Christmas Eve

I am pretty excited because I am getting this blog all caught up.  I am less than a month behind.  I guess there is something to be said for the dullness of January.

 We always start our Christmas celebrations with the opening of the ornaments.  Each year the kids get an ornament that is signifigant for them for that year.  This year I surprised them with ornaments from Disneyland.  It was a little different, but they loved them!
Things were a little different this year since Scot's parents are gone, and it took some rearranging to get all the family together for our celebration, since Kim flew to San Diego to be with her parents.  So we all got together on Christmas Eve for brunch.  It was a fun way to start things off and the kids all loved being with their cousins.

 Everyone does such a great job with their gifts and this year was no exception.  My boys LOVE their Utah pillows.

 My girls got these adorable handmade aprons and handmade dolls that look like them.  Truly amazing and beyond my skills I assure you.
Next in our day of celebration we set off for my parents house to prepare our traditional dinner.

 The kids were so great to play with their cousins and help Annaliese with different projects.  I spent the day preparing the meal, strangley without my mother, who kept disappearing.  But I had help from Scot and Marlayna so it worked out in the end.

 My mom surprised all the parents this year by planning a nativity presentation with the kids.  It was really sweet and the kids were great.  Emma was a very dramatic angel and Ben had all his shepherd lines memorized.

Then we all exchanged our gifts, which culminated in the pjs from Grandma.  Always my favorite part!  And they are so cute!  Ironically enough I bought Ben the same pjs.  Great minds must think alike!  And he loved them so much he wanted to keep both sets.  Funny little boy!