Christmas At Papa & Yaya's

We got on our shoes and ran over to Papa & Yaya's for Christmas lunch/dinner.

See. We literally ran over.

We enjoyed playing for a little while, but Eli was ready to eat....

We enjoyed a lovely meal of steak, potatoes and other assorted fabulous food. Even thinking about it gives me a food hangover. Not to mention the yummy cheesecake.....mmmm.....

I love the above picture. Maria was trying to get Eli to look straight ahead. :)

Afterwards we watched the kiddos open a gazillion presents from everyone.

Talk about LOVED!!!

I think Elijah must have gotten at least 5 new/big trucks/cars.

 

The girls got tons of Brave stuff.... it's what they asked Santa for.

But Yaya is classier than Santa. Plain and simple.

 

Santa Speedo hooked up the kiddos with tons of fun toys. Yaya Sofia got everyone beautiful clothes and tires for Joe's car... which we've already put to good use.

But the greatest Christmas gift this year is......

 

 

FAMILY!!!!

We are so blessed. Heavenly Father loves us so much.

 

When I think about all the happiness we enjoy, I know it is only possible through 1 person. And that is Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for His life. I'm so grateful for knowledge. I know He lives. I know we can live again too. This life is but a moment. I know all the joy we have here is just a preview of what is to come. I think about Mary and what must have been going through her mind as she held her precious baby. I think about The Savior's last few words on the cross and how in His last moments He charged for His mother to be taken care of. I know motherhood is the greatest blessing. It is sacred. It is a privilege. My thoughts are scattered but my heart is full. We had a wonderful Christmas and it's all thanks to Heavenly Father and our elder brother Jesus Christ.

Christmas Morning

The girls are so good. We talked about waking us up before they head downstairs and they did just that. I guess Christina has a friend who's parents lock the children in their rooms until the parents have slept enough. We all shivered. I was happy, we were up at 7AM. The girls were so patient so I could get my contacts in and Eli changed.

I knew Eli would love his kitchen. I found it at the thrift store for $3. It took 20 minutes of deep cleaning, but EVERYTHING (including 50 stickers) came off. It looks brand new!!

Eli did a great job unwrapping this year. His sisters loved helping him! They did so good just starting it for him and encouraging him. I'm so blessed to have such great kiddos.

We got A LOT of great gifts from family as usual. My Aunt Pam & Uncle Bob sent this huge package and we were all in 7th heaven! The girls & Eli got Nike running shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maria would sprint EVERYWHERE after she put them on. We also got personalized chef hats and a super cool Napa & Sonoma Snow White cookie cutter and cupcake set!!! Yes. There will be a party.

And what is Christmas morning without a great shot of this hottie. This year we did "date" gifts to each other because we haven't been on a date since Eli was born. I went the cheap route and said we'll run together and got him a scale.

....

I know.

Then he got us a gift certificate to the Atlantis for a couples massage. He's so thoughtful. The night before he totally pretended that he had forgotten what we were doing for gifts... I was a little peeved. He's such a stinker!!

The kiddos had plenty of goodies to keep themselves occupied while I cooked our usual breakfast. Yummy sausage, bacon, eggs & stuffed french toast!

The Night Before Christmas

For the month of December we had an Alphabet of Christmas Scripture chart. Every night the girls would read from that chart. We also have a book we read from weekly about The Nativity. So, the night before Christmas, we switched things up and decided to have minute to win it games!

We played Cutie on the Shoulder.

Marshmallow into wreath game.

Icicles with Ski Glove hanging game.

Stack a Christmas Tree game.

Star of Wonder balance game. It was great because Eli wanted to do everything too! He's such a party animal.

We set up for Santa. The girls were super hyped. They were great helpers though and cleaned everything so our home would be sparkly for our special guest!

Santa magically flew to our home and ate his yummy treats. Debbie, our baker, stopped by with some delicious cookies! We thought it would be great if we gave Santa some. I have a feeling he loved the cookies!!

Neighbor Gifts 2012

 

Ah Wal-Fart. How I love/hate thee.

Price matching for these beauties took 40 minutes. I figure, if I spend more than 7 minutes on something, I'm going to get it done no matter how long it takes.

Poor Maria and Eli.

Mommy is eccentric.

 

But on a happy note, gifts for the neighbors were super cheap!! And easy!!

The Nutcracker- An Evening of Refinement for Ladies

We got on our best dresses, best jewelery and best fanciness.

I feel like it's been ages since I've gotten pictures with the kiddos.

Yaya and Papa treated us out to The Nutcraker at the Nugget.

It was just us ladies!! 

I have such good memories of the Nugget. I spent countless times there as a kid. The buffet with Yaya and Nono. This golden rooster....

Yaya treated us to some fancy drinks. The casino worker offered us beer, wine & countless other alcoholic beverages. After a minute or two Yaya was like, so..... do you have any kid friendly beverages?

 

Our seats were fabulous!!! And I couldn't believe how BEAUTIFUL!!!! everything was about the ballet. It was 100 million times better than the pioneer center. Plus, there was this beautiful African American girl as Clara. It's so nice to see diversity. I'm glad my kids can see that ballet is for everyone!! I really want my girls to join this company. The kids were flawless and it was such a well organized, just gorgeous performance.

 

We had a few casino workers tell the girls how beautiful they looked. I'm just grateful that their beauty shines from within. They are true delights and the best company for Christmas festivity!!

 

You know it's a good night when.....