Holiday Photos

Christmas Plates-stockings hanging from the mantle with care were never a part of our family tradition growing up. Instead, we set fancy china plates on the kitchen table and then in unison my brothers and sisters and I would place a thick tablecloth over everything. In the morning we'd find bumpy mounds as we lifted the tablecloth together. I'm not quite sure where this tradition came from, though I hear it's a Norwegian or Scandinavian tradition and it's been in the family for ages. My sister Becca and I are the two most likely siblings in the family to pass this tradition on (I think everyone else has converted to stockings) and we were lucky enough to have her and her family spend Christmas in St. George with us instead of in blizzard-ridden Iowa where they live. Izzy, Theo, Adeline and Squirt lifted the tablecloth to find these fun surprises from Santa:

Opening Gifts:

My Birthday-I knew I wanted to go on a hike for my birthday, but only decided on Antelope Canyon (not really a hike, but a scenic experience) the morning of. I loved it and I'm so glad Derrick and I finally went.

Other fun things- Nana and Papa Hull took Squirt to Tangled, her first movie theater experience. I was a bit nervous for them, but since they had an adequate amount of snacks she handled it perfectly, or so they told us.

Izzy and Squirty had some bonding time: And we had a yummy, if not gluten-free, birthday cake:

"Hiking" with Grandpa Bracken:

And a girls lunch at Basila's, a fun Mediterranean cafe in St. George. Their pitas are amazing and made fresh everyday, and their gyro was delicious.

If you can't tell from the photos, we had a great holiday, and we were lucky enough to spend different portions of it with both sides of our family. I hope yours was fun too!