2014 Christmas with the McColm Family

Merry merry Christmas! It starting snowing here in Utah on Christmas Eve- right on cue for us to have a white Christmas. We all woke up to a magical winter wonderland outside.

Of course my little sister and I went out to play in the snow. The first snow is always the best (but after a few days of snow, I'm so over it and just want the sun to come out again!:)

Christmas Eve was a day packed full of fun family traditions. First, we saw the Nutcracker downtown Salt Lake, then we all went out to Cheesecake Factory for a big dinner. After, we drove to a park and gave out packets filled with food and other items to the homeless. This was a new tradition we started this year, but I'm glad we did it because it helped remind me of the true spirit of Christmas of service. Lastly, we came home and finished them off: we had a sugar cookie decorating contest, read Christmas stories, and then had a little dance party, ha! We do these traditions every year when we are with my family and we all look forward to them on Christmas Eve.

Isn't Jenelle just the cutest? I love her wintery gloves.

The day after Christmas Dallin and I took the quads and their friends to see the "Tree of Life" in Draper. This was amazing! You can't tell from the picture, but the lights on the tree were twinkling. It was really pretty. After that, we took everyone to see Unbroken, the new movie directed by Angelina Jolie. It was pretty good, but I wish I had read the book first. Anyways, Merry Christmas!

Puppies

Our good friend's dog just had puppies, and he let us borrow the newborn pups for a couple of hours. We surprised Shane and Hannah's kids with 3 little puppies and they loved them!

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

Natasha & Jeff threw an ugly sweater christmas party this year. Natasha created this photo booth for the party- she is the best little host! 

Texas trip

I got to spend a week in Texas for work and it was so fun! I went to this little look out point downtown Austin that gave a great view of the river and hills. Wouldn't it be so fun to live in one of those pretty houses right along the water?

I was surprised that Austin has such a cute downtown! There is a pretty little path along the river that you can bike and walk...

and there's also a huge natural hot spring. There were tons of people swimming in it and I loved the greenish color of the water :)

When I went to Houston, I got to catch up with one of my good friends Melissa. She is so fun to be around and such a happy, bright person!

In Houston, I also stumbled upon this little waterwall...

and a little park that looks like a mini Washington monument. It was a fun quick trip!

Colonial Williamsburg

Over Thanksgiving break, we went with Dallin's parents to Colonial Williamsburg. I had never been before so I had no idea what to expect. You have to buy a pass for the day to be able to go into the buildings, and everyone is dressed up to represent what the time would have been like back then. It's kind of a funny place if you ask me!:)

We first explored inside the governor's palace...

and the garden behind the palace with it's colorful canopy of trees...

and we sat in the courtroom...

and explored the weapon hall...

and saw an original printing press...

and did some time.

We also went on this tour, and Russ got so bored that he put on his sunglasses so no one would notice that he was taking a nap! Ha! We were dying laughing, so we ducked out of that tour early.

It was charming strolling the streets and seeing the cute home styles (candid shots are my favorite ;)

Colonial Williamsburg is an interesting place.

The next day, we explored downtown washington DC by going to a museum and the Lincoln memorial of course!

Life Lately

Some of our best friends from Mountain View visited Utah recently. We miss them so much and had so much fun seeing them!

We went to Thanksgiving point for a bit to walk around. And I tried to get a family picture but this is the closest I got :)

My sister Jenelle and I took a little walk around our neighborhood. I love the little charming paths in between all of our houses.

And lastly there's little drives up the canyon. This is my favorite thing to do! I took a few pictures of Candice on my last cruise up :)

Oliver's baptism day

My cute little nephew Oliver just turned 8 years old and got baptized this past weekend. It was the sweetest thing! At the baptism, the cutest story about Oliver that happened recently was shared. Last week, Oliver woke up and told his mom that he wanted to do something nice for someone that day. So, he cleaned up around the house, and did a few other little things, but he didn't quite feel like that "was it". He went outside to their backyard and cut some of the roses. He then put the pretty flowers in a vase and wrote a nice note. He grabbed his gift and walked over to give it to one of his neighbors. He told the neighbor that he loved her and then ran back home. Later that day, the neighbor called his mom, Hannah, and told her how much that meant to her. She explained that of all the days, that one had been the hardest, and that the flowers really meant so much to her. She said that she knew God loved her because he sent a child to comfort her during her sad time. What a special experience!

Oliver was so happy after his baptism!

The sun was so bright that everyone's eyes are closed in this picture... oops!

When we got back to Shane and Hannah's house after the baptism, I took a few pictures of Sophia in the backyard.