December is by far our busiest month in the year. From celebrating Christmas festivites, an anniversary, and birthdays it always feels non stop. Every year we love it all but it makes the month fly by and it never feels like we get to do all we want to do. We had an early Christmas gift this year when my cousin Pascal joined us from France for a week. We always enjoy having him around and love hearing about everyone in Paris. Here's a look at our fun December.
My cute boy!
A tradition our family loves every year is going to dinner before heading to the Giving Machines to Light the World. This year we chose Brookfields Restaurant instead of our traditional Cheesecake Factory dinner. I hate to say it, but Cheesecake Factory would have been better. The restaurant was fine, but nothing super special in our opinion.
Once we finished up with our dinner we headed to the mall to give back. It is always fun looking at the options and letting the kids each pick one. Pres and I went in together this year because we both wanted to buy a goat :)
Quick photo op at the giant Christmas tree in the mall. Love these three kiddos!
Jack's teacher sent this picture when they were doing masks in class. They were learning about ancient Egypt and they all decorated their face, haha.
Pascal is here!!
Quinn and I took Pascal to a park near our house for a little photo competition. We had so much fun walking around and snapping photos. Quinn really got into it, and she did an amazing job.
Quinn capturing magic!
Pascal looking on as Quinn does her best to find what she is looking for. Pascal travels all over the world taking photos in each country he visits. He has been to over 100 countries and still counting! I ended up winning the competition! Quinn came in second :) We had Preston, Jack, and Beckham pick their favorite photo from these pictures.
If you had to choose a favorite what would be yours? It goes 1 (top left) 2 (top middle) 3 (top right) and then it's like reading a book until number 9 (bottom right). I'll let you know the top three in the closing paragraph :)
Quinnie took this one for us :)
Selfie time.
Such a cool evening with all of the fog. So mystical.
I love finding this guy in full relaxation mode in the house in his pants he got from India. They have elephants on them if I remember correctly. When Pascal comes to visit he tends to find a spot and completely relax. It makes me so happy that he views our house as a safe, relaxing space where he can be 100% himself.
Beckham and Quinn found a fun new game outside. They toss the football over towards the garage and try to make a basket in a bucket. They would stay outside forever trying to make baskets from different distances.
While I was at gymnastics with Quinn, Pres and the boys took Pascal for ice cream at Salt & Straw.
One of Pascal's favorite foods is Chinese food. We love a restaurant called Loomis Chinese Restaurant in, you guessed it Loomis. He was very excited about this night. We definitely filled our bellies and had such a fun time hanging out.
Pascal is off to Utah to spend time with more family, but not before we got a picture of him with the kids.
We of course packed him some to go cookies and a French Book of Mormon as well.
And he's off! Such a fun visit. I love getting to know my French family. We don't get to see each other that often, so when they fly in, we try to make the best of it. Until next time Pascal!
Decorating sugar cookies for Santa before he comes. This is one of my favorite traditions each Christmas holiday. I love creating moments of family togetherness and making memories last.
A night on the town to check out the lights. We actually parked at a friends house and walked around. Some houses really go all out!
Bluey!
Making more cookies because why not?! It's Christmas!
A date night with my favorite guy for our anniversary. We snuck away for the evening to attend the temple and have dinner at Plank Craft Kitchen and Bar. It was absolutely delicious. We will for sure be back.
I can't believe it's been 15 years already!
A Christmas puzzle completed!
Our first night in we opted to check out a small restaurant in town. It reminded me A LOT of Jerry's in Ransom. It was actually smaller than Jerry's, but the kitchen and overall vibe took me back to childhood.
Waiting on our orders we took some pictures.
After our yummy dinner we headed back to the house for games and a movie night.
We watched "That Christmas" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" (Benedict Cumberbatch version) over our weekend. We played LIFE three times, haha, Pass the Panda, Uno, Skip-bo, and Speak Out. There was a lot of laughter and cozy nights in front of the fireplace. We popped popcorn, got fudge from the small bakery in Grass Valley, and had loads of treats, and yummy foods to binge on. It was the perfect getway.
Our cabin in the woods.
They had a disc golf course that Pres, Quinn, and I played one morning. We had a lot of fun trying to find the next hole in the trees.
This is what the cabin looks like as you drive up. It literally looks like a fairytale.
Our host had this darling little area decorated for Christmas. A little photo op? Yes, please :)
We headed into Grass Valley for lunch and to explore. I absolutely LOVED this brick wall! And of course that cute Quinnie girl too.
We stopped at a restaurant called Tofanelli's. Everything we ordered was delicious!
Every trip deserves a little story/book moment. We found this darling book store to explore and everyone left with one more treasure for the bookshelf.
We loved our time in Grass Valley and Alta. It truly felt like Christmas. The twinkling lights, the game nights, crackling fires, and Christmas movies. I am so grateful and blessed to have this family of mine. One I love to hang out with, laugh, grow, and travel with. I am thrilled to have eternity with this incredible crew.
Once we were back I was in full Christmas mode. I started by prepping my magical cinnamon rolls that we have every Christmas morning. This is one of my all time favorite treats and traditions. The perfect addition to a much anticipated Christmas morning. That warm buttery cinnamon aroma drifts through the house as we unwrap presents and it is priceless!
Christmas Eve dinner was a win! We did a small ham, funeral potatoes that could last for days, corn, cranberry sauce, and pies from Cracker Barrel. Everyone loved it.
Christmas Eve jams from Grandma Clark.
Stockings are prepped and ready to be stuffed.
Ready for Christmas morning!
The number one thing on Jack's list was a Super Nintendo SNES. He couldn't believe it when he opened it. Beckham of course received a lot of Chicago Bears gear. Quinnie loved getting a stuffy, books, and some fun new gadget toys.
The boys wanted to show off the time between systems. Beckham really wanted a new XBox controller and Jack is holding his SNES controller. They thought this was so cool. I should have grabbed the NES controller we have, haha.
Happy 12th birthday Jackson!!
Dinosaur books and game for our dino guy. He also got a vintage typewriter, but it didn't work very well (surprise surprise haha), so he ended up getting an old desktop MAC I had for his room. He wanted something that he could write stories on in his room. We compromised for an older yet more reliable MAC :) He isn't allowed to have WIFI in his room so it's basically an upscale typewriter, which is perfect. He loves sitting at his desk and letting his imagination flow onto the pages.
For this year he chose to take the family to a trampoline park in Roseville. He is King!
Jump Jack Jump!
Dinner was at Chicago Fire Grill so the birthday boy could get the wings he loves. It was a huge hit by all!
Quinn's the Birthday girl now! This girl is officially 9! She was so excited to get her Polaroid camera, karaoke machine, books, and her gymnastics bar with a mat. This girl was on cloud nine for days!
She has played on this thing every day since. Practicing all kind of flips and turns.
Bowling and pizza for the birthday girl!
Such a fun evening with the fam!
These two wanted the same cake, haha! So we had to blow out the candles twice.
Bri even showed up on New Years Eve as we were ending our Christmas and birthday celebrations. He ended an exceptional week with a rainbow - cherry on top! We think of him often and miss him tons, but we know he is doing incredible things on the other side. We feel his presence and love and are blessed to have him cheering us on from the heavens.
December was a month full of love, charity, service, family, friends, and celebrations. It's a crazy month overall with so many incredible events and festivities packed in, and it's also one we look forward to every year. The festivities just bring more smiles, memories, and love. I will forever be grateful for this beautiful family of mine and the memories we are creating.
The winners for the Pascal competition were ... first place - bottom left (pictures number 7 which was mine), second place - middle right (number 6, that was Q's), and third place - top middle (number 2 which was mine...woop woop).
The winners for the Pascal competition were ... first place - bottom left (pictures number 7 which was mine), second place - middle right (number 6, that was Q's), and third place - top middle (number 2 which was mine...woop woop).
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