We arrived to Richfield at 10 pm on Friday night. Lila woke right up as we pulled into the driveway and the family was waiting for us to arrive! My mom had a chocolate cake prepared for Drew and we ate it and had a mini celebration for his birthday. It was fun to finally be home for Christmas!
Saturday, Christmas Eve!
The next morning was Christmas eve! It snowed a little bit all day long, and before we knew it, we were headed to Grandma Micki's for the annual Christmas eve party!
Lila was the little lamb in the nativity this year. It was the cutest thing ever! We had the perfect thing for her to wear and she crawled out of the bedroom wandering all over the place like a little lamb would! It was PERFECT. She is so dang cute!
We enjoyed yummy food and good company that evening and also enjoyed opening gifts from Gma Micki and Gpa Doug. They got Drew and I a beautiful teal throw blanket and got Lila an adorable wool vest to wear over her clothes!
We left in good time to get Lila ready for bed, but first we made sure to open our Christmas jammies and take some fun pictures. As I went to bed that evening, I looked outside the front windows and it was magical. The snow covered earth was glowing. Christmas was only a few hours away!
Sunday, Christmas Morning!
It was a white Christmas! Lila woke at 7 am (after waking a couple times in the night per usual), and my mom peeked her head in our room to see if we were ready to get up! We sure were! Drew grabbed the video camera and went to the bottom of the stairs with my dad. All of the kids + Lila came down the stairs to see what Santa brought!
I'm really glad we videoed because to be honest, I can barely remember that morning! It went by so fast! We opened our stockings and had fun seeing what Santa brought us all. Drew and I got a game called Obama Llama, Lila got a cute puppy that is interactive for kids' learning, Kambry got a record player holder, Kinsley got a sub-woofer for her new car, and Konner got a drone that videos!
We had to cut the morning a little short because church was at 10 am. Lucky for us my mom and Kinsley both had to speak so we looked forward to hearing from them! We got dressed in our Sunday best and church turned out great. Both my mom and Kinsley did a wonderful job. My mom ended up talking about her angel sister Keri who passed away 29 years ago on Christmas eve, and how that experience changed Christmas for my mom. It was really touching and everyone in the congregation was sniffling! But it was special and neat.
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| The multiple attempts it takes to get a decent photo these days... hahaha |
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| ^from Kinsley^ |
My whole family was excited to get home so we could finish opening presents. Lila must have known something was up because she wouldn't go down for a nap. So we went ahead and opened our gifts!
We exchanged gifts first, and then finished by opening the gifts from our parents. Drew gave Kinsley a homemade necklace holder made out of cool gemstones, plus a gold choker for her to wear. I gave my dad a homemade desk calendar for him to take to work, plus a big can of nuts. Drew got hawaiian sandals from my mom, and I got an otterbox phone case from my dad. Now my phone is Lila-proof, haha. I'm not really sure what the kids got, but it was all good anyways. Lila loved opening the gifts just as she did in Cedar, but this time she started getting tired and a little cranky at the end.
She took a good nap later that afternoon and then that evening we ate a turkey dinner with just my family. We played games that evening and then all zonked out afterwards! It was a fun and completely exhausting day!
Monday, the day AFTER.
Monday came and I was afraid that I would be sad Christmas was over.. usually the day after Christmas is always really heart breaking. But this year it was different for me. I wasn't as sad! In fact, I was still pretty happy and excited. Maybe it was because we were still in Richfield with my family. Or maybe it was because the feelings and true spirit of Christmas was living on in my heart.. or maybe it was a mixture of both. Either way, I felt happy and peaceful and satisfied.
Monday afternoon my friend Tiana came over to visit! She brought us a gift and it was fun to see her. We ended up going to Christensen's department store for a little while.
Later that evening, Drew and I got to attend the Gardner Christmas party for the first time ever. We left Lila with Kinsley and Konner and went to the party with my parents and Kambry and Shay. It was fun! I love those Gardners. They are a funny bunch! That night was so cold though, my nose stung right as we walked outside! I haven't felt that bitter cold for a long time. It was pretty crazy!
Poor Lila was nervous when we left but Kins and Kon did great with her! They bathed her and played with her.. she only peed on our bed once! HA HA... so sad. She must have been nervous when they attempted to change her diaper because she has only ever done one other time before! She was so happy to have us come back, but Kinsley and Konner did awesome and it turned out to be a great bonding experience for all of them! It was cute!
Tuesday, the day we leave.
Tuesday came and although I was sad to see it here, I think we were all ready to go back home. We were so tired and just ready to be back in our house with a routine. Lila doesn't sleep well at all when we travel or stay somewhere different and it really takes a toll on this mama.
We had lunch up at Grandma Carol's that day. It was like a mini Thanksgiving! It was so yummy. We had leftover ham and turkey, stuffing, potatoes and sweet potatoes, rolls, salad, and corn. I drank some eggnog and had a couple pieces of Christmas candy afterwards. It was heaven!
Drew and I left early to meet up with some of my friends at the Dairy for a little bit while the family stayed with Lila at grandma Carol's house. It was fun to catch up with my friends. Afterwards, we headed back, packed up the car, said our goodbyes, and got on the road.
It was sad to leave, but I was happy knowing we would be back in St. George not too late and that the roads and weather would be good for us.
We stopped in Cedar to pick up our gifts from there and drove back to St. George with a car packed full of fun stuff.
What a weekend!!! It was beautiful and perfect in every way.
Nothing beats being home for Christmas. Thank you mom and dad for everything! Thank you for helping us and loving us and playing with us and taking good care of us!!! Can't wait for next year!
Merry Christmas!
Love,
Kate
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