speaking of museums...

In September of 2012 we decided to buy family passes for the Reno Children's Discovery Museum--and boy, are we ever glad we did!  Within the first few weeks of having the passes we had used them enough for them to pay for themselves.  Anyway, one of the perks of buy passes for the museum here is that they are reciprocated with any of the Discovery Museums in the U.S.  So, we were excited to have our passes with us on our Christmas trip to Utah since that meant we could go the museum there.  The kiddos had a blast exploring, and we had a blast watching them explore!  Children's museums were such a great idea--to whoever thought of them: thank you!

That same afternoon we also headed over to the new City Creek Center in SLC to have lunch at Chic-fil-a and try out the new kids' play area.  We approved of both;)

hutchings museum...

While in Utah for the holidays, we made a visit to the Hutchings Museum of Natural History--also known as "Aunt Leah's Museum," since it's where Jordan's sister works:).  The museum was hosting a Children's Christmas Workshop, so we decided we'd better go!  The girls had a ball crafting, watching the puppet show, petting Leah's bird, and exploring every nook and cranny of the museum.  The girls and I even made the paper, along with cousin Esther.  You can see the article here. There are all kinds of perks when you know a gal;).

early christmas...

December 2012 was a busy month for us!  We made plans to celebrate Christmas in Utah with Jordan's side of the family.  Not only were we looking forward to spending time with them, but we also learned that it would be our last opportunity to celebrate Christmas with Mom and Dad Stutz for a while, as they would soon be leaving for their second LDS mission; this time to Sofia, Bulgaria.
The girls did a great job decorating the the tree and decking the halls:)  They are such holiday enthusiasts and love any excuse to celebrate.  When it comes to decorating--they are your girls!
Since we were trekking to Utah for the holiday, we decided to let the kids open their presents from us/Santa at home so we didn't have to pack them on our way back.  So Santa came while they were in the bath the night before we left on our trip.  It was so hilarious to see their reactions when we told them Santa came while they were busy taking a bath.  They were absolutely thrilled with every gift (there were only 3). But I think their absolute favorite was the secondhand dollhouse we received from a neighbor.  Our girls love imaginative doll-play--girls after my own heart!!  And it's true what they say--Christmas is so much more fun when you have children!