Santa Came!

We woke up early on Christmas morning before the kids and found that Santa had come! He had brought the kids a whole bunch of playmobils and one wrapped gift each.

 I love how magical the lights make this scene look.

 Wake up, kiddos!! Time to see the surprises.

 I think Santa chose well for the kids! They were all super happy with their gifts. 

Grace: ukelele 

Logan: Osmo for the iPad

Boston: his own scooter

We ate a traditional breakfast of sticky buns, juice and hot chocolate, and fruit. 

 It was a white Christmas! In fact it snowed the entire day and we ended up with several inches by the end of it.

 We got the kids 2 new games: Bugs in the Kitchen and Catan Jr.

 We had a wonderful Christmas day together! Lots of playing, relaxing, and hanging out together. I sure love my people.

Cookies and Milk

 I had a special gift for Ryan and the kids: new fluffy, soft blankets for Grace and Logan, a weighted blanket for Ryan that he's been wanting for months, and a giant stuffed Hulk for Boston! 

 Grace had handmade a couple of gifts for her brothers. They were so cute! She made Boston a paper snow globe with a hand drawn image of Boston inside it. And for Logan, she gave him a box of coupons to hugs and playtime and such. She is so thoughtful!

 Before bed, we played a few rounds of Hearing Things and even Boston got in on it! He likes to put the headphones on, watch out lips, and repeat "Bananas" over and over as if that's what we were saying to him. hahaha It was hilarious.

The kids put together a plate of snacks and a bottle of milk for Santa and the reindeer. They were SO excited for Christmas morning, and so were Ryan and I!

Christmas Eve-Eve with Family

 Our little family spent the weekend before Christmas in Salt Lake so that we could attend the Turner, Goates, and Symes parties. These are the times we are so thankful to live close enough to make quick trips, down and back!

When we got into town we went with my parents to the Grand America Hotel and saw all of the fun windows.

 We followed the map (or tried to at least) to find all of the hidden objects.

 He was the only one who would pose in front of the tree. :) 

Saturday night we went to the Turners' house for the family party!

Cousins' cave at Grandma's house

We ate dinner (breakfast casserole and sweet rolls) read and performed the nativity (Logan played Joseph, Grace was the angel), played a gift exchange game, and then all of the presents were handed out.

 

 We loved hanging out with the family!

On sunday, we went to my parents' ward with Claire-Bear and Thomas and Whitney. Look at these cute, festive kiddos!

That evening we stopped at Great-Grandma Symes' house for a quick visit with Symes cousins and snagged a photo with 4 generations! 

Also that evening was the Goates family dinner and Christmas party at my mom and dad's.

These littles enjoyed having their own little space to eat.

We shared some talents with each other and of course the kids all stole the show! Grace and I sang Away In A Manger with a little harmony.

Everyone exchanged family gifts and the kiddos received gifts from my parents. Grace and Logan were SO excited to get Playmobil toys, and Boston loved his Paw Patrol cars. We also spent some time playing the game "Hearing Things" and laughed SO hard! 

All of my siblings and Ryan and I went in on a gift for my parents: a professional photo shoot for our family reunion next fall! I created a little framed picture so she had something to open up and get excited about. Grace drew the people for me.

On monday (Christmas Eve), we slowly packed up the car and headed home to Twin so we could celebrate Christmas Day at home. The kids prefer having time to relax in the basement with the toys, so they were perfectly happy with an easy morning and their new toys.

 Grace to me "Mom, this playmobil looks JUST like Lily Croshaw!!" haha It kinda does. I texted Jess with the photo.

 The drive home took us through snowy weather, but it was short-lived and we got home and got ready for our first Christmas in our new house!