'Twas the Week Before Christmas

Nothing like spending a day in New York City before Christmas! It was fun because Christopher's grandparents, Oma & Opa, came all the way from Germany to visit! They are so cute and I love having them around. I've been trying to remember my German, but I think I need to try harder. This would be a great time to practice.

Yesterday we all went to the Manhattan Temple. It was an amazing experience, like always. I love how the city is so noisy and crazy, but the minute you enter the temple there is such a great feeling of quiet and comforting peace.

Afterward, we enjoyed some BIG New York Style delicious pizza and then

headed over to FAO. It was Noah's 13th Birthday so we all had fun in the toy store. I especially liked the BIG Piano. I decided I needed to play with my feet AND my hands. It didn't work to just push with your hands so I tried walking on my hands and it worked!

Then we headed over to Dillan's Candy Store. Getting frozen Hot Chocolates there is basically a tradition now... and I love it! Chris was nice and let me get Mint again this year :) The candy store was SUPER packed with people, but we still enjoyed taking fun pictures and Chris decided to hop into the bathtub of gumballs... clearly forbidden haha- but the sign fell down, so it's fair game, right?

Driving around we saw a lot of beautiful Christmas decorations, although I forgot my DSLR camera battery so I was little disappointed because I wanted to capture the holiday beauty of the city :( Luckily I had my backup camera along. Chris promised we'd go back on our own though, so look for some great pictures of NYC early next week!

Well, technically it's Christmas now. I'm sitting in the dark living room, staring at the lights of the tree. I remember doing this a lot when I was little. I am so mesmerized by lights and the way they reflect off the ornaments. It's so beautiful.

This Christmas, I'm really excited to GIVE gifts. I've always been more excited about giving then receiving. It's fun to open presents and I always appreciate them...however, the most joy comes when I watch others open their presents, hoping I surprised them. I have a few special ones for Christopher too. And I love that he has 4 siblings and grandparents, that way Christmas morning will last longer!

Well, I better get to sleep...I'm sure Noah will be waking us up bright & early :)