Dave and Marisa went for a run

Some people might be interested to know Marisa and I ran our first-ever-long-distance-relay-run this past weekend. If said interested persons are truly as said, then I'd recommend this rough video narrative. Thanks to our good friends Jim and Marie for including us in a very fun (and tiring) weekend.

Day 13: Zoo Lights

The boys love animals more than almost anything (parents included). Marisa loves Christmas lights more than almost anything. So it was pretty much a win-win from the get go:

Days 9, 10, 11, 12

Okay, so to catch everyone up on the nightly events, here's what we did the last half of last week:

Day 9: Introduced the boys to How the Grinch stole Christmas

Day 10: A long line to see Santa at the South Towne Mall:

Day 11: Making Christmas ornaments at Grandma Linda's house

Day 12: Christmas concert sing-a-long at our local LDS stake center.

Day 8: Nativity in the Glen

Just a handful of blocks from our home, there's one night of the Christmas season that we'll make sure to never miss again. The Nativity in the Glen is a collaborative effort, put together jointly by the First Baptist Church, Wasatch Presbyterian Church, St. Ambrose and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Churches, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bonneville Stake.

These four church groups come together to create a live nativity that is wonderfully spiritual, complete with live animals (including camel), a beautiful manger scene, and an impressive cast of well-robed volunteers. Here are a few photos from our memorable evening:

The boys decided they wanted to dress up and go back in time to the nativity

We were lucky enough to have two great family friends come along with us, Amber (Sammy's Primary Teacher) and Jasmine (former Jibe employee)

Oliver is wondering why that shepherd has hockey gloves on

Dave and Jasmine and Oliver and Oliver's cup of hot chocolate

The boys were so excited to see the baby Jesus. Oliver was especially excited to see the donkey that they had parked next door

Day 7: Delivery of Living Christmas Ornaments

With the soon-to-be arrival of Eliot, we decided to take an easier route with this year's neighborhood Christmas gift. With the invaluable assistance of my talented mother-in-law, we crafted Air Plant Christmas Ornaments. Take one glass Christmas Ornament (supposedly they were on sale recently at Michael's), and some "air" moss and plants (purchased at Cactus and Tropicals) and here's what you get basically:

Day 6: Miracle at 2600

Ever since we started this crazy advent calendar idea a week ago, Oliver has been begging to "ride a horsey." It began the Family Home Evening before last when he saw the horse-drawn carriages in front of Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City (another must hit during the advent extravaganza).

Well, his ride finally came at Miracle at 2600, a festive one-night only event in Bountiful. Here's the exciting footage:

Day 5: First Presidency Christmas Devotional

What's not to love about an apostle of the Lord extensively quoting Dr. Seuss and the Grinch during a Christmas devotional? You can catch the full Christmas message featuring a living prophet, two apostles, and multiple breathtaking numbers by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir by clicking here. 

Did the boys sit still through the entire devotional? Does peanut butter go well with white pepper? They did make it through most of the closing song and prayer, I'll give them that.