Christmas With Nanny & Pappy

We had a lot of fun with my parents while they were in town.  One things we did was take them to Gardner Village to do the Elf Scavenger hunt.  

We skied a few days as well.  Twice Kendall got to go along - once to Brighton and once at Snowbird.  The other day was just Riley and his Pappy at Snowbird.  He loved the one-on-one time with Pappy while the girls went shopping.

We also got out to see lights in Taylorsville where the entire street decorates as "Twas the Night Before Christmas."  That was fun.  We also took them to Vuz for dinner after we all went skiing on Friday.  The kids behaved themselves (thankfully) and we all had delicious meals - For those of you who don't know Vuz, it's a great (and fancy) wine bar, winery and restaurant right here in Draper.  

Here's Riley enjoying some skiing at Snowbird

Post skiing fun

We also spent a lot of time just hanging out and catching up with my parents about their recent trip to Israel.  Each day they had a new present from their trip for the kids.  The kids (especially Riley) loved hearing about it.  

Since my parents were leaving the day after Christmas, they decided to let the kids open their gifts on Christmas Eve day.  Both kids were so excited and couldn't wait to see what Nanny and Pappy Hershock got them for Christmas!  Needless to say, my parents spoiled the kids once again - but as my mom says, that's what grandparents are supposed to do.  Not only do my parents spoil them with gifts, they also spoil them with attention.  One night I walked into Kendall's room to check on her and found my dad asleep in bed next to her!  Mom was persuaded to play many games of Mario Kart and build numerous creations from Legos!

Opening a cute outfit from Naartjie, where Kendall loves to shop

Riley opening his 7th Hess truck!

Yay!  Wooden dolls!

What could be in this big box?

Doll furniture to go with her dolls!

Mario Kart!  Yes!

The Maersk Lego Train set he's been wanting since our trip to the Lego store in Orlando this fall!  It's for 14 year olds and contains 1,234 pieces!  And yes, it was finished in less than 4 hours completed mostly by my 7 1/2 year old son.  He really IS a Lego Maniac!

You can't have dolls and furniture without a dollhouse now can you?  We sent her up to her room to see what else was waiting for her.  You can see her enthusiasm in this picture.  She LOVES her dollhouse.

This dollhouse is bigger than either of them - she uses a stool to get to the attic where the baby (named Cindy Lou Who) sleeps!  I had this picked out a few months ago for her and my parents were kind enough to purchase it well in advance.  Thankfully it was a good choice!

As you can see my parents really do spoil their grandkids with presents, but the time with their Nanny and Pappy is what they will tell you was the best part of their Christmas this year.  The kids enjoyed waking up early and climbing into bed with my parents each day.  All four of them would be snuggled into bed together until the sun would rise - or until my dad was in need of his coffee!  Those are the things my kids will miss the most.  We don't know when we'll get to see my parents again since we are not planning an east coast vacation this year.  We are so thankful for the ability to stay close with my parents regardless of the distance.  My parents get to talk to the kids weekly either via phone or skype (and now via Facetime with my ipad).  We are glad that we can all get along so well and have my parents be an important part of the kids' lives.  I don't know how I'd survive without their support.  They have always been our champion with each new chapter of our lives.  They are so loving and caring towards our family and we are so grateful for them.

We miss you already Nanny and Pappy!