Whirlwind of a Weekend!

They say it is supposed to snow tomorrow.  I hope so!  It is so brown outside.  Last week we got a tiny bit one day, but it didn't last long.  Bryce was so excited the day it snowed, he went out and shoveled the walk.  He could have spent the whole day out there. 

However it is gone now and back to brown!  We are ready for a white Christmas!  Bring on the snow!
This last weekend was super fun-it feels like it was a whirlwind!  We couldn't wait for it to come,  and now it is gone!  It seems like it all happened so fast!  Here is a little review of our fun...
We had our annual Orr Christmas party and a special guest came at the end...SANTA!  The night before this party was our ward Christmas party.  At the ward party, Bryce went to sit on Santa's lap.  When he was finished he came down and said to me, "Mom, that wasn't Santa!"  I looked at him with a curious look and said, "Oh, really?" He said, "No!  It was music leader in Primary!"
Sure enough it was, but how did he figure it out!  I had to remind him Santa had lots of helpers.  The next night was the Orr party and when Santa walked in, Bryce turned to me and said, "Mom, THAT is the real Santa!"  Oh, thank goodness!  The real Santa came!  We knew he was out there somewhere!  Here he is with the kids...Bryce

Kallie

Malorie

And cousin Lizzie, who was NOT a fan!

Santa even talked to Grandpa to see if he had been good this year!

Sunday we had our Poulsen exchange with all of my siblings.  We are not all on the same rotation at Christmas time so we all got together this weekend.  We had a great time playing games, eating, singing at the cemetary, and opening gifts.  Before our gift exchange we bundled everyone up and headed to the cemetary to sing at our grandparents' grave and some of our other relatives.  Here are a few shots while at the cemetary...Grandpa, Christopher, Max, and Grandma

Bridger and Conner

Some of the cousins

Me and my kids

Back at my parents' home we had our gift exchange.

Christopher and Courtney and Max had our family.  They got us a great game to play outside...ladder ball.  We are really excited!  Thanks Christopher and Courtney and Max!  Fun idea!

Grandma and Grandpa had gifts for each of the grandkids...the annual pjs...

Bryce is so excited this year!  I love his excitement over everything!  He was all smiles all night!  You can just see the excitement in the picture!  I love watching him!

Grandma and Grandpa also gave each of the kids a toy!

Thanks for the great gifts Grandpa and Grandma!  The kids loved them!
Last night for FHE we went caroling to 3 homes down our street.  We do this every year and invite 3 families to come with us and back to our house afterwards for hot chocolate and donuts.  This year one family we invited had a wagon and horses...so they hitched them up, put on hay bales, and we went caroling!  It was so much fun!  We took these in the dark so they aren't the best photos, but so fun!

Some of the kids giving Aunt Edna the plate of goodies we brought while caroling!

I love this time of year to be with family and friends and to celebrate all of the wonderful blessings we have because of our Savior.  Enjoy these days leading up to Christmas!  One of my favorite things about this time of year is watching the excitement in our children's eyes.  So many people have told us to hold on to that because it makes Christmas more special...I am totally agreeing!  Children are wonderful!