Merry Christmas!

 Well, this picture has nothing to do with Christmas but it's pretty awesome.  This is Jaren's stuffed animal catapult.

 And now on to decorating the tree.  Apparently my kids got too cool to decorate the tree with me this year.  They hung a few token ornaments and then watched the rest of it come together.

 The Little People nativity set is just so fun. Tyce had some interesting interpretations of how things went. :)

 And more scootering! This time with gloves and a toe pop.

 I think I remember telling myself to never, ever do gingerbread houses again with my kids because it just ended up being so stressful for all involved.  However, I decided to be brave and tackle the project one more time.  I put on my "stay casual" pants and away we went.  This time we used graham crackers and hot glue to eliminate some of the frustration. Worked like a charm.  Then we covered the clue with royal icing. Yay!

 Then we decorated and made a big, big mess. But hey, I had on my "stay casual" pants.

 Rapunzel's tower

 This kid is such a candy monster. He consumed A LOT!

 It ended up being a fun night.

 Tyce as a little elf for his preschool program.  I thought for sure he'd sit silently while everyone else participated in the singing and such.  However, he sang his little heart out. Every word.  It was awesome!

 Jaren wanted to try ice skating after seeing a picture of Wyatt doing it on Instagram so that's what he chose for our date.  Usually this guy is such a go-getter, but he was a nervous nelly about the ice. He even asked if he could wear a helmet.  Thankfully the rink had these little walkers, which made it so much nicer.  I'm not sure we would have lasted 5 minutes without it.

 This is how we got around the rink most of the evening.  He didn't want me to leave him.

 Then for dinner he wanted ribs and shrimp. What? Mmmkkk.  He's not a cheap date.

 Seeing the lights from the comfort of our warm car.

 Christmas crafts with my boy.

 On my birthday, Nathan and I went to the temple bright and early and then had breakfast at Aubergine (acai bowls).  Later in the day we headed to SLC for a trip to the Church History Museum that's been newly renovated, went to temple square to see the nativity, and then had an early dinner at From Scratch.

 The kids made me such cute birthday signs this year.  Here's just one of them.

 Gavin was the brain child behind a nativity production for our Christmas Eve this year.  I'm so glad he thought to do it.  He and Mallory worked hard on the script and made sure everyone had a part and costume to wear.  I hope this is a new tradition.

 Christmas Eve soup dinner.

 Cookies for Santa. Eat up :)

 Christmas PJs

 Wild and crazy boys

 Muppets Christmas Carol

 So pretty much our kids have THE COOLEST parents on earth. Ha ha.  They have been begging and begging and begging for a dog for about the last 3 years.  I mean, it was a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute conversation at our house.  It took a lot of time for me to come around to the idea.  I mean, how much poop does one person have to be in charge of cleaning up?  I'm just so tired of poop.  And my things being ruined by the poopers. Anyway, we made their wildest dreams come true on Christmas morning.  A puppy.  Name Kona.  He's a mini goldendoodle.  He's mostly a delight.  Needless to say, I don't think any Christmas surprise will ever compare.  Even my doggy-scrooge-self ended up crying at their complete and utter joy.

 And Jaren got a tether ball pole from Santa.

 Mallory and Mister Kona

 Tyce with his Paw Patrol stuff from Santa.  I think he consumed all his stocking candy, as well as most the girls', in about 20 minutes. Candy Monster!

 Claire couldn't decide what to ask Santa for this year.  He brought her a Lego set. She seems pleased enough.  Maybe that's a puppy high?

 Mia got an ipod.

 Libbie got Mia this sweet shirt...a cat surfing on pizza.

 Grandma and Papa got Jaren a hotwheels track.

 All the Oyler bunch came over for Christmas dinner.  Such a fun day!

 Kona Dog

 Tug-of-war

 Nathan, Libbie, and I completed this puzzle over the Christmas break despite Tyce's many attempts to sabotage our plight.

 We went tubing with Caleb and Marci one night.  We had a ball.

 Just showing off his cuteness.

 Everyone is excited to tote him around...everyone but Kona.

 I guess this run was a bit nippy.

Mia rang in the new year with her love. Here they are kissing :)