Finding the Perfect Tree

I'm not going to deny that I love a fresh Christmas tree...it's what I grew up with...but I'm also neurotic and haven't been able to do one yet.  Thanks to grammy the boys got to experience a real Christmas tree this year!  Luke couldn't wait to go down to the lot and pick one out.  

Right when we got there Luke started running around and feeling all the branches for a soft tree.  Brody found a little branch on the ground and thought he had scored big time.  I was sure we were going to freeze so Grammy picked one out fast!  It is a really cute tree and now Luke just can't wait to get it in the house and start decorating.  He is so excited about his ornament this year and wants to have it one a tree today!  I just love these two and how excited they get about everything!  They make all the craziness of Christmas worth it!

Gingerbread Houses

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is decorating gingerbread houses with the Waite family.  Each year they get a bit more creative and the competition gets very intense.  Luke knew what he was going to make for days...an Army house.  He spent the entire night stealing all of the green candies and dunking the army guys in frosting.  Lukers also realized for the first time that this was a competition.  He took this very serious and engaged in some smack talk during the decorating process.  If he anyone commented on a house Luke would tell them their house was going down because his army guys were going to blow their house up.

Brody and Liam were an absolute joy during this activity.  They were so happy decorating and stuffing their faces with frosting and candy.  I think Liam had more candy in his tummy than on his house.  Brody loved sticking candy on, taking it off, and moving it to a new place on his house.  I've never seen these two so focused for so long!  

When everyone was done we invited Pete and Robyn Jordan over to judge.  They talked it over and then made their announcement.  Grammy came in third with her Christmas fireplace, Pat in second with his MarioKart track and drum roll Luke came in first place with his army house.  The look on Luke's face was beyond priceless and something I will never forget.  I don't think I have ever seen him so happy or shocked in his life.  Such a fun night and one that Luke will never forget!  

Argyle Family Party

Our first Christmas party each year is always the Argyle family party!  We had so much fun this year as always.  Somehow this party always happens with a big snowstorm but that didn't stop us!  The boys were Wisemen for the nativity this year.  Luke was all over his outfit and of course Brody had to be wrestled into his and then he refused to participate.  There was lots of crying going on during the nativity and Lukers was about the only one that nailed it!

One thing we can always count on is Santa dropping by with his yummy candy canes.  Luke's face was priceless when Santa arrived!  Brody was sure Santa was there to eat him but Luke was in heaven.  Luke was the first one to sit on Santa's knee and asked for an Army jacket and Jurassic Park dinosaurs. When it was Brody's turn he was inconsolable...you would have thought that Santa was pinching him the whole time.  It didn't matter if I gave him Ruff, binkie, or sippie...Brods just wasn't having it.  When it was mine and Mark's turn to sit on his lap Brody lost it again.  You would have thought that Santa was going to steal me away and Brody would never see me again with how he was acting.  Poor Santa earned his pay that night when he had the entire Hansen family on his knees...sorry Santa!  Luckily Brody wasn't the only timid guy, the rest of his cousins were just the same!  Hopefully it will get better as the season progresses!

Festival of Trees

Grandma Tracy had the fun idea of going out to the Festival of Trees and the boys had a blast!  Brody was mesmerized by all the trees.  I loved watching him smile and point at each tree.  Mr. Brody watches Monsters University about three times a day lately and you should have seen his face when he saw the Monster trees.  He got so excited and had a stunned and happy expression on his face.  I had a hard time pulling him away from the kids trees.

However, we couldn't stay at each tree for too long because Luke was plowing through the trees at a record pace.  He was so excited about all the different trees and ran from one to the next.  His favorite though was hands down the dinosaur tree.  When he asked me to take his picture in front of it he stood there and just yelled D I N O S A U R S instead of smiling!  I love this kid and all of his energy and excitement!  I can hardly keep up with him!

Luke would have been happy spending all day there walking up and down the aisles and admiring each tree, but we were on a time crunch and so had to move on.  They had a really cute kids area that also benefited Primary Children's.  Grandma Sally bought each of the boys tickets to spend on the booths.  They loved the fishing pond, sand art, phone booth, ornament painting, etc.  Little Brods got a DumDum sucker from the fishing pond and he was set.  He was content to climb up on Grandma's lap and eat his sucker!  Luke's favorite was probably the bubble machine.  He had a blast standing in the giant bubble blowing bubbles!

It was so much fun to be with the girls and our cousins!  I loved seeing all the trees and admiring at how creative and talented people are.  I had to choke back tears whenever I saw a tree dedicated to a baby that had passed.  Their little pictures were hard to look at without thinking of Lewie.  My mom was sad we didn't hurry and do a tree this year for him, but next year will be better when we have had time to heal.  

Snowman

During the first snow storm of the season we ran to Target and found this adorable snowman hat.  The snow wasn't great for building a snowman but Luke was determined!  I finally agreed and we got dressed to go outside.  Poor Brods was exhausted by the time I got him dressed and ready that he just laid on the floor and wanted nothing to do with going outside.  

I finally carried him outside and he was happy for about a minute.  Luke of course was in heaven...rolling around in the snow, making snow angels, throwing snow in the air.  It amazes me sometimes how opposite these two can be.  Brody was happy exploring the snow until he realized the snow was sticking to his mittens.  He would freak out and scream, "No, no, no...ku, ku, ku, ku!"  I finally gave up and decided Brody just wasn't going to be a fan of the snow.  Brody went inside and watched from the window.  

Luke was sure he wanted to build a snowman but as usual he was very distracted!  Since I couldn't roll a snowball with this snow I just made a huge mound of snow and taught Luke to pound it down for me as I piled up the snow.  When it was tall enough I carved out the three bumps.  Luke had a blast putting all of the accessories on and was very proud of his snowman.  I sometimes get lazy about doing things like this with the boys but in the end it's so worth it because they both thought the snowman was amazing!  Brody kept pointing at him and saying, "No...No man."  Every time someone would come over to the house Luke would proudly show them the snowman.  Of course a week later Luke had a blast destroying the snowman and was just as proud of that but that's Luke for you!     

Let the Countdown Begin

This year for some reason I decided that it would be fun to buy Cadbury chocolate advent calendars.  Don't ask me why I thought I should spend that much money on the boys but I did.  They were excited for their first day.  Luke was a pro and knew exactly what the calendar was all about.  Brody didn't care much about it until he discovered the chocolate inside.  However, he couldn't understand why he only got to eat just one.  

I wish I could say that I was a good mom and never snuck into the chocolate.  I'm not...I was an awful mom this Christmas...that's the sad truth.  There were lots of days that they would forget about their calendars and I would just eat them.  Or Luke would sometimes remember and Brods would forget.  A good mom would have reminded them and let them eat their chocolate, but not me.  I am such a sucker for good plain chocolate.  Now before you start losing total faith in me let me just say that I would always give them another treat like a Hershey Kiss or a Milky Way bar.  I figured it was a win win!  We were all happy!!!

The Lights

Before it got too cold we decided to venture out and see the lights at Temple Square.  Mark had a brilliant idea and decided we should avoid parking at City Creek and instead ride Trax over.  We were supposed to meet Phil and Jess there, but by the time we were done seeing the lights they had finally found a parking spot.  The boys thought riding the train was such a fun idea!  Luke has been on Trax before so he thought it was pretty cool but it was Brody's first time.  His little face was priceless...he kept looking around with a shocked but happy expression...Brody couldn't believe he was on a train and kept saying, "Choo choo choo choo."  

We definitely were not the only people with the idea to see the lights before it got too cold.  I have never seen it so busy.  Brody was in awe of everything and kept looking around and pointing.  Lukers grabbed my phone and started snapping away.  He was so excited about all the lights and wanted to take pictures of everything.  My phone eventually died because he had taken so many pictures!  

Even though it's cold and crowded and not Mark's favorite activity I am glad we do it because I love to see the boys when they look at the lights and candy windows.  Their little faces light up and they get so excited!  I am so glad we have Temple Square so close to us!