Christmas 2011

For Christmas this year we had the pleasure of spending several days with Jason's parents and his sister Charlene and her family. It was a fun-filled 4 days and although we were all exhausted afterward, we sure did enjoy being with family.

We left our camera over at a friend's house and so we didn't get that many pictures. We took some with Hanna's old camera, but a lot of them are blurry.

The first day we spent making gingerbread houses. I made real gingerbread for the adults and my house smelled fabulous!

Putting together our houses with all the fixings. The adults got real gingerbread and the kids got graham crackers. 

 Char decorating her house. She put cereal on the roof. It looked like a country cottage--so cute.

 Kamary and Alyssa

Jason, Brianna and Sam

Kohler and Alyssa

The kids loved being creative and decorating their houses.

 The house was full of activity, which made things really fun.

Brynlie preferred just eating the candy.

Alyssa's finished product.

Sam went all out.

Now there's one decked out gingerbread house!

Kohler's didn't last very long.

Wesley and his finished house.

 On Christmas Eve we headed over to Charlene's house and had a grand buffet. Jason made Buffalo Chicken dip-- a new favorite. We had Ham, Potatoes, Buffalo Dip, Crab Rangoon Dip, Slushy Punch, Deviled Eggs, Avocado Bean Dip, Piggies in a Blanket, Sugar Cookies, Fudge, Pretzel Turtles and of course to be healthy--a Green Salad. 

It was a great feast and just fun to be together. Grandpa read the Christmas Story out of Luke Chapter 2. We didn't get home until midnight. It's a good thing the kids were crashed so we could just put them to bed before Santa got there.

It was funny, on Christmas morning, my kids slept in. We didn't even get up until 8:00 am. We even had to wake some of the kids up. Hanna and Alyssa had woken up earlier and were watching a show while waiting for us to wake up--seriously?  Funny kids.

After opening presents we got ready for church. I feel bad that I didn't get any pictures of their new Church clothes or Christmas PJs. 

Grandma and Grandpa had taken some of the kids to church before us. As soon as we walked into church, we found out that Hanna had thrown up all over the chapel (luckily it was on the gym floor instead of the carpet). I took her home and she slept for a couple of hours. After that she was fine and had a great rest of the day. She was so embarrassed--I'm sure this Christmas will burn in her memory.

After church we all got together and had a Mexican Fiesta! We had a Nacho Bar with chicken, beef and all the fixings. We also had Chili Rellenos, Enchiladas, Spanish Rice and Apricot Empanadas for dessert. It was quite the feast. After dinner we opened the presents from Grandma and Grandpa and each other.

It truly was a weekend full of celebration and we were sad to see it end (even though we were all so tired).

Here are some other pictures we took of our Christmas Season celebrations.

 We went to see the Mesa Temple Christmas Lights with Charlene and her family. Here is Brianna, Kamary and Alyssa.

Kohler, Brynlie, Alyssa and Lauren. It was really nice to be there at the temple. Earlier that day, I had been a little of a Scrooge and in a grumpy mood. Going to the temple and seeing the lights really helped bring back the Spirit of Christmas.

Kohler (I tried taking a picture without the flash).

Here's a picture of our Christmas tree. I wanted a red and white tree this year. Most of the ornaments are homemade. Every year we have a mini forest with our three trees. We love it--especially when the trees are lit.

We let the kids decorate our old tree. They actually put it together, put on the lights and decorated it all themselves. Pretty good for a 5, 7 & 8 year old. :)

This Christmas was very nice because even though it was busy (like normal), I didn't feel stressed. I was able to enjoy the season and being with my family. I was filled with peace and really enjoyed making crafts, being with my family and listening to my Christmas music. This year, I was kind of sad to see it go.