For the kids' 2 week Christmas break, Dan was able to get 11 days off in a row! This is a big deal, because Dan hardly ever takes days off! So we decided to relax and spend time together for the whole break and have no plans.
Dan's break started the Friday before Christmas and he would get to go back to work the same day the kids go back to school.
The Thursday before, I went to my weekly stake volleyball activity with my friend Sue and her two oldest kids, Tiffany and Ben. On our way home the roads were icy and we got into a big accident (more on that in a future post). Gratefully, we were all alive and ok enough to walk away without serious injury (except the van), but we all had our own share of bumps and bruises!
I'm so grateful that it worked out that Dan was able to be home and I was able to get some much needed rest.
And rest we all did!
On Christmas morning, we woke up to find our stockings filled with yummy goodies, and of course a stick (because we all had a bit of naughty and nice moments during the year)!
With Christmas being on a Sunday this year, we only opened our stockings and then got ready for church. Here are the kids in their Christmas church clothes. We then were able to open our gifts after we got back home. The kids were all so grateful for what they got this year. We didn't have any cases of the "gimme-gimme's" and they even shared their favorites. I loved Avery's excitedment this year too! It was so fun to watch - I wish we thought to video tape it. She would run all over the place and get into this and that, but when it was her turn to open a gift (we take turns one at a time so all can see what is given) she plunked her bum right in front of daddy and grinned big as she was handed her wrapped gift. Then she tore into it with glee. It was joyful to watch her so excited.
We were grateful to relax afterwards. Usually we host a small dinner with friends who, like us, don't have family close by. This year we hosted it on Christmas Eve to avoid stress on Christmas Day. It was great! I think we'll do this every year! We had the Smiths and McKays over and it was pretty low-key with an impromptu music jam! Mitch played piano (he's actually getting his doctorate degree in piano performance), Heather played flute, and I played viola to Christmas songs while others sang (in the kids' case sang and danced) along. It was lots of fun!
We were grateful to relax afterwards. Usually we host a small dinner with friends who, like us, don't have family close by. This year we hosted it on Christmas Eve to avoid stress on Christmas Day. It was great! I think we'll do this every year! We had the Smiths and McKays over and it was pretty low-key with an impromptu music jam! Mitch played piano (he's actually getting his doctorate degree in piano performance), Heather played flute, and I played viola to Christmas songs while others sang (in the kids' case sang and danced) along. It was lots of fun!
One thing the kids have been looking forward to (FOREVER!) was their campout with daddy in the basement. They all got superhero jammies for Christmas, so it became a super hero slumber party!
They were so excited! We started by watching Cars 2. But during the middle of it, Roswell (Superman) started throwing up. We paused, cleaned up, then watched the rest of the movie. A little while later, Elliott (Spiderman) started throwing up. This was not the kind of party we were expecting! Again we cleaned up and then mom took off to go to sleep. The boys wouldn't be deterred, they still wanted to slumber.
This is the scene I left - garbage cans ready! They really did have fun though. Donovan ended up getting sick the next night. I hope we are done with that icky bug!
Super girl joined the party in the morning while the boys competed in MarioKart.
Avery loves babies! Here she is feeding a baby.
She is in a new stage where she stops what she is doing to give her "cheese" smile. Love it!
While I was cleaning upstairs, these snuggle bugs fell asleep. So cute! And it was only 10am!
And today, my Roswell joined big boy-hood and became a Sunbeam at Church. He has graduated from the nursery and has joined the ranks of the primary kids. He couldn't stop smiling today! His crown says that he is a Child of God. And a very handsome one too!
