Have a Very Merry Christmas!!

Schnee!

(German for, Snow!)We put her to work again. Such a good girl!Thanks for the snow boots and hat, Mimi!

Silly, Part IX

Rebecca, Where's your Baby?
I heard something in the bathroom and ran to get the camera. I was trying hard not to laugh!

This Christmas Season...

...is passing by too quickly...
like Rebecca and Jorg in this train!

Saturday we went to the mall with the intent of sitting on Santa's lap. Rebecca refused! She shook her head and said, "no!" over and over. And she was very serious about it. We didn't even wast our time waiting in line.
Oh, she is so funny! I just love her!
We'll see how she does with Santa at Jorg's company party tomorrow.
And we got our tree at the little lot just down the road!

It's tiny, it's real, it's up high so Rebecca can't mess with it, and it smells great!

We Like It!

Clips from our Vacation

Our girl is so funny and CUTE! We love her so!

Enjoy:

European Vacation

We're back! We spent 16 days in Europe seeing the sites and visiting with our wonderful German family and friends. It was so great to see everyone! We took over 200 photos. Here are just a few. If you are interested in seeing more, click here.
In Hannover (we were there and back again a few times)
Uncle Michael and Rebecca had lots of fun together.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Being spoiled by Tante Berit at the Christmas Market.
Cute Annalie on her blessing day.
In Milan, Italy. We spend 2 days and 2 nights there. Berit came along too!

I had to add this picture. Poor Rebecca never adjusted to the time change, and being dragged around everywhere. It was hard to get smiles for the camera!
Here we finally got a smile. She loved that store window.
We spent a day in Holland where Jorg did some business. I didn't get many photos but it was beautiful.
In Bremen (Berit's City). It's so charming!
Ever heard the famous story of the Bremen Town Musicians? Well it's about animals. When you put a coin in that drain, the animal sounds come floating up.





Shopping with Kristin and Annalie! She is sooooooo cute! And such a good baby.

Jorg with the two cousins. MY...Rebecca is big!
We had an overnight layover in Paris! (and don't be jealous but we ate baguettes and drank Orangina)

This picture cracks me up and shows the way we all felt by the end of the trip!

Though it was a challenge with our cutie, we really did have a good time. We are so lucky to have had the opportunity to go! Thanks for hosting us and spoiling us, Kristin, Michael, Berit, and the cutest baby Annalie.
We miss you already!

Rebecca and Annalie

Rebecca loves her new cousin, Annalie! She says, "BabY, babY!" all day and always wants to see her. She likes to coo at her and tries to touch her and climbs up on the couch to be near her. Once she even said, "mu-babay" (my baby). So cute. Annalie is just darling and is starting to smile a lot!

This is the night we arrived. Rebecca was tired and just climbed up there.

Here is the happy family on Annalie's blessing day!

You can see she is holding Annalie's hand here.

We Like It!

Let it Begin!

Hope everyone is having as much fun as we are with the decorations and festivities.
Happy Christmas-ing!

Once Bitten Twice Shy Baby

We had so much fun!

Love One Another

My grandma's funeral was on a perfectly sunny day! The program was wonderful, touching, funny, and there was some toe-tapping music. I imagined she and grandpa were sitting there, watching it together, and just smiling. Thanks for the picture, Carm.

At one point, the grandchildren stood to sing the hymn, "Love One Another". It was written by one of grandma's dear friends, Luacine Clark Fox. Hearing all the voices in unison, I was overwhelmed with the feeling that LOVE is what grandma stood for, and would want her posterity to remember and emulate.

I like this picture because my mom's brothers and sisters are all sitting behind her (except Aunt Heather might be hidden). Rebecca is smelling the flowers. And you get the feeling that this is a pleasant occasion, as grandma would have wanted it to be.

Here is my handsome husband.

Grandma and Grandpa McKinlay are buried right next to my Nana and Papa Aldrich, Uncle Van, and sister Rebecca. The cemetery is on a hillside, overlooking Provo Valley.

Emily (sis-in-law) took more photos from the day here.

The next part of the post is unrelated, but I uploaded all pictures together and so...that's how they will stay!
Rebecca & Friends: Here are some photos from this week.
Rebecca and Abbigail are cute little friends. They light-up when the other comes in the room. They play independently, side-by-side. Rebecca is learning to share toys. I think...

Here is Rebecca's cute cousin, Natalie. They're just outside the Body Worlds exhibit (too bad I couldn't take pictures in there, it was so stinkin' cool!). They are looking at Uncle Joel. He knows how to make them smile :)

We went to the library yesterday for music and movement with Natalie & Sophie, Rachael & Kennedy, Devon, and Taycee. Rebecca was such a pill that day! She even ripped a library book! But we forgive her because...she's very little, and...she's breaking 2 teeth! Poor one. That would hurt BAD. She was back to her sweet self today. . .so glad. I thought I was going to go crazy. Here is Rebecca with Sophie.

And here is Sweet Sophie's sweet smile.
We Like It!

Our Mini-Vacation

We spent last Saturday in Brigham City with Birgit and Jim (Omi and Grandpa). We had a great time! Here are some cute pictures Birgit sent me:

Jim told her to look at the moon in this picture. That's her "excited" face. I love it:

Merry-go-round at Smith's = a big happy smile!

Thanks for the fun memories!

Silly, Part VIII

Here is Rebecca showing off one of her best dance moves - running in a circle! (and please pardon my singing along...this is one of my FAVORITE SONGS...ahem...)

Sidenote: Isn't it funny how moms give up their pop entertainment? Natasha Beddingfield turns into Silly Songs. And Rachael Ray turns into Sid the Science Kid. Gotta love it!

China Doll