Christmas Weekend

On Friday, December 22nd we packed up (the whole house + Christmas gifts) in our car and headed to Cedar. We celebrated Drew's birthday that evening with his family with the traditional sushi dinner and steak. Mark unfortunately couldn't come because he wasn't feeling well so it felt a little different this year because he wasn't there. But it was still yummy and fun anyways!

The next day was Saturday. We celebrated Christmas this day with his family! We waited until the evening so Katie could be done with work and so Mark and Cally could come over. We ate a delicious dinner. Roast and turkey, fancy potatoes made by Bill, and green bean casserole. After we ate, we sat around the family room and exchanged Christmas gifts. We gave Mark and Cally accessories for their new GoPro. We got Katie a gift card to Walmart, and we got Bill a gift card to Home Depot. We got Linda an Amazon Echo and together we gave Bill and Linda a painting of the new Cedar City Temple that I made for them! We received a big frying pan from Katie, movie theater gift card from Mark & Cally, plus a new game we need to learn how to play. They all also spoiled Lila and Nollie with wooden puzzles, a plush kitty, and other things. (Thanks guys!)

Bill and Linda got Drew clothes and accessories for working out (and to use towards his goal of completing a triathlon in April), and they got me some pretty throw pillows for my couch and a gift card to Christensens. They also made me some shelves for Nollie's room!

They got Lila a little red trike, some clothes, a little doll family, a small red purse, and Bill got her a proof silver dollar from 2016-- the years he was born. That was special!

They got Nollie some books, a keepsake box, and Bill got her a coin set from all the coins made in 2017-- the year Nollie was born. That was special too!

We enjoyed some pie after we were done opening presents. It was a fun evening!!

The next day was Christmas Eve. We got all packed up and made our way to Richfield. The roads were clear and the weather was good the entire weekend. We were lucky! We spent the afternoon visiting and hanging out. We eventually went to Grandma Carol's to visit for a minute before heading to Grandma Micki's for the annual Christmas party at her home. Nollie got to meet her Great Grandma Carol and Great Grandpa June for the first time! Grandma Carol loved holding her and said she looks just like how her babies did! And the hair too! (She said this about Lila when she was a baby too! Just minus the hair, hahaa)

Nollie got to meet her Great Grandma Micki and Great Grandpa Doug too! Grandma Micki held her for a long time. So long that Nollie actually smelled like her for the rest of the night, ha!

The Christmas party was fun. We ate yummy food, visited with family, opened gifts, and also surprised the grandparents with a special project we had all were a part of-- a video compilation of each family member reciting a part of "The Living Christ." We showed them the video and they both got really emotional while watching it. So did everyone else too! My aunt Katie and her husband Bri put the video together and also added a picture of Aunt Keri at the end as a tribute to her. It marked her 30th year since she passed away on Christmas Eve :( So that was really emotional too. But the grandparents loved it and it turned out to be an amazing gift for them!!

After the party we went home, opened Christmas jammies, got dressed in them, took some pictures, and then went to bed!

The next morning was Christmas! Lila woke up first right around 7:30 am. We woke everyone else up too and got ready to head down stairs to see what Santa brought! Lila was so cute when she saw that Santa had brought her a dollhouse! Plus the dollhouse had actual photos of our family on the walls! Santa is so creative!!

It was such a magical and fun morning seeing her excitement on top of our own! We took our time opening gifts, playing with toys, and being visited by family. We exchanged gifts-- We gave Konner jelly beans and a dispenser for them, and we gave Kambry a thread wallet and lanyard. They were both so happy about their gifts ha! I was proud! I got a shirt and bath bomb from Kambry, and Drew got a jazz shirt from Kinsley. We all pitched in and got our mom a new coat and some perfume, my dad a shirt, and a gun cleaning kit, and together we got them an amazon Echo. Turns out they got one from Santa too so now they have two! And actually they got us one as well so we have two now also!! haha

Lila got some fun toys-- a shopping cart and fake food she can cut through. She loved it! She also got some clothes, socks, and some new kicks! Nollie got some clothes too. It was a successful Christmas!

We eventually got ready and went to Grandma Carol's for Christmas brunch. It was DELICIOUS as always!!! I always love eating crepes with the traditional strawberry goodness and whip cream on top with a cup of egg nog and a cup of wassail to wash it down. YUM!

Lila was cute while we were there and wanted to watch the other little girls (Ryklin, Anna, and Braylee) play. But she was really shy too so she insisted that someone always be with her like me or Kambry. It was funny.

We spent the afternoon opening more gifts back home, visiting with more family, taking naps, and eating lots of treats. (Did I mention how perfectly perfect Grandma Carol's Christmas candy is?! Oh my gosh it's to die for!! I have already eaten my entire plate of rocky roads that I brought home, ha! Three days later. Woops!)

I got to visit with my friend Tiana for a little bit which was fun! Then my mom made a yummy Christmas dinner-- ham and corn casserole. Unfortunately she had been feeling sick all weekend so she didn't do much besides keep her distance from all of us but especially me and the kids. Nollie is only 5 weeks and if she got sick it would be scary! But it was really sad that she wasn't feeling well and wasn't her perky self :( Hopefully next year she'll feel better!! But despite her not feeling well, I'm just glad she was able to be there. Because after all is said and done, it's not what you do or where you are, but WHO YOU'RE WITH that matters, and being together made me happy!

We ended the evening with Tim Tam Slams, played our new game Mustache Smash, and finished by playing Life which Drew and I had received from Santa!

It was a great Christmas. Lila was so fun to watch, and I nursed Nollie most of the time. It was just a wonderful time being with family! We came back home to St. George the next day with happy hearts, and our car full to the brim!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Kate