Christmas Memories 2011

I am slow getting to this post, but I want to make sure we write this Christmas down for the books. It was a fabulous holiday for us! We stayed in South Bend and celebrated with just the five of us. Bryan had from Christmas Eve to January 2nd off! It was so great. The time went too fast.

Christmas Eve we took the kids to a movie. That's a tradition I grew up doing and it's a great idea because it uses up a lot of the time that day so the kids aren't going crazy waiting for Santa to come! Then we went to our neighbors' house to visit for a while. They were so sweet and they gave each of the kids a gift. Then, it was finally time to open up Christmas pjs! (You will see a lot of Captain America in this post. He doesn't go many places without his costume these days.)

We decided to let the kids draw names for each other this year. Here they are showing off what they got. Benny loved his guns that Niah gave him.
Before the girls went to bed they set their alarm for 6:10. It went off and they didn't wake up! I was so surprised. I reset it for 6:30 and they woke up that time. Bennett wasn't so sure about waking up so early!
The girls are waiting for everyone to get ready and come downstairs with them.
I made a booby trap this year and covered the doorway with crepe paper and tied a jingle bell to it. The kids were such snoops this year that we couldn't risk any more presents being seen before Christmas morning! I think they liked running through it.
Chloe got a beauty salon and some accessories to go with it from Santa. Niah got a magic wand and spell book. Benny got a Captain America shield and a sled. Santa was so nice this year and brought them everything they wanted! I'm not sure why Bennett was sad in this picture. Probably too early in the morning.
Christmas day was spent going to church, opening more presents from family, playing the Wii that I gave Bryan, and we even went caroling to some of the neighbors. We also fed the missionaries so it was a busy, but memorable day.
" I am strong like Captain America, Mom!"
Here's the damage the day after Christmas. It looks like a tornado hit our living room!
Niah loves her wand and spell book. She's casting a spell on Bryan to be a better singer. She told him it didn't work when he tried to sing for her!
A couple days after Christmas, we took a road trip to my sister's house in Columbus, OH. The kids loved hanging out with their cousins. I wish we could do that more often. Tam took us to a place called Recreations Outlet. It was awesome! They have tons of playgrounds set up that the kids can play on. All of the kids had a total blast. It was great for them to get some of their energy out!
Bryan and I also got to go on a date to the temple and out to lunch for our 9th anniversary. Thanks Tam for watching the kids for us!



New Year's Eve wasn't that exciting for us actually. The kids wanted to stay up until midnight, but they were tired from our drive back home and from playing hard with cousins for a few days. I also had a lot to get done for primary the next day. So, I switched the clocks and made them think it was 11:30. We played games, had a treat, popped some poppers and then they went to bed. It worked out nice and the kids thought they stayed up until 1:00 am! Only Niah got a little suspicious, but she didn't put up much of a fight about it.
I really love having time as a family to just relax and enjoy each other's company. Life gets too busy and I forget to just slow down and spend quality time with the kids. I think this Christmas will be one that we all remember. It was one of the best ones we've had.