Part of December was spent in Arizona where we visited the Mesa Arizona Temple lights with our Arizona grandchildren as well as their Utah cousin visitors.
It was a beautiful evening and display.
My favorite part has always been the Wise Men crossing the large front lawn.
We took a walk north to the street to take in the view.
It is always beautiful and heart warming.
If I'm in Arizona next year, I will have to see if pictures with my new camera might be clearer.
We celebrated my middle son's birthday and let his family open their presents early as they were traveling to their other grandparents for the Christmas weekend. That sweet little girl is his older brother's baby and she was the best part of 2016.
This year our main gift to each family was a family history book that I put together.
I took these pictures so I can remember how I decorated this year.
On Christmas Eve we had visitors in their new Christmas pajamas, our Utah grand children. Their parents also came over for a Christmas Eve chimichanga dinner which has been a tradition for years. The Bunkers also joined us.
The next morning we awoke to White Christmas. Before church services we went to our son's home to see their gifts and to enjoy a breakfast fixed by his wife, Nichelle. It was a lovely drive through the freshly fallen snow.
There is something special about a White Christmas.
This year we splurged and bought a 9 1/2 foot tree for our high ceiling kitchen/family room. We have really enjoyed it and there was room to put all the ornaments on this tree that we have collected over the years.
That cute little mouse ballerina was my new ornament for this year.
This year we flocked our old tree and decorated it as a Hummel tree in honor of my mother and her love of Hummel figurines. My husband thought it would look better as a flocked tree which we did ourselves in the garage.
We had been invited to my sister's home for Christmas dinner. As we stopped to take a picture of our jingle bells with snow top hats, the evergreen tree broke in half right before our eyes. First there was a cascade of snow and then a swosh as the tree top landed.
What are the chances of this happening as we sat in front in the car? It was a heavy snow.
It did look a bit like someone had discarded their Christmas tree. I guess that is why someone left their tree next to it the day after Christmas.
And here is the jingle bell picture I was taking.
A winter wonderland on the way to my sister's home.
On the Tuesday after Christmas we collected my husband's sisters and went to lunch. Before taking them home we drove to Draper and the city park where we reminisced until the Tree of Life turned on. It was so beautiful just as the sun was going down. This park is full of family memories.
It was a wonderful December, both in Arizona and Utah. And now it is time for a brand new year.
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