Here’s our second and final post for December.

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Rob and I took Nate to see the lights on Temple Square on the 17th. We first ate at the Nauvoo Cafe on the main level of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Rob and I both REALLY enjoy their grilled cheese sandwiches dipped in the cheesy potato soup. Just perfect for a cold night out. Then we wandered around and took pictures of the temple and lights. This was our first time using our new camera at night so we were curious to see how the pictures turned out. Pretty tricky, but I think we got a couple of good ones. It was VERY cold, though, so we didn’t stay long. Besides, I think Rob and I were having more fun taking pictures of the lights than Nate was looking at them. But it was a great night out together.

Nathan had his 2nd birthday on December 20th and we celebrated with a family birthday party on the 22nd. It was pretty fun! We had all the kids do silly games (races, bowling, popping each other’s balloons). Nate really liked participating in the races. We thought he’d be too young to understand the point of it, but he thought it was hilarious. All the kids had good sportsmanship most of the time and there were only a couple tantrums and tears 🙂 But that’s to be expected from a group of this age. Then they all decorated their own cupcakes with colored frosting and candy. This went better than expected as there was total concentration on their works of art and no food fights. Success!

Then of course there was Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with the Raines family and Christmas Day with the Snow family. We always have such a great time talking and laughing with family and love everyone dearly. Thanks to both families for all the wonderful and thoughtful gifts and especially for your unconditional love. We’re very blessed.