Ellertsons visit

pancakes on our first morning together

making red snowflakes

candy canes for the tree

twister!

taking 7 kids through Costco - fun, fun, fun!

bedtime stories

little mermaids

staying cozy inside while it snows and snows outside

Parker's home from school - let's play in the snow!

lined up on the couch for the family home evening lesson

FHE activity/treat: gingerbread men!

such great teamwork!

these two took forever because they wanted theirs to be perfect

a quick pic before we let them chow down on their creations

Dancing with scarves at library story-time

filling the baskets with leaves & dumping them out, again & again

penguin craft - these two did EVERYTHING together

these kids LOVE books!

more fun in the snow - so great to have Maddy join us too

my niece modeling my coat

mustache mishief

tickle time

helpful elves making goodies for Aunt Jen's party

visiting the nativity set display at church

going to the movie 'Frozen'

hot tub party on our last night together

Cutting down a Christmas tree

The day after Thanksgiving we drove up into the mountains in search of the perfect Christmas tree.  It was an extremely cold morning, but we enjoyed seeing the frost and ice on all the buildings and trees on our way out of town.

 

First, we found a tree for our friends, Kyle and Jessica:

Then we drove deeper into the forest to find ours:

Lincoln insisted that we take home this little one as well:

We didn't realize how big our tree actually was until we tried to stand it up in our living room - next year we'll bring a tape measure!  After cutting several feet off the bottom, we got it to fit:

Gainesville & Gatorland

It was a blessing to spend a little time with friends in Florida that we miss so much!

The last day of our trip we spent at Gatorland.