We spent a wonderful Christmas holiday with all of my family except my brother, Mike who is on a mission in Scotland. We made some great memories together. Let me tell you all about it!
We drove down before Christmas. We packed the car with every possible item we would need and somehow it all fit. The girls did great on the drive, and I took a picture of my view when I turned around to look at them. We had a blue bird stowaway.
My Mom is a wonderful host. She makes it easy to stay and feel comfortable in every way. She provides amazing non-stop food and treats. And her home was decorated top to bottom in Christmas decor! Lovely.
Brielle feels right at home. She knows right where the toys are and digs in.
They had recorded the BYU bowl game and we watched it together. We screamed, cheered and cried by the end.
I made baklava like I do every year. YUM.
We started a new tradition this year. We did a murder-mystery game. I love doing those with groups! We got a Christmas one, and it was hilarious and fun. We dressed up in our characters and the accusations were intense.
While we talked about murder, the girls happily played in the middle with all the toys they could find.
Here's the whole gang. We've got some great in-laws who are good sports in this crazy family!
We made a visit to my Dad's new office building he's in contract to purchase and renovate. It was fun to hear all the plans and see where the office will be.
Brielle & Rosalyn were running all over the open space and loved climbing on the counter tops.
It took Marie, Jeff & Claire to keep them contained on the center island.
We went out for Thai food on Christmas Eve. It was fun and yummy!
Brielle was exhausted from all the partying. She took a little snooze in Jeff's arms.
We came home and had a fun Christmas Eve program. It was a variety show with various talents displayed. Hilarious.
I tried to get a picture of both girls by the tree. This was the best one.
I do like this one of Brielle, though!
We exchanged our gifts to each other. Homemade gifts! I got a Family Home Evening chart that Kate made me, and Jeff got the outdoor game Koob - hand cut from my dad! We are excited about both gifts!
We put the girls to bed, and we all stayed up so late just talking and playing games.
Christmas morning came early. We didn't know when Mike would call from Scotland, but we were given a window of time. So we got up and opened presents from Santa until we heard from him.
The girls got a big lego set. This has brought them hours of entertainment. Brielle will build, and Rosalyn will tear down. They make a good team!
And then it was time...the most anticipated moment of the holiday! We got to skype with Elder Bates! It was so fun. He was his same old self, and looked great. We heard all about his mission and what it is like in his area. He just got transferred a few days before Christmas, so that was hard. But he was really upbeat and positive. He is very cold all the time!
And then it was back to the rest of the presents. We were so spoiled!
Brielle got some puzzles. She LOVES puzzles and could do them all day long.
Brielle got some puzzles. She LOVES puzzles and could do them all day long.
We gave Brielle a little Daniel Tiger toy and we gave Rosalyn some musical instruments.
And they both got slippers. So did I!
Three girls in slippers!
Jeff gave me some great gifts. He always does such a great job. He got me some new sneakers, a platter, a hair dryer and an online photography class. Awesome!
And then he had one more surprise gift for me....a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with the girls in his family at the end of January! I was in shock!! All the husbands planned it - so sneaky! :) My first cruise!!!
I gave Jeff some new clothes, Monopoly Empire game, some tech gear and a print of our family mission statement. That was a fun surprise...we wrote it when we were first married, and he's wanted it displayed in our home ever since. I found a place to print the design I wanted. Here's the finished product below:
After he surprised me with the cruise, I surprised him with a trip of my own! ha ha...He's always wanted to go to the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting with Warren Buffet. This year is the 50th anniversary of it, and I knew he really wanted to go. So I sneakily bought flights and hotel and arranged for my parents to watch the girls. I'm going with him, and I'm really excited! Yes, we are nerds. :)
We spent Christmas Day playing with the gifts we got and trying out new board games. Here's Monopoly Empire...it only lasts 15 minutes and I love it. Super fun, I recommend it!
We also played Headbandz. This was hilarious.
I chased my girls all over the house, keeping them out of the breakables. :)
We had a yummy Christmas dinner. You can tell how excited Jeff is to eat!
The day after Christmas we played with the girls outside.
The boys raced their remote control cars they all got from my parents.
Brielle wanted to help Grandpa set his up.
Boys & remote control cars go together. They drove them all over the deck and yard.
Brielle liked driving Jeff's. She would chase it around.
Jeff and I stayed behind with the girls, but everyone else went on a hike in the backyard.
There's this old, abandoned RV campsite if you hike to the top of the hill. Cool pictures.
My Dad brought back this tin can. I like this picture of him:
And I like this picture of Brielle:
But my favorite is this picture of the two of them together:
My Mom watched the girls, and the rest of us went bowling! It was so fun. We had a couples competition...Jeff and I won. :) But Kate was the highest bowler out of all of us! Who knew she was a bowling rockstar?!?! That was fun!
We went through some model homes down the street that are being built. Wow, they were gorgeous and we had a blast seeing what new updates are out there. Jeff made himself comfortable:
Then we went to see a movie. We saw Night at the Museum 3.
And then it was time to head back to our place. We had such a fun time, did some great things and laughed and ate a lot.
Another fun Christmas for the books!
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