. 

Traditional Christmas carolers!  That would be so fun.

Peter and I learned a pioneer dance. 

Wednesday we didn't really take any pictures.  We did some shopping, practiced a song for the Burnett family talent show, and went out for dinner and desert.

Christmas Eve we did a little more shopping, and hung out until the Burnett family Christmas party that night, but I didn't take any pictures there, either.  We sang an a cappella song with two of Peter's brothers and their wives - That's Christmas to Me.

Friday: Christmas morning!

It was snowy again.  We drove over to Peter's parents' house to do Christmas with them.  Peter's family has a tradition of making a little decoration for each grandchild centered around a grape juice can.

We got some more lovely presents, and my parents and Kira joined us for breakfast.  We watched Hallmark movies and played games until lunch, when more of Peter's dad's family joined us.  My family left after lunch, but we stayed a bit longer to play some games.  That night, we finished off with the traditional viewing of Muppet Christmas Carol.

Christmas! Part 2

Monday was another day chock full of Christmas fun!  First we went to Gardner village to wander and to do an Elf Scavenger hunt.

Searching for the correct clue to match this elf.

It was quite cold that day, so we were all bundled up. 

Matt and Vanessa found the elf with the mistletoe!

Nani got some kisses, too! 

J-man loves Star Wars, especially Darth Vader. 

After lunch and naptime, we headed down town to check out City Creek Mall, eat dinner, and see the lights at Temple Square.

We ate at the Garden Restaurant on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial building.

They had a mailbox for sending letters to Santa, and J-man added a last minute gift.  A Star Wars movie, naturally.  I told him I didn't think he liked Star Wars, but he assured me he did.

After dinner, it was time to see the lights! 

The boys loved the little fountain show at City Creek mall. 

Tuesday, we had planned to go down to do a Polar Express in Heber, but it snowed again, and the roads were closed to vehicles without tire chains.  We were all a little bummed.  Matt and Vanessa were headed out that day, so they were able to leave a little early, which was good for their travel, but sad for us.  

Matching Christmas T-shirts helped us feel better.

And just check out that beautiful snow-covered tree!

We also did our own Polar Express in the living room with mixed results.

One more family picture (using my fancy new tripod) before they leave! 

Christmas! Part 1

We got to squeeze in lots of family time this Christmas with both sides of the family!  My whole immediate family was coming into town the Saturday before Christmas, and we got to spend a lot of time with them, as well as go to Peter's family parties.

Peter and I decided to open presents to each other a little early so we could do it by ourselves before everyone arrived.

He got me this lovely navy blue pea coat.  I don't think we took pictures of anything else we got each other, but he also got me a very nice tripod for my camera.  I got him some board/card games, nerf guns, and a Pentatonix cd.

While waiting for my family to get into town, we had time to go to Peter's Mom's extended family party.  They always do a live nativity with the grandkids.  Peter and his brothers were wise-guys.

Check out those awesome shoes!

After the party I spent much of the afternoon putting the finishing touches on cleaning the house.  It was pretty spotless by the time everyone arrived.  We ate some dinner, which Peter very kindly made so I could rest a little, and then Daddy/Pop Pop, Kira, Matt, Vanessa, and I headed downtown to see the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert, while Mom/Nani babysat the boys.

You can only get tickets to the concert in sets of 2, so we were all seated separately.  Peter and I were off to the side, but closer to the stage than the others.

The special guest at the concert this year was Laura Osnes, a Broadway performer.  She was so cute, and her voice is simply lovely.  They also had four opera soloists who performed much of Handel's Messiah with the Choir.  We can't wait to order the CD from this concert. 

Peter saw someone he knew (of course!) after the concert was over, so we had them take this picture for us,

Sunday morning we did "Christmas" with my family.

This boy was very serious about every gift he opened, which is very typical of him.

Telling Uncle Peter a secret. 

This one, on the other hand, was excited about everything. 

All the presents were wonderful, of course!  Here we are trying out my new selfie stick!

Getting all the siblings involved! 

Taking a picture of a relunctant J-man. 

We finally convinced him to join us for a couple selfies! 

We had a yummy breakfast of stuffed french toast and the traditional pork tenderloin.  It was so fun to see this whole crew at my table.

There was still snow on the ground, and the boys were pretty fascinated by it, having lived in Texas for the last four years.  So we took them out in it to do some playing.  They both liked it, but thought it was a little too cold.

That afternoon, we met Peter's cousin at a park to take some family photos.  They turned out very nice.

We packed so much into this day.  When we got home that evening, we decorated sugar cookies - a family tradition!

I think that's enough for one blog post.  More Christmas fun to come!