RuthAnne Strong: December Highlights

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

We had a fun-filled month, and all our spare time was spent watching Christmas movies with hot chocolate in our little apartment. We tried to decorate just a little to add some Christmas flair!

Festival of Trees- I love this tradition. When I was in high school I designed and executed a tree for FCCLA and it was one of the greatest things, it definitely sparked my love for this great event! There are so many talents shown here, people give so much to support this. There are not only beautifully decorated trees of all sizes BUT gingerbread houses, the most delicious cinnamon rolls and scones, baked goods and treats, centerpieces, crafts, quilts, and wreaths. It really is so Christmas-y and fun!

The Salt Lake Children's Choir at Christmas at the Cathedral of the Madeleine-What a cool program this was. We know Chip from our Ward so it was so fun to see him conducting and see his amazing talent. Those little kids sounded like angels. It was such a beautiful program and the Cathedral of the Madeleine is so incredible. I want to go back and take a better look around!

The Nutcracker-We love this so much! Even though we get the cheapest seats and we are in the very back it is still so much fun and such a cool performance. If you've been wanting to go just do it! It's worth it!

Dallin's Unit Christmas Party-I'm not a huge fan of work parties, but Dallin's was really nice. They had a breakfast burrito bar and a hot chocolate bar. SO good! There was a White Elephant gift exchange too. They even gave us this super nice gift. We love Dallin's work!

Raclette Girls Night-I seriously miss my friends in my old ward. So when my sweet friend Emily invited me to a girls night with some of them I was all for it. She put together the coolest and most delicious Raclette party. I seriously want one of those pans now!

Adam's Birthday-The sweetest boy on the planet turned ONE! I can't believe it. More on his adorable birthday party will come soon!

Star Wars Awakens-I tried to surprise Dallin with tickets, but I can't keep secrets from Dallin sooo he knew but we still had a blast! I had a migraine the size of this galaxy that day but Dallin was the sweetest and helped me get feeling better so I wouldn't have to miss it. He made sure I had all the things that could help. He got some of our favorite pizzas from Pizzeria Limone and some Jamba Juice and it helped so much! He is so thoughtful and helpful. I love that guy so much!!

Strong Family Christmas Party-Dallin's family put together a super cute Polar Express themed Christmas party. Lucky Dallin got to dress up as the conductor and read the story to all the kids. He is such a good sport! They had the best tacos and had it all lined up in a train. I wish I got a picture. They did a great job! Oh and cute Chrissy-my mother in law got all the girls this adorable ladle!

Maggie's Baby Blessing-Little Maggie was blessed on the Sunday before Christmas and it was so special to be with Dallin's family that Sunday. She is the sweetest little baby. Charis had a baked potato bar after and it was delicious!

Nelson Family Christmas Party-I always look forward to this party every year. Dallin and I made some Coconut Nutella Cupcakes and they were SO good!! They gave Dallin chills! ;) Husband approved for sure! haha Dallin being the complete sweetheart that he is, noticed I was getting frustrated with my piping bag and started piping all the frosting on the cupcakes for me-AND he did a great job. I found the recipe at Your Cup of Cake here.

Here's the finished product of the white chocolate popcorn we made for my Mom's siblings.

My cute cousins gave me a date/movie night complete with a free movie, popcorn and a super soft blanket!

Christmas!-We had such a fun first Christmas-MARRIED! Dallin got me the most thoughtful surprises. I love them all so much! We scored a lot of our things on Black Friday to get all the good deals!

Yes that is DONUT SOAP and it smells like blueberries! Dallin knows me so well. :)

And just for memory sake I wanted to add some pictures of what we gave each other last year.

Dallin got- gummy bears from Sprout's, a beard trimmer and a Mario figurine
I got-An amazing bath bomb from Lush, Smart gloves, a scarf and beanie, and a beautiful necklace! He spoiled me!

Christmas Eve and Christmas with the Warner Family-We spent Christmas with my family and it was great but I got sick! It was so sad, but what can you do. Christmas was still fun though with them! On Christmas Eve we had Ham Sliders that are totally amazing and my Mom's sweet best friend Linda came and visited and brought us some of our favorite fudge!! Then we opened presents and people gave some pretty awesome things! My Mom and Dad gave each of the married couples Costco cards.

Brittany got my name in the sibling gift exchange and boy was I lucky!! She made this adorable purse and filled it with chocolates and a gift card to Sephora. AND this picture of me and Dallin on our wedding day. Love it all so much!!

My Mom also gave all the girls an apron and a towel in the cutest prints ever!

Courtney made each sister a cute decorative block!

Brittany gave all the married couples an ornament with their last name on it. I love how she wraps everything!

Let's all pause and notice these two cute faces. My favorite boys!!

On Christmas day we made these Andes Mint Cookies for dessert for my family. They were so easy and delicious!

You can find the recipe here!

Mannheim Steamroller Concert-We got surprise tickets from Dallin's brother and it was so much fun to listen to all the amazing music live and make Christmas last just a little bit longer and they were 6th row seats!