What a great Christmas it has been for us this year! I have loved being home for the holidays, though I do miss all our family out there. There's something to be said about not rushing through airports or worrying if the presents will fit!
This year, we were all about relaxing. We made sure that all the presents were bought and the Christmas cards mailed by the end of November. We also set up the tree and decorations the day after Thanksgiving. We were set!
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| Steve's the 'wise guy' in the middle |
Over the next few weeks, we watched a lot of Christmas movies (
It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Frosty, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas, The Christmas Story). Thanks Netflix! We watched the First Presidency Devotional and listened to the Tooele County Choir's Christmas concert. At our ward party, Steve played one of the wise men with the bishop and first councellor. We didn't stay for Santa, it was too crazy. Later, Steve and I went to see the Nutcracker Ballet put on by the Utah Regional Ballet in Orem. They did a great job! This was our first year of doing Advent. It was nice to have the candles going, but we kept forgetting to light them until the evening! I hope next year to tweak some things and do better.
On Christmas Eve, we had a surprise! Santa must have heard that Anna didn't get to visit at the ward party, so he came by the house. Anna was a little unsure of him, so she sat on my lap while she talked with him. We gave him some goodies to take back to the North Pole and he gave Anna a candy cane. She liked that the best! During the day, we watched
Christmas on Sesame Street, a present from Daddy to Anna. She enjoys Sesame Street so much. This was our first fondue on our own and we did pretty well. The food was yummy, even though Anna only ate a little. Steve and I stuffed ourselves on meat, veggies and dip, crackers and cheese, and sparkling cider. After getting Anna to bed, it was time to get the presents out and assemble Anna's table and chairs. Good job, Daddy!
We had church the next day at 9am. We decided to open presents
after church. It was quite the trick to keep Anna out of the living room! When we got back, we all changed back into our pajamas and opened presents. Anna enjoyed getting things out of her stocking (utensils, socks, hair bows, play dishes, and candy) and ripping the wrapping paper off of her gifts. Once the MegaBlocks were spotted, though, we had a hard time getting her to focus on opening the rest of her gifts! Her favorites seem to be the MegaBlocks as well as her table and chairs set. Steve got some Super Soakers, CDs, a computer game, and books. I got CDs, computer games, Yahtzee, and several gift cards. It was a nice morning.
After opening presents, Steve went to bed. He had been battling a cold all week and felt terrible that day. He ended up sleeping for 9 hours during Christmas day as well as all that night! We took him to the Urgent Care on Monday and discovered he had strep. No wonder he felt terrible!
Steve took the following week off. We spent our time shopping, watching movies, and sleeping in. It was great!
We had such a great Christmas season and are looking forward to many more!
Soon after Anna went to bed, we broke up into smaller groups to play games. Steve headed off with Brian, Talmage, and Angela to play Risk. Michelle and I played The Amazing Labyrinth, Zeus on the Loose, and other easier games with the younger kids. After games, we watched The Incredibles and played the candybar game.
