busy, busy, busy getting ready, ready, ready!

What have we been doing these 20 days of December?

1. Mistletoe,

our elf from the North Pole who reports daily to Santa about our behavior, returned December 1st. He keeps us guessing each morning when we find him in a new spot. One night the kids asked him what kind of cookies are Santa's favorites - his answer was a clue he was hugging. What do you think it means?

2. Parties, Parties, Parties!

Here we are celebrating with our Wasatch Front family members - we missed Calvin & Wendy, Nathan, Chris & Cassidy, and Joey & Rayna; your absence was definitely felt! But we still managed to have a great time playing Wits and Wagers, watching clips from Christmas movies and guessing which one they were, and of course the highlight of any proper party: White Elephant gifts! Here's Wyatt's face when he opened up his marshmallow mug:

Tracy & Sydney
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These were seriously cute!

Christmas spatulas, tongs, and dish brush.

Way to go, Sydney - Raquel loved it!
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We all got a pretty good chuckle out of the gift Mark opened... got milk?

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Yes!!!!! Spam!!!
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Onto the Ward Party,
where Halle got to play Mary in the Nativity Pageant


We couldn't decide who
we were more excited to see:
Cindy Lou Who,

or Santa Claus!

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Taking a break from Christmas parties,
we headed over to Grandma Dixie's to help
Avaree celebrate her 1st Birthday!

Halle had fun decorating Daddy with the wrapping scraps,

but got bent out of shape when all the

boy cousins decided to "open" Uncle Brett!

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Christmas isn't Christmas without the Bauerle Party!

This is the only opportunity each year we get to see some of these cousins, so it was great to catch up. Each year more and more little ones are added to the family and this year you could tell -- lots of kids running around having a great time!

Here are some of the prizes from the white elephant game:

A "beautiful" rainbow hat with the tag still attached,

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and a ceramic Nativity!

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We sure do love this pretty lady -

she throws a mean party (so did Aunt Vickie!).

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3. School Progams - Here are pix from

Wyatt's Christmas program @ LPA:

Can you see him? He's in the middle of the

middle row in his navy vest & tie. Nothin' better than a bunch of

kindergartners singing "All I Want for Christmas

is My Tooth Front Teeth"!

These are two of his teachers,

Ms. Merrill & Ms. Pearson

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4. Christmas Outfits

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5. Wrapping, wrapping, wrapping!

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6. Gingerbread houses,

which we loved making even if

it wasn't structurally sound!

elves & dancing. (but not dancing elves.)

December 1st, we awoke to find a houseguest perched on our kitchen window. Mistletoe the Elf had returned to keep an eye on the kids during the days leading up to Dec. 25th. Each night he reports to Santa their deeds, making recommendations for the lists "Naughty" or "Nice". Last year he was kind in his feedback to Santa, which was evident by the mountain of gifts left under our tree. We hope he'll be as generous this year!

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December 4th, Halle had her first dance recital in Sandy @ the Festival of the Trees. In September, she began taking classes at a nearby studio, Dancin' It Up. It was fun to watch her perform and shake her booty--or as Halle says, "Shake what your mama gave you" (Thanks, Alvin & the Chipmunks...). She remembered to smile the entire time and I have to say my baby looked beautiful! She practiced her routine a lot at home and I think it paid off--she was great! I wish the pictures were better but we were sitting pretty far back. Afterwards, we had a great time looking at all the interesting trees and displays. People are so creative!