Chistmas Post

We decided last minute to spend Christmas in AZ. As much as I hate the drive there (all 12 hours of it)... the 60 degree weather sure is a nice break from our 20 degree and under weather here in UT.

The night before, Jack and Clara got some new PJ's. Jackson of course was OBSESSED with his super man PJ's. Santa brought Jack a remote control car. He loved it.... as did the rest of the kids.

Clara was content once she found her giant lolly. And don't you LOVE her owl PJ's... adorable.

Nana Lisa with Jack Christmas morning. She gave Jack this spiderman sweatshirt. He was in heaven. He is crazy for super hero's, it makes me laugh.

Lisa gets all the girls matching PJ's every year. This year we got silky black Victoria Secret sets along with cute pink slipper boots. THANKS LISA... I look forward to this every year!

The next day we went over to Scotts dads house. All the kids adore Katie (scotts step sister). The all sat around eating popcorn and watched The Night At The Museum.

The drive there was miserable. Going home was a little better. I think my kids were so worn out they didn't have much energy left to cry.

We drove straight to Heber to spend time with my family. Melissa and Dave came in to spend a last Christmas all together before my little brother goes on a mission.

Christmas Eve is a big day for us... since we were not all together for the actual day, we celebrated it on Monday. We made all of our favorite appetizers... stuffed mushrooms, chicken won tons, salad de maison, fruit slush, shrimp, and more! Its always very delish.

After dinner - we opened presents. This year all sibling and cousin gifts were homemade. Although it was a bit more time consuming than running to the store and buying whatever I find on sale... it was sooooo fun! We all decided it was the best Christmas. I made aprons for Henry and Jetta, a camping pillow case for Judd, and hair clips for Candice. Some of the other gifts given: banana bread, a stuffed dinosaur and snake, CD's, and more hair clips.

Melissa made Clara an adorable stool for her room or bathroom... I will have to take a picture and post later. And Adam made Jack a rocket.

We made my parents a DVD of their marriage. It took some time searching for all the right pictures... but once we found them I scanned them in, and then sent it over to Melissa and Dave. They put the movie together. It was awesome. I am pretty sure my parents loved it.

This is us watching the DVD.

The next day we took family pictures. My mom got all the kids matching sweaters and hats. I will post the results when they are finished.

We shot off the rocket that Adam made for Jack. It took a while for it to work... I think it needed more battery than he had. But he figured it out and we got one great BLAST OFF with it.

Jetta and Clara had matching PJ's. This was not planned.

We went swimming one day. It was super fun. It took Clara a bit to warm up to the water - but once she did, she was all over the place.

Judd took Jack down the slide. He was just OK about it. He went down 2 times and then figured his time was better spent on the playground with the smaller slide.

They have a 1 meter and 3 meter diving board. It took a little coercing, but once I was on the boards, it was pretty fun. But it sure has been a while.

Christmas Vacation overall:

Very fun. Very Exhausting. I am glad we made it to AZ... which included little Gwens baby blessing. Utah was cold, but it was fun being together as a family for one last time.

This Christmas was fabulous. Much better than I had expected, we have so many friends and family that help us and are there for us. We have really felt our Father in Heavens love and are so grateful for all those around us.