Christmas Festivities

On Christmas Eve, we went to my mom's house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange. We always have a good time just eating, relaxing, and then...yes giving in to the kids' pleas to please open presents now! Mom cooked a spiral cut ham, funeral potatoes, little weenies and artichoke dip with crackers. Oma and Opa (my grandparents) brought Oma's "green salad" (cottage cheese, green jello, cool whip and pineapple...I think...). I took rolls and a veggie tray. And my sister, Mindy, brought a tossed salad and desert (potato bug pie...yummmm...our favorite). The kids always have a fun time with their cousins. (My sisters' 3 oldest kids are quite a bit older than mine and then her youngest 2 are close in age to Karlee and Carson).

Grandma and Grandpa gave Karlee and Carson new bikes. Carson was in desperate need of a new one. He got one last year for Christmas, but he rode it to death last summer. The tires were worn clear down to the tread! Karlee wanted a bike with a basket on it like her best friend, Saige's bike. Grandma couldn't find one with a basket, so she bought a basket and had grandpa attach it.

I made a scrapbook for each family; Oma and Opa, Mom and Steve and Mindy and Kyle. I made each one different so that it was personalized to each family. They were a huge success and a great gift because us grown-ups really don't need anything. (Neither do the kids...for that matter).

Once we opened gifts and ate our yummy desert, it was time for the daddy's to load the treasures up so that we could head home and get to bed before Santa came!

Once home, the kids opened their Christmas jammies and we got ready for bed. Below they are modeling their new jammies...

Christmas morning, the kids patiently wait at the top of the stairs so that we can get pictures before they came down to see what Santa brought them.

Wow!!!! Santa brought an iPod Nano for Karlee and a camera for Carson. Hhmmm...they must have been good this year!

Carson made mom and dad a plate at school and Karlee made us a Calendar. These are always the best gifts! Karlee also got a docking station for her ipod, a globe that lights up at night to show the constellations and air hog helicopter. Carson of course wanted only Transformer's. He got a few new ones as well as the Blue ray edition of the movie. (Did I mention that Trent got a Blue Ray player?) Trent gave me an iPod nano (what a surprise) and a docking station for it. I've never had an MP3 player and never really saw a need for one...but I love it!

But...I think Carson's favorite gift by far...was from Daddy...and the whole BYU Football team...and autographed football; signed by the players and coaches. Carson just kept on saying, "oh yeah...oh yeah". It was too cute! Trent took pictures to send to the coaches and players to thank them. Thank you coach Reynolds and his daughter, Brittany!

It truly was a wonderful Christmas. We reflected with our children on how truly blessed we are! We reminded them that not everyone is as blessed and we tried to help them understand the true meaning of Christmas.