Through a Child's Eyes: The Holidays in a Nutshell

Here I am, playing catch up on the blog once again. I seriously can't fathom how fast time seems to get away from me. To kick off 2014 on the blog, I need to recap the end of 2013. Our Holiday celebrations, which were many.

To be fair, my birthday isn't really a part of the holidays, but since it's only a week before Thanksgiving, it is a great way to kick off the celebrating. I got to spend part of my day at lunch with my girls, my parents, and my sister and her daughter. This is one of my most favorite things to do, with some of my most favorite people!

Craig surprised me with Michael Buble' concert tickets for my birthday. The concert was just a couple of days after my birthday, so it worked out perfectly. And it was AMAZING! Such a fun night! I could see him in concert again and again! His voice is like butter and it melts me.

We decided to put up our Christmas tree a week before Thanksgiving this year (the horror!). This is the first time in my life that I didn't wait until after Thanksgiving. But Thanksgiving was super late in November, and I just couldn't wait any longer. When I looked back at when we put it up the year before, it was the exact same day. So I guess it didn't really matter. It was still up for the same amount of time. And I love Christmas and Christmas decorations, so it was worth it. Also, the excitement it brought the kids made it well worth it too.

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Child family. It was such a fun, relaxing day, filled with food, family and Black Friday shopping. I didn't venture out to score a killer deal, but many other family members went and took advantage of the sales as many different stores opened on Thanksgiving night. I was just so grateful that my shopping was pretty much finished before Thanksgiving. I love the Thanksgiving holiday, which allows me to reflect on my blessings and the love of my Father in Heaven. I am one truly blessed woman.

As soon as December hit, we were off and running with fun thing, after fun thing. I love filling the month with activities and family time so we can enjoy the Christmas season to the fullest and make lasting memories along the way. It always seems like there isn't enough time to do all that we want, but we still managed to do a lot to count down the days until Christmas.

We spent one family night, early in December, at The Riverwood's to see the lights and visit with Santa. We picked the perfect night because it wasn't too busy and it was the last warm night we had before a major cold freeze set in for pretty much the rest of December. I am absolutely thrilled that all three of my kids still believe in Santa Claus. It is a very magical time of year for us at our house, leading up to Christmas.

We finally got a nice substantial snow storm a week or so into December. The kids just couldn't wait to get home from school to play in the snow. Because it was so cold during the month, the snow held on long enough to give us a white Christmas.

The kids and I decorated a gingerbread house this year. I love the pre-built gingerbread houses you can buy at Costco. All you have to do is take it out of the box and decorate it. My kind of gingerbread house. It turned out pretty cute if you ask me.

Each year, my parents take the entire Park family out for a Christmas lunch at Los Hermanos. This has been a tradition for many years now, and is definitely a highlight during the month of December. You just can't beat some chips and salsa, Diet Coke and family time!

Before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. We had dinner with the Child Family, which is always a wonderful night of family and traditions.The kids love their cousins and could play with them for hours and hours and hours.

It wouldn't be Christmas Eve without the Nativity program, put on by all the grandchildren. I love how excited the kids get about this program and the different parts they get to play each year.

It also wouldn't be Christmas Eve without new jammies and stockings hung with care for Santa. I love Christmas Eve almost more than Christmas day because of the excitement and anticipation. Like I said before, it is so magical at our house at Christmas time.

Christmas morning came, and all three kids were excited to see that Santa had found them and had delivered exactly what they were hoping for. We had breakfast and opened presents, and it seemed to all be over in about 20 minutes. Everyone was happy though, and that's all that mattered. We had a wonderful Christmas day, and I am just holding on the the wonderful, magical memories, because it is only a matter of time before the children are too grown up.

And then it was New Year's Eve. We donned our sweet, glittery 2014 paper glasses, took some silly pictures and then headed to Craig's sister's house for food, games and fireworks at midnight.

This was one of many attempts at a New Year's Eve kissing picture. Each one subsequently has a photoboming child in it. Oh well. I like this one of us laughing better than the kissing one anyway.

The kids stayed awake until midnight and didn't miss out on the fireworks. It's nice that the good fireworks are legal in Utah now, and no one has to make a run to Wyoming anymore. We had some sweet ones! It makes ringing in the new year so fun and exciting.