Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve I took the kids to play at the mall while Steve, my dad, and my brother Dean, put together the kids swing set. We then went to my parent's house for Jesus Supper. After dinner we always read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible and sing carols. We decorated gingerbread men and sugar cookies. I love my family's traditions. We went home and put the kids to bed. Christmas morning we got the kids up at 7:00 and opened gifts. They were so excited. Except Jakob, he was still a little sleepy. After they opened their gifts we told them to get their coats and shoes on because we had a surprise outside. They were so cute. They loved the swing set. As Jaxson said at the end of the video, "That was awesome."

Twas the night before Christmas.

The kids loving their gifts.

The big surprise!

We had church at 9:30 so we had a quick breakfast and got ready. We took a few quick pictures before church started. It is impossible to get all three kids to put their hands down, look at the camera, and smile (or at least look normal) at the same time.

Sacrament meeting was lovely. We came home and had our traditional waffle breakfast for lunch. After lunch we went to my parents house to skype with my brother, Carl, who is serving a mission in Brazil! It was so great to see his face and hear his laugh. He looks skinnier then when he left, but he is doing great. After the call we opened more gifts and hung out until dinner. Our best friends, the Simpsons, came over for dessert. I made a peppermint cheesecake with an Oreo crust and a chocolate cake from my sister's recipe blog. They were delicious! My friend, Nancy, brought eggnog and pumpkin creme brulee. It was amazing! We than took our sugar filled-hyper children home and put them to bed. Steve and I stayed up watching the movie The Help that he got for me. It was such a memorable day. We are so blessed with wonderful friends and family. Tonight my sister and her family come into town and we get to spend the week with my siblings and their kids. We are so excited! Now I just need to clean my house while my kids play with their new toys and Steve plays his new PS3 games. Tomorrow the party continues!