We kicked off Christmas in our new home by decorating the tree, then gingerbread houses with our wonderful friends the McArthurs. Later that week we enjoyed watching Azure in her kindergarten musical "The Gingerbread Man". She had only been at her new school for one week and the teachers kindly offered her a pass. Did she accept their offer? Oh no. She practiced at home and everyone was shocked when Azure got up on stage that evening to sing and dance right in line with her fellow classmates. It was awesome. We of course had to go try out the heated pool in our community and just as suspected, like summertime, the kiddos would live there in the winter as well if they could. We experienced our first major snowfalls where snowmen and sledding were happily enjoyed by all. Many treats were made and after a trip to the zoo one day we snuck over to a delicious bakery where we shared yummy treats that we didn't make. By that time it was Dad's days off, so we loaded up the van, five kids, and a dog and headed for Southern Utah where we spent an amazing Christmas break with Mom and Dad Ballard. Steven's younger two sisters were there as well so we enjoyed Grandparents, siblings, and cousins all in one incredible visit. Every time we hang out with family the kids return home repeating the same sentence they did before, "that was the best day ever." I'm SO grateful that we have this opportunity to live within an hour to a days drive from our wonderful family members. We returned after a week and enjoyed New Years Eve with the awesome McArthur family. Their Dad was heading to work so we used the 2014 ball drop from YouTube and rung in the New Year at 9:30pm! It was AwEsOmE! The older kids were happy to oblige and the younger ones didn't know the difference. How grateful we are for this life and the daily experiences and memories we get to enjoy. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Ballard family.
