We had a big snow storm at the beginning of the week. It snowed all day and all night and we ended up with 18 minutes of  snow! It was so awesome! All this snow really makes it feel like Christmas!

Here are the kids getting ready to leave for  school. We gave them a ride in all this snow. 

Lizzie and I spent part of the day playing in the snow, she loved it!

Once the kids came home from school they made snow forts, we went sledding and we played outside until after dark. 

We decided to do a little construction on our bathroom upstairs. We are replacing the tile etc... 

Isaac helped me clear off the tramp, so the snow wouldn't damage the trampoline mat. It was SO much snow, and it was really heavy too. 

Joey does well in the snow, he blend right in, and you can only see his eyes. 

The kids and their friends having a blast sledding. 

Lizzie made me this ornament at preschool. I loved it! She was so proud of it. I love all of her crafts! 

Cute Emily and her friends played in the snow all afternoon and they loved playing with Joey. 

All the three oldest kids started Basketball in December. Here is a picture of Emily's team. She's learning a lot and doing really well. 

Thursday night Isaac left to go to Las Vegas with grandpa Shields. He and Spencer got really hot in the car so they took their shirts off. All the boys headed to Vegas to watch the BYU vs. U of U football game in the Las Vegas bowl. They had such a fun weekend doing all boy stuff!

While the boys were away we were lucky enough to hang out with Jennifer, Chandler, Chloe and Eden! We had a blast watching Eden for a couple of hours. We played in the snow and she loved it! 

later we went and saw Santa at Jolley's she asked for animals, and wasn't scared at all. Emily and her had so much fun together. 

The boys lived it up in Vegas, rollercoasters, pep rally, eating out, late nights, and they saw the new Star Wars. 

Goofy Grandma and Grandpa came up on Saturday to see Eden etc.. They all snug gled up on grandpas lap. 

Jack and Megan were here too, but  Jack hated Santa! 

Taylor met the Imagine Dragons singer, Dan Reynolds at the game.  He was so happy about this! He loves their music. 

The kids did a fun Nativity in Sharing time on Sunday. I love serving in Primary and getting to teach the kids the gospel.

Emily played the flour game at Mono's house. She didn't find the money because Lizzie had taken it out! But she did get a lot of flour all over her face!
Only 4 more days until Christmas! 

We passed out neighbor gifts to our friends and neighbors this week. We gave cinnamon bears and the kids gave some little toys, chips, etc.., to their friends. It's really starting to feel like Christmas! 

Lizzie likes to take selfies on my phone. 

Cute girl!

We had Allison over to play this week and they played "babies" for three hours. They crawled around the house, used binkies, bottles etc.. They thought it was great!

Cute Henry going skiing at Alta. He's 2 and already on the slopes. 

We saw Santa Claus twice this weekend.
The kids asked for a gift from him and I think the excitement is getting high!

Here are the big kids on Santa's lap. 

Isaac asked for a nerf machine gun.
Lizzie asked for  an American Girl Doll. 

Saturday night was the Hawkins Family Christmas Party. It's always a fun night, with great food, games, and good company. 

I got to sn uggle with sweet James for a while. He is so cute! 

Everyone had fun playing Bingo, they even won fun prizes. 

All the great grand kids did the chimes to a few Christmas carols. They really liked doing this. 

It was a fabulous party and fun to see cousins etc.. 

We had a birthday dinner on Sunday to celebrate my 38th birthday! I was spoiled with cards and hugs form the kids and a fun date night with Danny on saturday night. It feels old to be 38 but I still feel young.

Cute James is starting to get really smiley! He's so sweet. 

We have a fun Christkringlmarkt close to our house. We went one afternoon this week to try the delicious booth that our friends the Drysdale Family had. They were making and selling poffertjes, which are small, little pancakes, covered in butter, jam and powdered sugar! They were delicious and the kids loved them. This market is a fun event. There was a petting zoo, pony rides, lots of booths, and Santa. 

Friday night was the annual Christmas Grandkid Sleepover at
 G & G Shields house. The kids really love this tradition.
They get have a candlelit dinner, open presents, play lots of games, walk to Harmons for Gelato, go in the hot tub, make cookies, get new pj"s, stay up really late, and sleep around the Christmas tree with their cousins.  Lizzie was invited to go this year and she had a blast! 

The older kids stayed up until 1am so they could color on the faces of all the younger kids while they were sleeping. Oh the trouble. 

They really pack in  A LOT of fun in one night. 

Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa for this awesome tradition! They all left happy and excited about Christmas. I'm sure everyone needs a nap.

Lizzie came home from grandma's house and passed out on my bed. She was exhasusted! 

We got our Christmas Tree set up and decorated on Saturday. It's always exciting to decorate the house for the fun holiday. 

Our Elf, "Elfie" made his return from the north pole. He left a message in mini marshmallows on the floor. Isaac and Lizzie really love our elf, and think it's cool, it helps them to be extra good. 

Emily counted today, only 19 days until Christmas!