December

{cleaning out the yard and having a fire}

 {Christmas wreaths!!}

{beautiful leaf colors}

{making Christmas goodies to give away}

 {trying to have kids start to learn piano...they're not that enthused}

 {preschool Christmas party}

{Dad came in town for work, stayed a couple extra days to be with us}

 {Curt took him in to see the shop}

 {Evie got a trim}

{lovely weather for a walk}

 {making a yummy jalapeño popper dip for a Christmas party} 

 {Playing games}

{putting together a new bookshelf for Evie, Christmas Eve}

 {all ready for Christmas morning}

{bright stocking stuffers from grandpa}

 
{the aftermath}

 {driving to Florida on Christmas day}

 {Waffle House stop on the way}

{Des went in to work with Curt on New Year's Eve and got to sit in a simulator}

Florida trip - Katherine's wedding

We drove down to West Palm Beach, Florida on Christmas day.

This is pretty typical, we frequently do Christmas morning at home and then join Curt's family, but this year was extra family gathering as Curt's little sister, Katherine, was getting married the day after Christmas.

{round two of present opening, this one with cousins at the Hostetler grandparents}

{candy prepping going on for the candy bar at the reception to occur on the 27th}

{cousins that haven't been all in the same place in many years}

The day after Christmas Curt's brother, Andrew, and I went and picked up the flowers and greenery for the reception that would be held the next night and stashed them at the church for a day.

That night Katherine and Michael were married in the Ft. Lauderdale temple by Grandpa Hogie. 

{waiting for the newly married couple to exit the temple}

 {Curt's cousin, Sophie, and aunt, Jenni}

 {Des and Riley}

 {Taylor and Evie}

 {Curt's uncle Brent and Grandpa Hoglund}

{post wedding feeding our faces}

The morning of the 27th was a family effort to put the reception together at the venue.

 {the blank slate we showed up to}

While I was at the venue putting together all of the florals, my sister-in-law was doing the dessert bar, and Curt and his brother (Andrew) took the kids to see the manatees.

It was hurry, hurry, hurry, and get everything ready, then hurry, hurry, hurry, run to the hotel and get showered and run to Curt's parent's house to get the kids dressed.

But we made it and after all that hurrying there was some time to kill with the kids before we were needed in the family pictures with the hired photographer.

The girls sword fought with roses and the boys watched a show on a phone.

 ...and then more waiting in between pictures... 

{Taylor's face shows how she feels about that} 

 Then it was time and people started to show up, we had a nice dinner, there were toasts and dancing....

...and my introverted self hit my party limit and I brought the kids to the hotel and put them to bed.

But Curt stayed and had fun visiting with people and watched the cake get cut and the bride and groom getting serenaded by a mariachi band and sent off through a glow stick tunnel.

 {kids dancing with their great-grandpa, or maybe they were doing ring-around-the-rosie in this instant}

 {Megan}

 {Sophie}

Friday we took Curt's cousin, Sophie, with us and met up with Uncle Mark and his wife Anita at the beach.

It was super windy and the waves were big.

Sand and salty seawater mist got everywhere, but it was fun and beautiful.

 {got some rice and beans on the way home}

Family all played the candy ball game.

 {Curt's cousin, Josh, was so good to play with the kids, they all loved him}

 {McKay helping grandpa take down Christmas lights}

Family watched the kids while Curt and I went on a quick shopping date to the outlets.

And little by little groups headed out for home.

We stayed in our hotel one more night and got on the road back home in the morning.

 {Evie saying goodbye to Sophie}

Some of our good friends, the Ramos', were driving down to south Florida as we were driving north, so we met up for lunch at a spot just off the highway.

At that same pit stop Curt took the older kids to see some baby gators and to buy some Florida oranges.

And then we were home and the kids were ecstatic to play with their Christmas presents that they had opened then promptly had to abandon when we needed to leave.

It was a really good (and exhausting) quick trip.