Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose

We had a great Christmas time around here.  We decked the halls right after Thanksgiving--both inside and out...

Cohen and his friend built a little snowman.  I love how Cohen is building a snowman in shorts!  I guess I should just be glad he put on snow boots...

Frosty ended up being pretty cute...

I got to hang out with Old Saint Nick at work...

See this poinsettia plant?  It's from last year's Christmas!  Yep, I've somehow kept this thing alive for over a year, and I don't know how.  This thing has gone weeks without water when I forgot, dealt with my overwatering other times, and has been tipped over more times than I can count--but it just keeps plugging along...

We visited the little town of Bethlehem at the Alpine Living Nativity.  We saw lots of animals, including camels...

Donkeys...

And sheep...

We got to see what life may have been like back then...

We met the three wisemen who were searching for the King...

And, finally, we came to a little stable where we found Mary, Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger...

Afterward, we went to JCW's to warm up and stuff ourselves with hamburgers, fries, and shakes...

We went to lots of Christmas parties.  This is a blurry picture from the KUTV Christmas party...

During December, Cohen's class learned about different religions and religious traditions.  One day, he brought home this hat--which I assume is supposed to be a Catholic bishop's hat...

I had to laugh when I saw what Cohen had written on the side.  I'm sure many Catholic bishops have BYU written on the side of their hats.  Haha...

The three youngest kiddos got to visit with Santa Claus at our ward Christmas party.  Connor was running around the church with his friends being a hooligan--you know, the usual...

Then the kids got to decorate Christmas cookies...

One night, we drove around to see some light displays.  Cohen and I found this house last year, so we went back to see if they had decked it out again.  Yep...

Our neighbor presents this year.  They were Christmas-themed pancake flippers...

And, this was the tag.  I'm pretty sure we offended some people with it.  Oh well.  Too bad for them...

Some pictures from the kids' Christmas sing at the elementary school.  Here's Cohen and the rest of the 2nd Graders singing "Hot Cup of Cocoa"...

And "Light Up the Tree" complete with flashlights...

Aiden and the 5th Graders singing "Mele Kalikimaka" and "Holiday Rock"...

Vivvie and the Kindergarteners welcoming Santa Claus...

Here they are singing their song.  I can't remember what it was called, and neither can Vivvie...

Our Christmas card front and back...

Right before Christmas, we went up to see the lights at Temple Square with Nana & Poppy, and Sosha & Greg's family...

It was ridiculously cold, but really fun...

I love Temple Square, especially this time of year...

The fam walking through all the bright lights...

My Mama and me...

Poppy pointing out the symbolism on the outside of the temple...

We warmed up by going into the Visitors Center to see the Christus statue.  I love this picture of Ella and Vivvie sitting at the feet of the statue...

Once we had warmed up, we headed back out into the cold...

Then we walked over to City Creek Center and played in the fountains...

And walked through the stores...

I was finally totally ready for Christmas a couple days before.  Here's our trees with all the presents wrapped beneath it.  I love when everything is done, and you can relax--even if it's just for a couple days...

So, there are some random things we did this past Christmas time.  It was a wonderful Christmas season!  --Lindsay

Cohen's Basketball Season

Cohen has never met a sport he didn't like or that he wasn't good at.  Actually, I take that back.  He didn't like wrestling very much.  He's way too nice for wrestling.  Basketball, on the other hand, he loves and he's got some serious skills too!  He just finished his season before Christmas, and he had a great time and did really well.  His coach even nicknamed him John Stockton because he can take the ball down the court so well.  Most games, he scored 10-20 points too, and he always got several rebounds each game as well.  Here's some pictures from the season.  Here's Cohen making a basket...

Dribbling down the court...

Shooting a layup...

Notice ballerina Viv in the foreground here.  She went to most of Cohen's games in her leotards because she had dance right before his games.  Haha...

Dribbling down the court...

That's some hustle...

Defense...

Another basket I caught on camera...

What do you do when you're bored at your brother's game?  Take pictures while making funny faces, of course...

Look at that look of excitement on his face after his shot almost bounced out of the basket and then somehow still fell in...

Another basket...

Cohen's team and coach.  He was one of the shortest on the team, but you'd never know it to see his stats...

Two points...

Pretty sure that's a foul, Cohen...

Too bad there are no fouls in this league, so Cohen still shoots...

And, scores...

Cohen seems to be able to really see holes in the other teams' defense, and is able to exploit them.  Definitely a gift...

Another basket from our Coco Rico...

And another...

And another...

Way to go, kiddo...

Cohen's vertical jump is pretty impressive too.  I guess it doesn't matter that you're shorter than the other kids if you can jump higher than them...

Another good shot showing his vertical jump...

Looking for his shot...

The stern look of a defender...

Look at that kid to his left.  I'm pretty sure he's twice as tall as Cohen is.  Haha...

Another shot showing Cohen's awesome vertical jump.  His face is covered by the ball, but you can see how high off the ground he is...

Another warrior face as he takes the ball around a defender...

Rebounding the ball.  Again, with the vertical jump...

Speedy Gonzales...

Mr. Serious...

The many faces of Cohen while concentrating...

Now, that's a fashion statement.  Dance leotard and skirt with pink fuzzy boots on the floor of a basketball gym.  Life with brothers...

Aiden playing ball on the sidelines at one of Cohen's games...

Connor reading a book at one of Cohen's games.  If you had told me when this kid was seven that he was going to be a bookworm when he got older, I wouldn't have believed you.  And, yet, here we are...

So, there's a look back at Cohen's basketball season.  I'm glad he enjoys sports so much.  It's really fun to watch him because he loves it so much, and his natural talent makes it fun too.  Cohen has a break from sports for a few months, and then he'll start both baseball and soccer again.  Shoot me now.  Spring sports keep us really busy around these parts!  I'm never home.  --Lindsay