WE HAD TO FIND SOME SNOW

luc spent the entire month of december asking where the snow was. i had to inform him several times a day that, regrettably {aka: thankfully!}, it doesn't snow at his house. he was pretty unhappy that christmas came and went without a single snowflake, so i knew he was going to be excited to see the four+ feet of snow at nana and grandpa's house in utah.

the kiddos and i flew up on the 29th and stayed a week. we had so much fun! the best part was finally seeing uncle nate- my baby brother came home from his 2 year mission in san jose california on the 30th and it was crazy wonderful to see him! i missed him tons and tons, i'm so glad he's home!!! he served a wonderful mission, his spanish is pretty good, and the kiddos warmed up to him almost immediately. even lia, who is pretty timid around new people, liked him right away. of course she did! he's so handsome and smart and he loves his family- especially his nieces and nephew. it was good to hear his stories and see how much he's grown. he's headed off to college at uvu on a scholarship and i can't wait to see what good things he's going to do in the world.

along with spending time with nate, we ate way too much delicious food, visited temple square, opened presents from nana and grandpa, played trains, visited the big trains at union station, and played in the snow. luc LOVED the trains and he the snow, he didn't want to come inside ever. and lia took to granpa like a little magnet, she adored him. she also got brave and started taking steps here and there around the house! it was such a fun week and i'm so glad we went. nothing better than family time.

chilling' at the airport. lia's first flight!

they made themselves at home right away

HE'S HOME! meeting lia for the first time!

lia and her second cousin ellie

second christmas morning!

naps and trains :)

SNOW!!!

bedhead and sleepy eyes. lia loved snuggling grandpa!

nate has seen the light and joined the fanhood of the greatest team. GO MEXICO!

opening presents with cousin zoey!

they actually had lots of fun :)

temple square lights

SO HAPPY to have this kid home again! i missed you nate!

trains, of course

my neighborhood is awesome

flying home. goodbye utah!

MERRY CHRISTMAS LEÓNS

we had such a fun christmas this year! luc was really into it. he was so excited to meet santa, he told him he wanted a semi-truck, and we made reindeer food to sprinkle on the front lawn, and cookies for santa to eat on christmas eve. every night we added to our nativity advent calendar, and we talked about the story of jesus's birth, and every night luc asked if it was time to put jesus in the manger yet {the last night of the nativity}, he was so excited about it. we sang 'away in a manger' each night before bed, and it was such a sweet experience for our family to feel that christmas spirit in our home. luc was very curious about why jesus wasn't born in a hospital, and lia LOVED it when we sang.

on christmas morning, the kids were up super early {6:30} and of course luc was thrilled to see santa had come. {though he was sad that santa didn't stay to see his presents, haha!} lia loved her dolly and shopping cart immediately, and then contentedly sat and ate crackers while we opened presents. she had zero interest in opening anything, but she loved being in the middle of the action, just watching everything. luc was a happy whirlwind, he wanted to open it all at once! we had to pace him, and he was still completely done in under 30 minutes.

it was a hundred times more fun experiencing the magic of christmas through these two cuties!