Christmas Fun

Christmas morning pancakes

Jorge's parents house tree

Christmas Eve dinner w/ all the family this was taken just a little after midnight. The tradition in Ecuador is to begin your meal around midnight on Christmas Eve.

Family photo shoot

Christmas program for the kids in Chanduy

Jorge's family

Stella giving out cc's

On Sunday afternoon we drove to a tiny town outside Guayaquil to have a little Christmas celebration with the children. We met them at the Catholic Church. Jorge's cousins performed a puppet show, we sang Christmas songs and we passed out food. Stella loved the puppet show but not so much the puppets up close. She also dawned some angel wings and helped give away candy canes. I couldn't have been more proud of her, she didn't take any for herself and didn't even complain in the end when the box was empty and she didn't get one.

Fun at the park

These are photos from the cute little park in our neighborhood. It's just around the corner from our house.

I can't believe its December!!!

Ecuador has such awesome weather. This is us 10 days before Christmas, crazy.

Rebeca's Birthday

Holiday Boutique

Ano viejo

Stella and I went out on a walk and encountered this guy. In Ecuador they burn a symbol of the old year at midnight on New Years Eve in preparation for the new year. Apparently every year they come up with more creative symbols of the "old year". I'm pretty sure this guy doesn't even fit inside the house and that's why he is out on the sidewalk.

The good life

This is a pic of Stella and I having breakfast in the backyard and it's the middle of December... I love it here!

Stella eating brussel sprouts

 I'm so pumped that Stella ate brussel sprouts. My parents fed them to us growing up and we all liked them but most people today think it's so weird that I eat them.

The hotel gym

I never posted these cute pics either, when we went to Utah for Thanksgiving me, Garrett & Parker would go to my parents hotel every morning and workout. They loved it!

Church History Museum

I was going back over my pictures and forgot to post these beauties.

Secret Santa?

Christmas came a little early this year for Stella. Jorge's aunts came over this weekend with their daughters and brought Stella a fully stocked kitchen, I think one of them might be her secret friend. In Jorge's family everybody gets the name of one child and one adult to give a gift to. To be continued...

Big girl

Stella trying to put on her own shoe.

Temple Square

Last Sunday night we went to look at the Christmas lights on T.S. 

Hangin w/ my cousin & her family in the Assembly Hall waiting for a children's choir to begin their program.

Kelsey pushed Stella all over Temple Square.

We went out tonight & walked around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights, it was so fun. I love this season! (Notice what we're wearing, it's good to be in Ecuador)

Goes w/ previous post...

Plane de-icing

I'm home! After sitting on the runway for over an hour in SLC so that we could get snow out of our engines, off the plane and de-iced we finally took off. When we landed Stella & I had to run through the airport to catch our next flight. We didn't know when we started our run if we even had a chance... During our exodus to our next gate we discovered other people that were running to, a few of them were super helpful and helped me up escalators w/ a stroller so I didn't have to wait for an elevator, carried my bags on the plane and offered more help when we got off the plane. There are good people in the world! So the run was worth it and we caught our plane. On that flight Stella kicked the tray of the guy next to us and his entire drink went into his lap. On the Miami to Guayaquil flight she also managed to grab my glass of water and fling it onto me and Nelson, the guy next to me. He was the nicest guy, so nice that after my IPod ran out of batteries, Stella didn't want to read or do anything I got out my brush and suggested that we brush our hair. After she brushed hers and then mine she reached over and attempted to brush Nelson's (LOL). Im laughing just thinking about it. Anyway the silver lining was seeing Jorge waiting for us on the other end.

Cousins

These little chikies happened to be wearing the same shirts on the same day... To cute.