My mom had a break at work and I jumped on the opportunity for her to come for a visit. We typically see her in the fall but her work schedule didn’t allow that this year so we got her in December which was a great consolation prize. Having family here to share in all the Christmas fun was special. I don’t typically see my family this time of year so it was fun to share with her our family Christmas traditions.

We made our visit to Santa Claus at the Bass Pro Shop – we actually found ourselves their twice since we didn’t get tickets the first day. I was wishing my dad had come to visit as well because we could’ve used his help in teaching the kids how to shoot the bow and arrow!

We were able to go to the temple one afternoon with Hallie

With Cannon not in school full time he got my mom’s undivided attention. He pulled out game after game every single day. And my mom played them – even the games she despises like chutes and ladders and guess who (it’s not as though she dislikes guess who – it’s just hard playing that game with a four-year-old who changes his mind every turn as to what his character looks like!). He loved her attention.

We pulled out the Christmas puzzle (which was really the second large puzzle we did while she was here) and my mom and I both found ourselves sucked in to all 1,000 pieces. Steve can’t understand the draw puzzles have – I’m not sure he put a single piece in it’s place.

Our niece was performing her handbell concert at the temple lights which was a great night for our annual visit. There seems to be more lights every year, but it’s quite magical to see all the lights wrapped around every tree and plant.

Hunter decided to take my mom on in PIG. I think he thought it would be an easy win. My mom proved otherwise. No kid wants to admit that their grandma beat them in basketball but we made Hunter say it more than once!

It was the longest visit we’ve had from her when there hasn’t been a newborn baby involved. And we loved it. We shopped, we cooked, we took lots of walks, we assembled Christmas cards, went to the kids activities – spelling bee, soccer practice, tennis practice, we went to church activities and most importantly we played. She got to observe our daily life on an intimate level and I treasure that time together and having it be during the Christmas season was just a bonus. Now I’m just trying to figure out how I can get more visits out of her. 🙂