Erickson Epistles: December 2014

Dear friend,

What a whirlwind of a month! A wonderful, joyous whirlwind! Elias had a conference in New York for the first week of December and was lucky enough to have his Dad meet him out there for a little quality father-son time. Back home in Santa Fe, my parents joined us for a few days.

As always, we loved having them visit! Boyd chased Nana around the house practically the entire time.

We're so grateful for the opportunity to live only six hours away from Nana and Grandpa Peter!

This was a month of mischief. The boys have become expert climbers. One morning I documented all the stops they made while walking from their cribs to their highchairs for breakfast...

Smith climbed into the dishwasher (I removed him) and then climbed into the cup drawer (from which I removed him).

Boyd climbed up onto a stool and then the counter (I removed him) and then up onto Summer's craft table (from which I removed him).

Needless to say, our breakfast prayer expressed my gratitude that no one has cracked their head open yet. Also, I should note that Summer's craft table that we created just two weeks earlier for her third birthday has now been consolidated into one toddler-proof craft box. That was way too many problems waiting to happen and I just couldn't keep up with it. I think we lost 5 markers to the boys mouths.

No worries though, they have found countless other outlets for their curiosity.

The recipe cupboard,

Summer's dress-up drawer,

and carefree shirtless, toy-stomping just to name a few.

One morning I came back into the kitchen to find Smith with the dishwasher drawer on the floor. I opened the dishwasher door to find Boyd inside. On another occasion I couldn't find the boys; I heard giggling coming from the playroom and discovered them both hiding. They thought they were hilarious!

The first few weeks were filled with our normal routine of goofing around,

wellness checks (so grateful for healthy babies!),

playing together,

crafts (Summer wore this mask for an entire day including an entire trip to the grocery store),

mini-van picnic lunches with Daddy,

trips to the children's museum with friends,

and family time. Our church encourages families to dedicate Monday night to strengthening our families and instilling values in our children. As Elias and I have tried to do this, we have really felt stronger as a family.

Then came the season for parties! It started with Summer's preschool Christmas party.

We hosted a few parties at our place and Elias made me take a "Martha Stewart shot".

We attended Elias' company party,

a community party,

and a party with friends.

On December 19th we embarked on our journey to Utah. How was that eleven hour drive with three kids you might ask? Great, all things considered. Yet, every time Summer fell asleep Boyd felt it was his job to slap her in the face until she woke up.

And Smith threw up twice. He's not sick, just a little prone to throw up. Each time, Elias and I would step out into the freezing weather to clean him off. Once he was changed, we would frantically work to clean his seat while the other two hollered to get out of their seats and Smith joyfully played in the driver's seat as though that was his plan all along.

We first spent a few days with Elias' brother and his family.

We love spending time with them and they have three boys that Summer adores.

And a new dog that they boys just couldn't get enough of.

We were also thrilled to visit with Grandma Bonnie for a bit.

Then it was on to our many reunions.

It just so happened that many of our Mormon friends from Stanford were in Utah for Christmas so it was such a pleasure to see all of them!

I was able to see some of my kindred spirits from BYU. I love you girls! We missed you Heather, Mary and Hillary!

And we were even lucky enough to meet up with friends from San Francisco. So much fun!

My mom and sister were nice enough to watch the kids one day so Elias and I could go skiing with some other family members. Though it was horrible skiing conditions, we were still thrilled to be back on the slopes after so many years away.

The Christensen family reunion officially began Christmas Eve. Everyone but my baby sister Hannah (who is on a mission in Vancouver Canada) was there and we got to speak with Hannah on Christmas Day. There are 10 grandchildren now and it was a blast! It was so fun to be with everyone.

We danced,

played limbo,

sang carols,

made a trip to the temple,

and made Christmas cookies with Grandpa Peter.

This was a tradition when I was little and it was so fun to watch the second generation enjoy it.

It's a total mess, but Summer loved it.

We loved catching up with everyone,

seeing the lights at Temple Square,

and our traditional Christmas Eve Jerusalem dinner.

Christmas morning was just magical with all of the grandkids.

Even Boyd & Smith got into it.

My mom made matching twirling skirts and shawls for all the grand-daughters and they were a hit!

It even snowed a few inches on Christmas to make it truly magical!

On December 26th we joined all my cousins, aunts and uncles in celebrating my Grandpa's 90th birthday. He is such an incredible man and I am so grateful to have him as my grandfather.

I love you Grandpa!

The ride home was great. No vomiting to speak of. With eight hours down and three to go, we stopped at Subway for dinner and as all my family ate there, I was over come with gratitude. It was so wonderful to see so many friends and family while in Utah, but I was thrilled to be bringing my absolute favorite people home with me. I am so grateful for Elias; he is the most amazing father, supportive husband and hunk of a man I have ever met. Summer is just a joy and brings so much laughter to our lives. Boyd it a riot; constantly discovering new things and bringing music into our home. Smith is so charming; always smiling and spreading love to those he meets. I am so grateful for my family. It was wonderful to teach them about the joy of Christmas and that through our Savior Jesus Christ we can be a family forever.