:: a penguin encounter ::

Danny's Mum gave us a family pass to a Penguin Encounter at The Living Planet Aquarium for Christmas. Jamin & I were very excited about going & seeing the penguins close, although I was a little worried about how Kael would go being confined on my lap with some cute animals just in front of him. He really loves animals! 

Jamin loved putting on a big coat & feeling like an animal rescuer, just like Diego!

The penguins stand at the entry door from their exhibit and are able to choose whether they want to come into the viewing room. One of the penguins was played door keeper & was quite possessive about which penguins could come in. 

The self appointed door keeper. A very serious & inquisitive penguin!

The guide was explaining to us that the penguins go through a ritual before mating season commences where they choose a mate by bowing to them. The encounter room is popular because they can 'bow' to each other in private without the rest of the penguins watching.

It was a wonderful opportunity to see some new & interesting creatures up close. Kael did really well although he did get quite vocal at one point. He is 1 after all!

We are looking forward to visiting the aquarium again now that we are back in Salt Lake City. Lots of fun & learning to be had. 

+ very cool cars +

A couple of months ago Jamin received an Automoblox car for his birthday & since then we have become big fans of their toys. They are basically really stylish wooden cars that drive beautifully & can be assembled & disassembled pretty easily. Jamin spends a lot of time taking his apart, making it into different shapes, then putting it back together. When Kael started wanting to play with Jamin's we decided that to save on fighting, he could have his own for Christmas. 

He doesn't look very excited in this photo but believe me, he does love his new truck!

I loved these cars so much that I bought a three pack & sent it back to my nephews for Christmas. Ainsley has done a bit of research since then & says that they are substantially cheaper here in the States. So if anyone wants a special little present for their little boy or girl let me know & we can organise to get it back to you in the next few months. 

:: knitting update ::

The knitting of the most beautiful scarf in the world is going well although I would really just like it to be finished so that I can wear it now! I was slowed down a few weeks back by that nasty tailbone injury from snowboarding and therefore could not sit down without extreme pain. Who wants to sit down to knit when it hurts that much I ask you...? Not me & therefore not much knitting got done for a while. Then I stumbled upon the car knitting time slot & haven't looked back. The car is a great place for me to knit - the boys are strapped into their seats & relatively happy, I was in the back next to them while we had visitors so there wasn't much to see out the window & we were doing a lot of driving around. So my scarf grew & grew. 

It doesn't normally sit on the Christmas tree like this but I was searching for an appropriate hanging spot but both of the boys are in bed & couldn't help. I also thought this might be a nice time for you all to farewell the tree who is returning to the lovely old man who we bought it from. Danny has absolutely no faith in my ability to keep it alive over the next year & we are also planning on being home in Australia for Christmas next year so won't use it again then. I am not sorry that we chose to get a living Christmas tree, especially now that we are starting to see them all dumped on the sides of the road awaiting their fate as garden mulch. I sigh in self righteousness that my tree will live to celebrate another Christmas, with another loving family. 

Goodbye lovely tree - go in peace.

:: a cold christmas in utah ::

We have had a different Christmas so far away but still a special one shared with family & new friends. The most important part is remembering the reason we celebrate & having hearts full of gratitude for that most precious gift, Jesus & the love we share with each other. 

Kael was the first up this morning (not counting Jamin's 3am wake up call) & discovered the special nativity scene in the fire place. The stars were down about an hour later.

Jamin joined his brother after 7 and was very excited to see the presents under the tree.

Gran & Grandad opening their present from us - a trip back to Utah next year!

A special moment playing in the 'snow' under the tree.

Amidst the chaos of Christmas lunch with tired kids we managed a great photo featuring our roast lamb & beautiful red wine. For dessert, homemade apple pie & custard. It was delicious!

Our friends Merilee, Boston & Steve came over to share in baby Jesus' birthday cake & exchange presents. We gave Boston a photo book of all the fun things we have done together since moving to Utah.

Pouring over Jamin & Kael's copy of the photo book.

Jesus' birthday cake!

Boston & Jamin with their matching Dorothy backpacks they got from Merilee for Christmas.

A cute & kind of long video featuring Oma's guitar present.

A Merry American Christmas to you...

:: twas the night before christmas... ::

... and there has been an awful lot of activity around our home. Having a 3 & 1 year old means that our decorations sit on the top half of the tree, the presents don't come out until after they have gone to bed on Christmas Eve & the nativity set has spent more time scattered around the house than together on the fireplace. Now that we have gone to a Christmas Eve service & wished all of our Australian families a merry Christmas it actually feels like Christmas is here, despite the snow melting on the ground outside & the very chilly weather. I cannot describe how weird it is to not feel hot & be eating salads this Christmas like so many of our past Australian Christmases. 

I am keenly feeling the separation from my family who are gathered back home at my Aunty Sandies house, with a whole lot of yelling & laughing, eating & loving.  They may even be eyeing each other furtively to see if anyone has the guts to start a water fight in the wet December weather. 

I am so very thankful that we have Danny's parents here to share the love & the memories of our first American Christmas. Family makes everything special & meaningful. 

Our tree on Christmas Eve, complete with a skirting of snow & a load of presents.

Thankyou family for sending them so very far for us! 

Our gorgeous nativity set which reminds us of the very special baby behind this celebration. 

Thankyou God for loving us so very much that you sent your son. 

What amazing love is this?

:: lights at the temple ::

Yesterday we adventured out of the house at the unfriendly child hour of 5pm. We had heard from some local friends that the Christmas lights at the Mormon Temple were well worth seeing. And as you can see from the pictures - they were spectacular. Definitely better than any Toowoomba light show we've seen. Danny did remark that there is a lot that you can do with free Mormon labour. 

The shepherds & their sheep on their way to visit baby Jesus. 

Mary, Joseph & baby Jesus

Another shepherd & animals.

Danny & Kael all bundled up in front of the beautiful Christmas tree.

A white Christmas in Salt Lake City.

The path next to the Temple. 

The trees are just spectacular with thousands of lights.

A great outing that stretched the kids & the adults but was well worth it in the end. Not sure if other Christmas light displays will cut it from now on...

{oh christmas tree...}

After a long wait & much anticipation we finally went looking for our very first real Christmas tree today. It won't come as a surprise to those who know me well that I was feeling somewhat sickened at the thought of cutting down a tree for my own pleasure. So I was excited to see that a new market has opened up for Living Christmas Trees. Essentially a living Christmas tree is a potted pine tree that you can reuse for a couple of years and then plant in the garden. What a happy tree!

A couple of weeks ago we drove past Wahlen Tree Farm, which is just 5 minutes away from our house on a family hobby farm. Don, the owner, planted these trees 45 years ago and for the last few years has been selling both living and cut ones each Christmas. They aren't perfect but I love the story and the family behind the trees. It makes for a richer memory than driving down to the local hardware store to pick up a perfectly manicured tree that is sitting next to its perfectly manicured cousin. 

Don measuring our tree with Jamin looking on - it's 6 foot in case your wondering.

After loading our tree into the work ute in the tractor bucket, Danny, Lindsay & Andy hauled it inside & up the stairs. Not before a little pit stop on the front step to remove leaves & assess the terrain with Jamin looking on giving directions. 

After adding the lights we have a pretty sparkling tree, although it is really spiky. I think this may be a good deterrent to a 1 year old stealing ornaments & depositing them around the house. Always a bright side to every negative.

Every day for the next few weeks we plan to make decorations for the house & tree. Gran brought over a Christmas book & I have a few kids craft newsletters & websites for inspiration. This afternoon we added string to some simple jingle bells.

Merilee & Boston gave us these beautiful Christmas ornaments to decorate on Thanksgiving for our tree. What a beautiful memory for our boys of our time spent in Utah. I'll keep you posted on our progress in the next few weeks. 

Finally it feels like Christmas!