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I love the magic of Christmas morning. I really do think that most of the magic I feel radiates from my kids. They were so excited. They had a really hard time getting to bed the night before. I was worried we'd be up at 4 in the morning. However, they did a pretty good job of waking up at a decent hour. I think they came into our bedroom at 7:45.
We were definitely spoiled this year and we feel very blessed. Some of the highlights for the kids were a big doll house for the girls and a Nintendo DS for Tanner.
Hailey loved her Barbie movie. She was so excited that it is her very own. I know, that face just radiates excitement!!!
Mickell has now had her ears pierced long enough that she can wear hanging earrings. She got a pretty new pair from Santa.
This is Ashlyn rocking out with her very own MP3 player.
Tanner loves this game set. It includes chess, checkers, chinese checkers, and more.
After opening presents and getting ready, we headed to South Jordan to spend the rest of the day with my family.
Christmas doesn't feel quite the same without a little white on the ground. This year we didn't need to worry . Boy did we have snow!!! It was beautiful, but it also caused for some white knuckle traveling. Our drive to South Jordan was pretty uneventful until we hit West Jordan. It was basically a white out there. Luckily, we had good snow tires. The people in front of us were sliding all over the place. We made it to my parents and had a great time there. We opened gifts, watched our slide shows, and played games.
That evening we went to my Aunt Janet's house for dinner. We were only able to stay there a few hours because the storm hit again. It started snowing really hard so we decided to head back to my parents house. We ended up sleeping there so we didn't have to drive home in a blizzard. We spent the evening playing Disney Scene It and all the fun new WII games that my parents gave everyone for Christmas.
It's crazy that you look forward to Christmas for so long, and then it is over so quickly. I'm grateful that we usually spend an entire month celebrating. This Christmas season was a lot of fun. I am so grateful that we could spend it with so many people. We are very blessed with amazing family and friends. I'm also grateful for the traditions that bring us closer as a family and add a little extra magic to this special time of year.
Baylen's family has been doing this tradition for as long as he can remember. I'm lucky enough that I married into it. It is a really neat tradition. Baylen's dad served his mission in France. It just happens that 3 of their sons have also served French speaking missions (Baylen, Briody, and Bergan). So, we celebrate Christmas Eve with a little French influence. We have a delicious dinner that Boyd and Terry always do an amazing job preparing. Terry makes a killer clam chowder. This is a big compliment because I don't normally like clam chowder. But, I look forward to this all year. We also have lots of French cheese and bread. Baylen really likes this part. I'm not really into yucky, moldy cheese but there are a few more mild varieties that I really like. Everyone keeps telling me the cheese is an aquired taste. Apparently I haven't aquired it yet.
After dinner we always do a nativity/sing-along program. Terry has made costumes for the kids. This year Mickell was the coveted charater "Mary." Tanner probably should have been Joseph but he really wanted to be a wise man.
So, little Landon took the part. There was a slight height difference between Mary and Joseph!
Hailey was a cute little shepherd.
Ashlyn didn't really want to participate. Maybe next year!
Here's a picture of the entire cast. I've decided it's close to impossible to get a good picture of all the kids.
After the program, we had our gift exchange. That was a highlight for me because Tina made me an amazing count down to Christmas wall hanging. I'm sure she spent days and days doing it. It is a gift that I will treasure forever. Grandma made the kids each a "hug." Ashlyn loves carrying hers around...
Each Christmas Eve, Boyd measures the kids and marks it on a wall in the kitchen. He puts their name and year by the marks. It is crazy to see how much the kids have grown in one year. Ashlyn won the award, out of all the cousins, for growing the most. She grew 7 inches in one year!!!
After a fun evening in South Jordan, we headed home to get ready for a visit from Santa Claus. Before going to bed, the kids put their stockings on the back of the couch. We also have the tradition of reading our Nativity book before tucking the kids into bed.
After an amazing Christmas lesson that one of the counselors gave in Young Womens, I decided to start a new tradition this year. I bought the book, The Giving Chest, and had the kids open it on the way to South Jordan on Christmas Eve. It comes with a CD that we listened to as we drove. I'm excited about this new tradition. The book is a really cute book that has an awesome message. Hopefully it helped my kids think about a little more than the gifts that they were about to receive.
Another tradition we have is to make cookies for Santa during the day on Christmas Eve. In the beginning, the tradition included making cookies from scratch. However, over time I've learned that scratch=mess which then =stress. So, I've started buying the dough already made. This year I went a step further and bought dough that was already cut out into cute Christmas shapes. I let the kids put the dough on the cookie sheet. They didn't even complain about the steps that we conveniently skipped over. We had lots of fun frosting and decorating the cookies.
Instead of spreading the frosting on, Ashlyn had fun licking it off.
In the end, we had lots of really cute, creative cookies for Santa. They must have been tasty, too, because we left several on the plate and they were gone in the morning. I'm thinking Santa probably put on a few pounds at our house.
It's a good thing I tried to be on top of Christmas this year because in the end I found myself behind! We had a few unexpected things happen that really threw me off (a trip to Oregon for a funeral and a new very time consuming calling). Blogging kind of got put on the back burner. But, I'm back with A LOT to blog about.
Our Stake Christmas Festival...
Our Stake has the tradition of doing a festival each year. It is actually a lot of fun. This year was especially special because Tanner was asked to sing in the children's choir. At first he didn't want to do it because he said it would be embarrassing. I convinced him to try one practice. He loved it and hasn't stopped singing since then. He's a really good little singer. He practiced for the festival a lot. He even taught his songs to the family for family home evening.
The festival was really neat. They had a live nativity, hay rides, and an old fashion Christmas village set up outside.
This picture was on the hayride...
This was at the nativity. I know it doesn't look like it, but the kids are standing next to a donkey, a lamb, and shepherds.
The music program was incredible. Tanner did a great job. There were only five or six boys in the choir and most of them decided to just mouth the words. So, there were several parts that Tanner and Preston were basically singing a duet for hundreds of people. They were very brave an did a fantastic job.
Christmas Village...
One Monday in December, Broman and Rachel invited us up to their house for family home evening. We had dinner and then went to Christmas Village in Ogden. I had never heard about the village before this night. But, it is well worth a visit each December. They have several blocks set up as a little village. There are probably over 100 little houses that are decorated with different Christmas themes.
Rachel was really sweet and bought us each a huge gingerbread cookie. It was the yummiest gingerbread I have ever had!!! While we were there we got to visited Santa Clause. Ashlyn wasn't too crazy about sitting on the big guy's lap. But, we snapped a picture anyway.
It was a really fun night!
This year Mickell decided to take a break from dance and take gymnastics. She LOVES dancing. But, after watching several dance recitals, we decided that dancing now days is probably 75% gymnastics. I'm glad she chose to try it because she absolutely loves it. I would say that it is definitely a passion of hers! She has made a lot of progress since she started in September. She has mastered cart wheels, one handed cart wheels, round offs, back walk overs, and the splits. I'm sure Mickell will continue to learn quickly because she practices ALL THE TIME! She never walks from point A to point B. She always moves with a cartwheel. I think we might need to install padding on our walls. The next things she learns are hand springs and whips.
Tanner loves basketball!!! It is the "new favorite thing" to do with the boys in the cul-de-sac. We signed Tanner up for Junior Darts Basketball again this year. This time was especially fun because his friend Preston was on his team. I was really impressed at how much Tanner improved from last year. He is much more aggressive and has a lot more confidence in himself. He made several baskets and really got to be good at passing. My all time favorite moment was when he did an under the leg pass to Preston. Apparently the two of them had been practicing that move at home. The entire crowd couldn't stop laughing. Baylen kept saying "That was awesome." I really wish I got it on video. He got such a reaction that I don't think he'll ever do it again. Go Darts!!!
You know you've gotten yourself into something big when the number of kids you are willing to have is based on the fact that you will only make so many Christmas stockings. Well, that's the mess I've found myself in with the stockings I make for my family. I guess I'm kind of a sentimental person. So, when I started having kids, I was set on them having the same kind of stockings that I grew up with. My grandma made one for each of her grandkids and I always thought that we had the most amazing stockings in the world. Each pattern is so individual and cute.
When Tanner and Mickell were born, I looked around and found the exact same brand that my grandma made us. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine them being such a HUGE project. I really shouldn't be complaining because my mom made Mickell's and Hailey's stockings. However, the three I've made have about done me in. I am happy to say, though, that I am now done with Ashlyn's!!! It is a year late, but it is done!
I love hanging them from my banister and looking at them each time I walk up the stairs (we don't have a fireplace).
I love that my kids LOVE them. I love it when my kid's friends come over and tell them that they have the coolest stockings. I guess it is worth all the work. The only problem is that my 30 year old stocking is completely falling apart. It looks really out of place next to all the rest of the family's stockings. I desperately need a new one. However, I think the task will be even more tedious when I know it's only for myself. Oh, the crazy things we do for tradition sake.
Since I was a little girl, my favorite tradition has been the night we sleep around our Christmas tree. My mom started the tradition many years ago. I have so many good memories of these special nights. I love this night so much that it might even rank above Christmas Day! So, of course I have continued this with my own little family.
Because of Baylen's crazy work schedule, we had the special night a little earlier this year. I can't remember when we started doing this, but Baylen and I added a few new things to my mom's tradition. We start a little earlier in the day and go to a movie, out to dinner, and then to see the lights at Layton Park. This is really fun for the kids because we rarely go to movies or eat at restaurants. This year we went to see the movie Bolt in 3D. We all really liked the movie and the cool 3D effects were really fun. I was excited because Ashlyn actually sat and watched the entire movie (I was sure I was going to spend most of my time in the hall like last year).
After the movie, we went to dinner at Red Robin. It was yummy as always! While there, Tanner tried to blow his straw wrapper at Baylen. He had a really powerful blow and it shot to the next table. Poor Tanner was so embarrased. The people were a mom and dad with three young boys. So, I thought they would be understanding and think it was funny. However, they were pretty annoyed. Oops.The lights at Layton Park are really neat. We just drove through this year (we've done the hayride in the past). After the park we came home for presents. Since the kids get so many gifts on Christmas, we let them open their gifts from each other on our sleep around the tree night. This year we also let them open one of their gifts from Baylen and me. I was SO EXCITED to give them a Little People Nativity Set that they can play with. I've wanted to get this since Tanner and Mickell were little but never wanted to spend the money on it. I decided that it's not getting any cheaper, so I just broke down and got it this year.
Ashlyn was really cute as she was opening her gift. When she opened it part way and saw what it was, she kept saying, "It's stuck, it's stuck."
To add to the fun of the night, we played Christmas Bingo, Don't eat Santa, Christmas Domino's, Christmas Go Fish, and Christmas Memory. I found all the games on the internet for free- JACKPOT!
Of course, we had to read The Polar Express...
We then got into our sleeping bags for a Christmas Movie. We usually watch Elf , but we just watched it last week. So, Tanner was looking through our movies trying to find another Christmas one. He found one and said, "We have one more Christmas movie, but it's a little too churchy." Very classic!
This tradition is realitivly new to my family but it's one of the kids' favorites. All credit goes to my cousin's cute wife, Julie, for an amazing idea! Each year I wrap all 24 of our Christmas books before the first of December. The kids take turns opening a book before bed each night. We then read it as their bedtime story as a countdown to Christmas. The books aren't new (we use the same ones each year), but the kids get so excited about it. When it's their day to open the book, they anticipate it all day. I find them over by the tree trying to decide which book they are going to open. They ask over and over when it is time for bed and are excited to get their pajamas on and brush their teeth. I love it! The only problem we have is that my lap isn't big enough for four kids and there is always someone who can't see the pictures. But, I guess that's what happens when you have four young kids. With this tradition, we have two books that are always wrapped in special paper. One of the books, the Polar Express, is always opened the night we sleep around the tree. The other one, The Nativity, is always opened on Christmas Eve night.
When I think about why Christmas is magical to me, most of the "magical" feelings revolve around the special Christmas traditions that we have. Many of the traditions Baylen and I have carried on from our younger years (thanks mom and dad). We have also started a few with our own little family. This month I'm going to blog about all of the incredible memories that we make through our holiday traditions. I really believe strongly that traditions make families closer. So, I think it's important to write down what some of our traditions are. Who knows, maybe 100 years from now my great great great grandchildren will read this and say, "Holy cow, our family has been doing "this" since 2008." So, here are a few of many traditions that we have during the holiday season.
One of our traditions is decorating our Christmas tree as a family. As I was growing up, I just assumed that all families did this. However, as I talk to friends and neighbors now, it surprises me that most of them don't decorate as a family. Their reason is that they want their tree to look uniform and good. I totally understand. As we decorate the tree, I have to bite my lip and enjoy the moment. It is a lot of fun and I wouldn't want it any other way. However, I'm not going to lie about the fact that many of the bottom heavy ornaments get moved when the kids go to bed at night.
Another holiday tradition we have is making corn flake wreaths. We did this for family home evening tonight. Yummy!!!
Mickell has now had her ears pierced long enough that she can wear hanging earrings. She got a pretty new pair from Santa.
This is Ashlyn rocking out with her very own MP3 player.
Tanner loves this game set. It includes chess, checkers, chinese checkers, and more.
After opening presents and getting ready, we headed to South Jordan to spend the rest of the day with my family.
That evening we went to my Aunt Janet's house for dinner. We were only able to stay there a few hours because the storm hit again. It started snowing really hard so we decided to head back to my parents house. We ended up sleeping there so we didn't have to drive home in a blizzard. We spent the evening playing Disney Scene It and all the fun new WII games that my parents gave everyone for Christmas.
