Thanksgiving, Twilight, Christmas Markets Etc...

My parents and I were in Savona, Italy on Thanksgiving Day and so Hyrum decided to save the celebration until Sunday (November 27), when we were all together again.

The master chef, busy in the kitchen.

The feast.  The stuffing was the BEST I have ever tasted!  Thank you Hyrum for such a fabulous meal, it was really wonderful to still enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner, even if we were a few days late:)

The 4th installment of the Twilight movie came out this past November.  I am not one of the "die hard" fans but I do think it's fun to go out and see a movie every once in a while.  A group of friends decided we should all go together to the 10:30 PM showing and we should have matching t-shirts.  Most people voted for the shirts to say, "Team Bella's Dads Mustache" but my shirt says, "Team Hyrum."  It's so great to get together with a group of friends for a fun and silly time.

Chanda and Tera being very silly.  They even had mustaches drawn on their fingers:)

The whole group of us in the theater after the show.  We are doing our best "werewolf" poses...like a said, pretty silly stuff.

The month of December is pure magic here in Germany.  I love all the Christmas markets that pop up in each small town.  I love all the lights that decorate the town squares.  I love all the yummy lebkuchen and stollen that all the bakeries make at Christmas.  I don't like to talk about it but it's my last Christmas here in Germany.  I am so sad our time in Europe is winding down.  The next few shots are our last trips to Christmas markets here in Europe...very, very sad.

We took the train to Nuremberg last Saturday (December 10th) to visit the Christmas market.  Julian LOVES all things "train" right now and he especially loves riding on trains.

Julian on the little train ride at the children's Christmas market in Nuremberg

Townsend dipping a candle in hot wax to add color to it.  They now have 3 candles from this market, one from each of the last 3 years.

On Sunday (December 11) we decided to hit one last market.  It was already dark by the time we got to Wildenreuth but walking around in the dark, with all the lights sparkling, is a big part of the Christmas market experience.

Townsend petting the donkey in the stables at Wildenreuth

Emerson trying his hand at archery.  He has a pretty good eye and almost got the target right on the bullseye!

Julian spent about 30 minutes in this shed that was set up with a model train.  He could have stayed there much longer but we finally told him his time was up.  Of course he was upset with us and as soon as we turned our backs for half a second he was gone.  We looked around and finally found him in the train shed, happily standing on a stool and watching the trains go by.

Hyrum and the boys warming up by one of the many fires.

We went to the Christmas tree farm right outside our town of Pressath to cut down our Christmas tree.  I love looking around for the perfect tree.  I love that we have a real tree every year.  I love the smell and I love the natural "imperfections" that make it perfect:)

The boys at the Christmas tree farm

Hyrum with our tree after cutting it down.  The sun was shining right on our little town in the background and I just had to get a shot.

Please don't ask why Townsend is not wearing a shirt.  As soon as we walk through the door, off come the shoes, socks and (most of the time) the shirt!  Maybe we need to turn the heat down in our house:)

Our beautiful tree

Last night (December 14) was the boys school Christmas concert.  I have very fond memories of my Elementary School concerts and I'm so glad my boys get to have that same experience.  They sang three songs and I have to say, Emerson was pretty silly for most of the songs.  Townsend was at least singing a little, but mostly they were both laughing and having a great time up on stage.

Townsend and Emerson with their best friends, twin boys, Aadi and Annadi (they're from Nepal.)  You can just tell by their faces how happy and excited they were to be at the concert.

Last photo, I promise.  It is now December 15th and we have only had one snowfall that actually stuck around, and it only lasted for a few hours.  Last year at this time we were wading around, knee deep in snow!  The boys were so happy when it did snow they ran out and built a snowman as soon as they got home from school.  It was mostly melted the next day:(

Townsend and Emerson with the first snowman of the season...they hope it won't be their last:)