"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."
-Norman Vincent Peale
This past month has been fantastic. I love the holidays and all the family time and reminders of the Savior it brings. We celebrated Christmas here in Henderson with the Reynolds this year. It was particularly special because Dan & Krystal just had Saffron on the first so it was her first Christmas as well as the first time we were able to meet her. The innocence of Saffron and Calvin brought a special spirit to our home this Christmas!
To start off the week we all went out to a nice lunch at the revolving restaurant inside the Stratosphere. The atmosphere there is so incredible, not to mention the view as the restaurant revolves around 360 degrees and you see fabulous views of Las Vegas.
After lunch we drove to the Ethel M chocolate factory and took a tour. At Christmas time they light up their cactus gardens and it is so beautiful.
Dan & Krystal on the chocolate factory tour.
This is how Calvin & Saffron enjoyed most of the days festivities.
The cactus gardens are soooooo beautiful, but I would hate to be the person who has to take down the lights! Christmas here in the desert is surely different than Christmas in Hawaii was!
That night we built some gingerbread houses together, which is becoming a tradition for Mike & I; they seem to be getting better as the years go by!
Krystal and I also enjoyed doing a fun photoshoot of our delicious babies! Aren't they just the cutest?
This is Saffron's "THAT'S HOW BABIES ARE MADE?!?!" expression.
Cousin love!
They are getting along so well!
All I want for Christmas is this little boy!
Dad, please.
Calvin only does photoshoots for so long...
Such a sweet baby girl.
Mama knows how to make her baby smile!
We all enjoyed lots of quiet moments by the tree and just enjoyed companionship with the little ones and the bright twinkly lights. I love this picture of Calvin getting some late night cuddles in with his Grandpa Jim.
Lisa sent Calvin this little monogrammed robe and he looks SO adorable when he wears it!
We gave the babes baths at the same time! They obviously had split opinions... : )
Saffron wonders why her cousin is so dramatic sometimes...
He is such a long little boy!
Mommas and their squeaky clean babies!
Christmas morning was one of the best!
We continued our tradition of wearing hats... Mike got the pink one from my Grandma when we were dating and he wears it every Christmas. It makes me tear up every time : )
Grandpa & Baby Saffron
Our first Christmas as a family of three.
Another family's first Christmas as three!
Calvin was a little wary of the festivities!
We got Dan a game he already had & he had even brought it down to show it to us! Fortunately we got him a different version so at least there's that!
Krystal made this cute baby + me sign that will be hung in Calvin's nursery, I love it SO much!
I made Mike this t-shirt quilt... Lots of love, time & a few cuss words went into this project! I love learning new skills and hopefully this one will be cherished for a while!
Enjoying the last moments of Christmas.
The day after Christmas we received a visit from the Mariners, a couple who Marianne & Jim served with on their mission to Samoa this past year. They were the sweetest couple, and work in the Las Vegas temple now, so hopefully Mike and I will be able to see them occasionally!
We also took a day to go to the Circus Circus and ride the 'El Loco' roller coaster upon Dan's request (Dan has an affinity for roller coasters - in fact, one time I sent him a picture of a piece of a coaster at Knottsberry Farm and asked him to identify it. Within seconds he had text back 'That's the Accelerator 305 at Knottsberry Farm. Have you ridden the perilous plunge yet?') So needless to say, we found ourselves on a roller coaster during their stay! It was pretty cool to see what Circus Circus was, I have been wanting to go there for awhile!
We also saw some Christmas lights in a unique way by driving around the Las Vegas Speedway! We got hot chocolate and listened to Christmas music. It was nice to just relax by driving and not have to walk around! Plus they had some really cool displays.
In cleaning out storage this year, I found a shirt that Marianne had bought when she was pregnant with Mike, in case they had a girl. She bought both of these shirts at the same time, but the one Calvin is in actually got worn by both Mike & Dan so it's a little tattered. We put the shirt on Saffron to see if Marianne would recognize it... then took some pictures of the cousins in their shirts from 1979!
I like how it totally looks like Calvin is grabbing her butt in this picture!
Here is the note that was written explaining the story behind the shirt.
It was such a fun Christmas and we all really enjoyed being together. We kept pressuring Dan & Krystal to keep extending their trip (it worked for a few days) because we were all having such a good time!
This Christmas I am especially grateful for the Savior and His love for us - which made these celebrations and special times together possible. I know that He lives.
Merry Christmas!
