Fire!

No, not really. But McKay got some special training, just in case. Our very kind friend invited us for a private tour of our local firehouse.



McKay's most favorite truck is the firetruck. We listen to firetruck songs, read firetruck books and pretend our van is a firetruck. He was awestruck to be up close and personal with a real firetruck. He was able to sit in the driver's seat of two firetrucks and an ambulance. He even got to try on a fireman's hat and uniform. We went at nap time, so McKay's expressions don't clearly show the joy he was feeling. Later that day, after his nap, he couldn't stop talking about it.

Thank you Lt. Randall!

Snow!

When I opened the door early Monday morning I was so pleasantly surprised to see a few inches of snow before me. It was a beautiful winter wonderland. I love the snow and wish it snowed here more often. We made the most out of it before it melted and built a snowman. McKay has been waiting and waiting for enough snow to build his own snowman. We've read several books about snowmen and he was excited to have the opportunity himself. So we bundled up and went outside to play.

McKay ended up playing in the snow while I built the snowman. He did get to put the hat on...

....and the buttons.

When we were done he gave him several hugs.

We named him Frosty (of course) and McKay told me, "He's my buddy."

Christmas Day!

Christmas morning was the best yet! We slept in, got up, got dressed and opened presents.

I think McKay was a little star struck by his new friend. Although, he expected him to stand up on his own:

McKay had to try the new spin toothbrush out right away!



Now we don't need to spend a half-hour in the bike section at Walmart anymore!

We spent the latter part of Christmas Day and the next day in Cedar City with our families. We had a reindeer join us for the ride:



We were lucky to have a little snow fall while we were in Cedar. Nathan and McKay went out to catch some flakes:

Pre-Christmas Activities

We had a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus! McKay was surprised to see the jolly couple show up at our house. He was much more friendly with Santa this year than last, or even this year at the Jubilee of Trees. We are so lucky!



We decorated a gingerbread house:

(Is that a guilty face or what?)

We spent Christmas Eve with the Benson family. We had a delicious dinner and played some beautiful music with chimes and bells. Here are McKay and Sydney during "Jingle Bells":



McKay was trying hard to contain his excitement for our traditional Christmas Eve tree picture:


Here's another cute picture of Sydney and McKay:

Christmastime at Disneyland

I've never been to Disneyland during the holiday season and so I decided that for my birthday we were going for a day. The Chamberlain family came along....it's ALWAYS the more the merrier. Here's McKay with his cute cousins:

(Ariel, McKay, Grant, Harmony and Bridget)

Disneyland was even more magical with the splendid decorations, like this tree for instance:

(It was tall....aren't you impressed with my panoramic skills?)

The lights were so beautiful. I really didn't want to leave!

We were able to spend a few hours at Newport Beach. Although windy and cold, playing in the sand is always a must.

Whiling away the hours...

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

One of the my favorite Christmas activities is attending the Live Nativity at Tuacahn. We went with the Wrigley family the day after Thanksgiving. Despite the cold, this is my favorite way to start off the Christmas season. It brings back special memories of when Nathan and I had the chance to be Joseph and Mary there six years ago when our ward did it. It was an awesome experience for me then and I get teary-eyed every time we go. McKay was in awe of the live camel and of all the lights. His favorite part was definitely the little train ride. He also had so much fun playing with his cousins, Logan and Ethan.