Christmas Eve 2016

 Christmas Eve this year was a bit different because we had it at Tom and Kathy's apartment! It was small, but just the right size for all the family. We had a lovely dinner together and enjoyed hanging out and visiting as we normally do!

I love that they put their Christmas tree out on the balcony so that it wouldn't be in the way in the apartment! They bought a real tree and kept it simple with lights only- I am bummed I didn't get a photo of it because it was really pretty! Other than the tree the kept the deco pretty simple as most of their stuff is in storage!

I thought it was hilarious that all my kiddo's wore plaid shirts AND I wrapped their EVE gifts in plaid paper! It was almost like I had planned it, but I didn't! LOL!!

Christmas Eve gifts are still a tradition only I don't usually do the PJ's anymore. Brianne still likes them but the boys are not fans of them. So I usually just get them a special small gift for them to open.

Carter and Will were in rare form tonight! Being so silly!! I honestly couldn't tell you why they were wrapped up like a pretzel but no matter- it's still a super fun photo opportunity!

Kathy did the sweetest thing for Carter and made him a buttermilk pie! It was something he loved from his mission and she knew he would love to have it again. So she found a recipe online and made it for him and even cooked an extra to take home! He was THRILLED and said it tasted amazing!

At the end of the night we got pretty silly with the face swap app! We were all laughing pretty hard at how crazy we all looked! It was a very fun night and we left to some snow lightly falling so we knew we had better hurry home before Santa arrived! :)

Santa Hat Photos 2016

I mean seriously! How cute are my kids! They may be grown, and some may technically be adults, but they are just awesome!

It is so wonderful having him home for Christmas! He has grown so much and has been amazing to watch him still keep his study habits etc from his mission. He is working very hard in his Discovery class and applying for college classes etc. I couldn't be more proud of him!

I still can't believe that Will is a senior! He has grown and changed so much this year too! I have loved watching him and Carter banter again and wrestle around! He is a great example at church and loves being a priest and blessing the sacrament. It makes me happy!

Brianne is turning into an incredible young woman! She is talented, fun and works hard at her job at Sunrise as well as her classes. She LOVES Christmas and just glows all through the season! Just like this photo shows!

Yay for the annual Santa photos!! They are my favorite!

Christmas Deco 2016

The Christmas decorations are something I love doing every year. We didn't change much this year, but the best thing was being a WHOLE family again and putting it up together! Honestly, most I do myself, but the parts we DO together are always my favorite.

Every year when we put up the family tree we watch Elf. THIS IS A MUST! We laugh and put up the ornaments we've made or gotten for Christmas over the years. It's always fun!

Brianne is always the first to say, I'll go get the movie, and get it on for us! The boys, don't LOVE doing the tree, but I wasn't sure if this would be our last Christmas to do it together so I kind of insisted we do it together! I think they were glad we did!

This is over the piano! The lantern is something I haven't had long but I love it!

I love the photo of the kids and their Santa hats! This is something I hope to ALWAYS do every year! And the candy jars with peppermint are a MUST!! :)

I love how the red pillows and blanket look on the couches! So pretty!

This is a new addition, the tree we got at Home Depot that can change from white lights to colored lights. I love how it looks and it is MUCH easier to set up than the previous tree we had! YAY!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookies 2016

Yet another change for a Christmas tradition, no more cookie making at Grandmas "house" because she has an apartment now! We were worried that maybe we wouldn't be doing cookies! But, we didn't worry for long because Gamma called and she was still going to host a cookie making party! YAAAY!

Gamma was also pleasantly surprised to see that the kids all still wanted to participate too! Will would have been there too but he was working. The "big kids" still enjoy cookie making too!

Myles was really getting into it! But of course for the littles it's the eating them that they love!

For us older kiddos we really like getting creative and making fun designs! And Gamma never does anything small- so there's always LOTS to choose from!

Papa had just had a knee surgery so he was laid up a bit, so Carter hung out with him for a little bit and watched some sports. He enjoys talking sports with him. It's sweet.

Chloe wasn't feeling her best. She was warm and just wanted to sleep on Mom. I felt bad she wasn't into the activities- poor thing!

I think we ended up making like 4 kinds of cookies! Goodness!! Thankfully we have lots of get togethers so that MANY can eat up all the yummy cookies!

It was a fun day at Gamma and Papa's apartment! They have sure made it a lovely home until they can build their new house!

Honor Roll!!! 2016

These two are doing so amazing in school! They are working hard and it SHOWS! They both made the honor roll! YEEESSSS!!!!! Way to go guys! Keep it up!!

Christmas Lights 2016

This year with Carter and Will being home they decided that THEY could do the Christmas lights. Well, they did, but Chan ended up on the roof anyway fixing some that went out. We ended up having to change some of what they did to make it work! But hey, at least they wanted to help right?

One thing is for sure, it's not Christmas without lights on the house! Right?!!
I am pretty sure that Carter and Will were more about getting good pictures for Instagram. Like this one below! Which, I have to admit, is pretty freaking awesome! The clouds were perfect in this shot! Nice job Will! And the black and white was a nice touch! LOL

Santa Bomb 2016

So this year we recruited Mack to join our Santa Bomb tradition! He just happened to be over at the house the night we decided to do it, so we had him help run Santa next door to the Terry's house. Carter, Will and Mack were all setting him up when we realized that the plug we were using on their porch wasn't working! Santa wasn't puffing up or turning on! UGH! So in a last ditch effort I told them to just ring the doorbell and hopefully there was a switch that needed to be flipped on for him to work! So they rang the bell and ran and we watched from next door as Ryan came out to look at what was there! It always makes me laugh to see people's surprise when they find Santa! But he too was having a tough time getting Santa up and running! But by the next day there he was! All up and happy again! They told us later that the kids LOVED him! It's such a fun tradition!

Merry Christmas neighbors!!