Christmas Memories and Traditions Part IV

Christmas in the City-  Our first stop in the city is always the Grand America Hotel.  We were so lucky that Jessica and Bronson could join us for part of our tradition of vising downtown Salt Lake City at Christmastime.  I think they loved seeing the windows and the giant gingerbread house as much as the kids did and they definitely loved the candy store.

The traditional shot in front of the Christmas tree.  We take the same picture every year (and every year the lighting is horrible and I vow to bring a better camera next year)

Ruby wanted to pose on her own 

Matchy Matchy in their new Christmas jackets

Usually we have a ton of photos with the kids in front of the windows, but honestly, they were not our favorite this year.  The theme was a little different and the style a little obscure.  I think the kids were a little creeped out by a few of the windows because the characters were made of socks and looked strange.  We took a picture of this one mostly just to prove we were there.  

After we finished at the Grand America, we drove to City Creek and attempted to get at seat at the Cheesecake Factory.  The wait was over two hours so we put our name on the list and then walked over to see the lights of Temple Square.

Seeing the beauty of the lights near the temple is always a little overwhelming - it was nice to have plenty of time to wander around and stop to look at our favorite parts.  Luke told us that his favorite part of the night was "holding mommy and daddy's hands".  I just love the time that I am able to spend with these incredible babies and our amazing family. 

 Ruby said that her favorite part of the night was listening to Jesus talk in the space room - seeing the Christus is one of the highlights.  When we had talked and made plans to go to Temple Square, both she and Luke were so excited to see the statue of Christ and kept asking if we could hear him talk.  It surprises me a little that they have been so impacted by these experiences with the Christus statue since we have only been there a few times.  I think they must really be able to feel Christ's love when we are there and they hang on to that detail.

After finishing with Temple Square, Tim hurried to the restaurant to check on our place in line, and I took the kids to see the candy windows at Macys.  They were pretty impressive and the kids were sure that they would taste delicious.  We eventually made it back to the Cheesecake Factory where we had a fun dinner and Tim declared that the meal had been completely worth the wait.  

 Whitesides Family Christmas Party -  We made it home from Salt Lake late Friday night with very sleepy kids and after a short time at home, we headed North again to celebrate the holidays with Grandpa and Grandma Whitesides and all of the extended family.  We had a smaller crowd this year since some of the siblings were out of town or couldn't make it, but there were still enough kids to put on the Nativity program which is the highlight of the party.  Ruby had been practicing for her role as Angel for several days and Luke was thrilled to be promoted to a wise man with a gift.

Luke and Ruby loved that Brycen was part of the Nativity,

He made the perfect shepherd.

Ruby watched over Baby Lola very carefully

Grandma Whitesides always has a program and encourages everyone to participate.  Both Luke and Ruby had practiced playing the piano (Luke - Carol of the Bells) and singing (Ruby - Silent Night), but decided they were shy and didn't want to perform.  Luckily Brycen is a fantastic on the piano and always ready with something to play so he represented our family.

The night ended with a few wild games.  Gayle created a family bingo game and everyone paid careful attention since the prizes included tiny stockings with money.  Michael brought a game that included gloves, wooden spoons and a wrapped box of candy which was a total hoot.  After a lot of fun with family, we finally said our goodbyes and headed back home.