Christmas Morning

I love Christmas morning, and the magical time it is for kids. I love seeing the excitement on their faces. My dad decided that he and my mom should come over and watch the grandkids open up their Christmas presents. Since ours aren't the only grandkids, we were first so they could go to my sister's house too. That meant we needed to be up EARLY. Well, apparently when the alarm went off, I hit the snooze button (typical) and kept on sleeping. Suddenly I sat up in bed and realized that my parents were going to be at our house in 15 minutes! So much to do! I had to get the cameras ready and wake up the kids. Here is how we found the boys.

Of course, I had to go in and take a peek to make sure Santa really did come...

Then the kids gathered in the kitchen and got ready to go in.

Their first stop was at their stockings. Each of them got a Webkinz in their stocking. And Bryson found the letter that Santa left us. He got to read it. It was cute.

Here is a little slideshow of all the pictures of the kids opening their presents.

We were so glad to have Grandma Cheryl and PapaBob with us on Christmas Morning. I hope it becomes a tradition. It was fun to have them here.

Of course, this was just the beginning of a wonderful Christmas day. After my parents went to my sister's to watch her kids open their gifts, we all met over at their house for Christmas Breakfast. It was so yummy. We just hung out and played Wii and other games, then went over to my Grandpa's to visit. There is always more good food there, and we definitely got our fill. After that, we went home for a little while so the kids could play with their new stuff. The boys were so cute. They kept saying "Thank you Santa!" Then it was back to my parents' for dinner. It was a fun, family and food filled Christmas Day.

Santa Claus Comes Tonight!

Christmas Eve is the longest day of the year. I remember feeling that way as a kid, anyway. It just seemed to DRAG by. The anticipation is just crazy! I'm not sure if my kids feel like it's the longest day of the year, but I know they love the excitement of it all. We spent most of the day at home, and in the afternoon we read our special Christmas book. It talks about the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of the Savior. It has all the scripture stories surrounding that event, with songs in between. It's something special that we do each year to help us remember what Christmas is really all about. Later on, we went over to my parents' house (something we do every year) for dinner, games, and of course one special gift from Grandma and Papa to open that night! We had this really yummy Southwest Chicken Burrito-type dish. So good! Along with some chips and other snacky stuff, we ate more than enough. Then we watched "Prep and Landing," a cute new Disney/Pixar Christmas special. We loved it. Then it was time. The most anticipated moment of the entire Christmas Eve (next to actually going to bed and awaiting Santa's arrival, that is...) the one gift that gets opened on Christmas Eve. All the cousins gather around and Grandma passes them out, then it's ready... set... go! They can't rip them open fast enough!


NEW CHRISTMAS JAMMIES! My Grandma started this little tradition, and my mom has continued it with her own grandkids. It's a tradition that I really love, and hope to continue someday with my grandkids too. Once in a while, there would even be a little something extra in that Pajama gift. This year the kids each got something to keep them entertained and pass the time for the rest of the evening.

And here they are, modeling their new Christmas Pajamas. THANKS GRANDMA AND PAPA!

Pre Christmas Festivities

Christmas is such a fun time of year. I love all the Christmas parties we get to go to. First up was the annual Ward Christmas Breakfast. The food was SO good (as usual) and there were fun games and activities. And of course, Santa made his appearance. This was the only place we got to see Santa this year, and of course I didn't even bring my camera! Thank goodness for awesome ward members. One of the ladies in our ward was taking Santa pictures, and sent me a couple. Only the boys would sit on his lap (I guess the girls are getting too grown up). I love hearing what they say to Santa, and I'm often surprised what they tell him they want, because it's always something that's NOT on their list.

Then we had an "adult friends" Christmas party. You know, one of those ugly sweater parties, but of course, we forgot about the ugly sweater part... oops! It was so fun, though. We had different soups and salads. It was SO GOOD. Then the exchange of White Elephants, which I must admit, ended up with us getting some pretty good stuff. I wish I had taken my camera. There were some great sweaters, and the food and friends were fantastic!


The Grace family Christmas party is one that I look forward to. It was my favorite as a kid. We always had a talent show, sometimes had a pinata, often did the Nativity (with Grandpa reading it from the book of Luke), and always had great food and fun. Not much has changed. Now it's the great grandkids putting on the talent show and Nativity. And Grandpa plays Santa's helper and hands out little gifts for all the kids. It's fun to see all my cousins and their kids... and there are a whole bunch now!

Here are some pictures of the kids doing the Nativity. Our boys were shepherds, and the girls just kind of helped. I'm realizing how much they are growing up! It's kind of bittersweet.



Our contribution to the Talent Show this year, was a piano duet played by Kaitlyn and Me. We played "Angels We Have Heard on High." She did so great! Here's the video:


When it was time to clean up, Hayden wanted to get right in and help. It was so cute. He was gathering up chairs left and right and getting them over to the grown up guys to put away. He scored some serious points with Santa!

Keep checking back, there are lots more Christmas posts to come. We had a great one... hope you did too!

Twelve years ago I became a mom!

I can't believe it! I have a 12 year old! Life sure does pass by quickly. I remember when I found out that I was due on Christmas Eve, I prayed that she'd come earlier. I didn't want to be in the hospital on Christmas. She came 2 days early, on the 22nd. And we came home on the 24th. It was a long labor, with a whirlwind emergency C-section delivery, but we were just so glad that she was here and healthy. And BEAUTIFUL! Now it's hard to believe that she is all grown up and going into Young Womens at church. I still remember her as a little 2 year old with a squeaky voice using huge words that I couldn't figure out how she knew. She has grown up into a smart, sweet young lady who still uses huge words that I can't figure out how she knows! She loves to sing, and is enjoying ballroom dance. She has lots of friends, including boys (oh dear) and I love being counted as one of her "friends" (most of the time, anyway). It's fun to talk and be silly together. I love it! I just can't believe how fast it has gone. Just yesterday she looked like this:

And now she looks like this!! Where did all those years go?

I had to laugh looking at the pictures of Jared and me. We look SO young, but we were 23 and 25, so really not THAT young!! But we sure were excited to be parents. This sweet little baby girl changed our lives in so many ways, but all good. We have LOVED raising her thus far, and look forward to the next 12.

Saturday night, we threw Eryn a surprise party. Jared took her and Kaitlyn to Walmart while I hurried and decorated, and her friends came. She was definitely surprised. I set up the video camera, but there ended up being a balloon blocking her face in the video. I think she was a little mad, because it scared her, but she got over it quickly and had a fun time. They painted little Christmas Tree ornaments. They turned out really cute.

For dinner we made "calzones" or kind of little pizza pockets. The girls were so funny putting them together. I think half the stuff oozed out while they were baking, but they were yummy anyway.

They had fun playing crazy games, opening presents, and telling scary stories. They even turned on some music and danced around for a little bit... that is, until the Christmas tree got knocked over. It broke the tree stand, so we have books holding it up (under the tree skirt). It's a little crooked, and the ornaments don't quite look as well put together, but oh well. It's all good! It's fun to see Eryn with her friends. She was concerned that KC was the only one from her school that could come, but I think she got along just fine with the neighborhood girls. They are all so sweet, and I'm glad Eryn has such great friends!

Last night we had the family over for Cake and Ice Cream. We had planned to do it on her REAL birthday (Tuesday) but she was invited to go with the Young Women to a fun little activity, and didn't want to miss out on that, so we had to change it up a bit. Grandma Cheryl, PapaBob, Aunt Jo, Uncle Corey and Harlie, Aunt Jana, Uncle Brad, and their boys... and Grandpa Grace and Grandma Kathleen all came. It was fun ;)

Happy Birthday Eryn. We love you! You are a bright light in our family ;)

1st Grade Christmas Program

I love going to the cute school Christmas programs. Bryson is in first grade this year, and he brought this little "part" home to memorize. He was supposed to say "How was it the people knew?" I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, until I went to help out in his classroom for math time. They got done with their math a little bit early, and started practicing their parts. They talked about many different holiday traditions, and even some of the other religions that celebrate their holidays around this time as well. Then was Bryson's part. His line was part of a little poem about Baby Jesus being born in Bethlehem. A lot of schools would never dream of doing anything like that! I thought it was great. Of course they talked about all the other stuff, too, like Santa Claus, Jingle Bells, etc. But I thought it was pretty cool that they talked about the REAL meaning of Christmas too. I got there early enough to get a pretty good seat. Bryson was so cute. I could tell he was a little bit nervous (even though he denied it), because he was SO serious. I don't think I saw a smile once the program actually started. He did so well, and remembered his cute little line. And the music is my favorite part. I love hearing little children singing Christmas songs. I'm such a baby, I even got a little teary eyed at times. I just love it so much!


A few pictures as they were getting ready to begin:




I did video of all the songs they sang, but I'll just post this one, with the poem he was part of. Since some of the kids were further away, you can't hear them very well, but Bryson's part is loud and clear. I love that they learned sign language to do with Silent Night!!

I love this time of year. It can be a little crazy with all the fun parties and activities. On Friday morning Jared and I went to help with Bryson's class party (Kaitlyn and Eryn were both having parties too). It was really fun. Finally the kids are out of school, but things aren't slowing down. Eryn's 12th birthday is on Tuesday the 22nd, and we decided to give her a surprise birthday party on Saturday. I'll be posting about that soon!! I hope everyone is having a fun holiday season! :)

Ballroom Part 2

Eryn's ballroom team at school had their Christmas party, which included performances, so families and friends were invited to come. It was fun. They performed all the different types of dances they've been learning... Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Merengue, Tango, etc. That has been the focus of this first semester. Next semester they will start preparing for competitions (which Eryn is super excited about). She is absolutely LOVING it, with only the occasional complaint about a partner she has been assigned to. Keep in mind, these are 11 and 12 year old boys we are talking about, and the latest complaint about one of them was "he has the sweatiest hands!" That is her only complaint, however, and everything else she says, is how much she loves it! It was fun watching what they've learned. After they "demonstrated" the different types of dances, they performed the dance they did at the Lehi Family Week performance. It was fun to watch them do a fully choreographed number. Here are a few fun pictures... I had to go clear to the back of the gym to avoid other "mamarazzis" getting in front of me (LOL!)







I did video of all the dances they did, but it was kind of hard to see Eryn in most of them. So here is a little video of the tango ;) Oh... and she doesn't smile much in this one, but that's because it's the Tango. All of the other dances are done with a huge grin on her face.