Christmas in Delaware!!

Christmas this year was a little different for us without ALL our family around to spend it with. But we made the most of it and really had a WONDERFUL Christmas. Of course, on Christmas Eve the kids both opened up a present containing a new pair of jammies. Jane was in Princess bliss the second she opened hers and has worn them ever since. Beckham just looks so cute in his Woody jammies!!

We had our own little Shepherd's dinner...a Harper family tradition that I truly cherish :) It was alot of fun.

Jane shared hers with Ariel...
Here's one of the kids just jumping around being crazy!! Jane was so excited. She kept saying "We are having a really fun night!"
Of course we read from the scriptures of the birth of Christ and read a few sweet nativity Children's books the best we could amidst some very riled up kids :) And Jane put out her cookies for Santa...
Here's Ryan reading, "Twas the Night before Christmas" to the kids before bed.
On Sunday morning, Christmas, we let the kids open their stocking before church. They both loved these umbrellas they got from Santa.


I got ready for church at the crack of dawn so I could just worry about getting our kids fed and ready for 9am church.
After a crazy day at a lovely Christmas church meeting with way too excited kids, we were able to start the festivities...
Beckham's big present from Santa was this darling retro red kitchen. The kids have loved it!!
Jane got lots of Disney stuff, naturally and was happy as pie:)
Her bog present from Santa was this Disney Princess Barbie castle...so cute:)
My sweet mom made pillow cases for everyone and Jane loved her Disney princess themed one...
Ryan's favorite toy from Santa this year was a remote control helicopter...I am happy to report that it is still functioning and in one piece:)
Beckham with some Woody Accessories that he wore for .3 seconds...

Though we missed seeing grandparents and family desperately this Christmas, we were very blessed and had a very merry Christmas :) We were able to talk to almost all our family members on the phone which was the icing on the cake of this wonderful day :) We miss you and love you all. Thank you so much for the sweet, thoughtful gifts and for just being the best family ever!!

Tis the season to be jolly...

We have been having so much Christmas time fun her in Dover!! Jane had a little gift exchange with her bestest friend in the whole world, Addy, who lives up the street :) It was so cute. And Jane has been more than thrilled with her gift...a Barbie Fairy Secret dress!! Every morning she comes into our room fully dressed in her new dress... However, the real gift, clearly, is having such a sweet and wonderful friend living so close :)
Last night, we were able to go to Maryland to see the DC temple lights with Matthew and Courtney and all the kids. We love having them so close (ish) so that we get to see them so often. We started out adventure off with a trip to Cafe Rio...Aaaaah it reminded us of good ol Utah:) Yummy!!
Next we went to the beautiful DC temple. I LOVED seeing the temple...it too reminded me of home!! The grounds were beautifully decorated with lights and this beautiful Nativity Scene.
The lights all around were simply stunning. It was so great to be there with Matthew and Courtney and all the kids.




Jane and Charlotte loved the statue of Jesus!!
There was a room full of nativities from around the world!! The boys were crazy...but it was still very cool.
Jane and Charlotte held hands the whole time...
This was my favorite nativity from South Africa- made from thousands of tiny beads!!
Just a nice shot of the gorgeous temple...
I was surprised to see that Matthew and Courtney had bought me an ice cream cake for my birthday :) And Charlotte made me this sign...so sweet!!
Here's my darling cake!! It was so wonderful to have family to celebrate my birthday with :) It was just really nice. Thanks SOOSOSOSOSO much Matthew and Courtney :)

Today we visited Santa at the mall and the kids had a blast with this adorable santa...

And we visited Dover Downs which was amazing and beautiful and there was this full sized gingerbread house...the kids could hardly resist jumping that fence and eating it up!!
We are gearing up for our first lonely Christmas without all our family...however, the same Christmas traditions will be going on at our house so we will be thinking of you all and missing you. Love you all and have a Merry Christmas!!

Jane's Christmas Program!!

Last Friday, Jane jad her school Christmas program!! It was oh so darling and I loved having Ryan there, too. He was able to get off of work for a few hours for her program. Jane was so excited when she saw us there in the audience ready to hear her sing!!
The program was so cute. They had all sorts of songs, with bells, sticks, candles and actions. Jane's little class even recited a little poem together with actions...it was just too cute.

Here is what Jane decided to do with her candle stick...
I had to throw in this pic...Of course Jane got bored and had to find alternative forms of entertainment while on stage...It was so unfortunate that Jane had to have a huge hole in her tights and be LITERALLY front and center...Not really a mother of the year moment :)
This was one of Jane's favorite songs to sing, Jolly Old St. Nicholas. She really got into the actions :)

Here's Jane's class reciting their poem...so darling.
What a wonderful day this was. It is so amazing to watch Jane grow and learn- she is really getting so grown up :( I am a proud mama!!

New York, New York!!

On Saturday, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to New York and spend the day with my brothers Bryan and Matthew and their darling families. It was such a fabulous day and we had so much fun!! Thanks Bry and Wendy for all you hospitality :)

This is just a picture of the Christmas wreath I made for our front door since buying one was too darn expensive :) I'm pretty proud of it.
We left out house early and got to New York at around 10am. We managed to get a parking spot right outside their building...that's Ryan's luck kickin' in again:) My darling nephew Jack loved having cousins to play with him.
We all had a great time just chillin' at Bryan and Wendy's beautiful apartment!!
This is the amazing view of the Brooklyn bridge from right outside their building. Amazing, right?
This darling 100 year old carousel was a short 2 minute walk from their building! The kids had so much fun!!
The carousel happened to be named Jane's carousel...
Here's the gang boarding the subway to go to the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
The kids were all so good and cooperative while riding the train...In fact, they were mostly fascinated by it!
Beckham was such a trooper and never made a peep. He is a BIG fan of choo choo trains, so he thought this was pretty cool.
After fighting our way through hoards and hoards of people we managed to finally make it to the Christmas tree!!

We also made it to the FAO Shwartz toy store. It was super crazy but very cool! Nothing like it looked like in Home Alone though :) The city was all lit up and so beautiful!
Once we got home, we ate delicious Indian food and had a little party for Edward's birthday!
And of course, my so sweet sister-in-law bought matching jammies for all the kids to have a photo shoot in. They all looked SOOOOOO dang cute!!
We missed Braden, Ashton, Tyson and Mae, but overall the pictures turned out great!
Well another AMAZING weekend full of lots of adventures. Living in Delaware definitely has its perks being so close to so many cool places. And it is so nice to be close to family :)