Christmas Eve was full of tradition and good times. The day started with us sleeping in. Then, Mike ran some errands--picking up photos at Costco and getting some inner tubes for sledding. We stopped at In-and-Out Burger and then headed for Spanish Fork.
There had been a ton of snow earlier in the week, but no fresh stuff that day. However, the perfect weather made up for any lack of new snow. It was a blast.
All the kids had a blast--even little Max didn't want to get off the hill.
Even pregnant ladies got in on the fun. Growing up we always used inner tubes, so it was fun to sled on tubes again.
Christian flew on this jump. We all heard a huge "thud" when he landed. The beast got back up and did it again.
Right as I took the picture, she flashed the peace sign.
After sledding, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's for Grandpa's annual clam chowder. The kids were wet from the snow, so we decided to let them open their annual Christmas Eve present early. The Christmas jammies are always a hit. The kids always know what it's going to be, but they still love it. It is a tradition my parents started when I was little.
Every year, Grandma takes the kids shopping to pick out their own gift--she is a brave woman taking 7 kids to Target at once.
Jessi got her first Ken doll. When we got home she said, "Tomorrow is gonna be a big day for Ken." We asked why and she said, "Cause he is gonna get a girlfriend." Sure enough, he got his pick of all the Barbies back at home.
Grandma helped all the kids make luminaries for the cemetery. Andrew and Bev went with her to set them up.
My mom invited a family in her neighborhood to join us. We did a nativity. Christian was the donkey and Luke was Joseph.
Bev was the angel and Jessica and Jack were shepherds.
Andrew was a wise man.
We then got bundled up and drove through the cemetery to see the luminaries. Then it was up the canyon to see the Festival of Lights. We drive there and then pile in the back of the truck. We are now so many that we require two trucks. I only got pictures of the people with us.
On the drive home they all fell asleep. Mike and I stayed up and got things ready for Santa and watched Salt. It was a great day spent with some pretty great people.
3 comments:
Now I remember why I was so tired on Christmas Day!!!
We are very luck to have such great family and to be able to make so many wonderful memories.
The kids love their uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents on both sides. From a guy that only had 2 cousins 1 aunt and one set of grandparents the majority of his life, I am glad the kids are able to spend so much time with all of them.
I really want to publicly thank Alisa for all she does to keep this up. I know she enjoys it, but probably not half as much as I do when I pull it up at work and remember why the crap I got up this morning to do it all over again!!
I'm with Mike. It is wonderful to have so many wonderful memories and do such fun things. And oh yes, he is pretty darn lucky that he has Alisa and the kids.
Alisa,, you do such a great job of caputuring memories for all of us to relive. When I read your blog, I'm back in the moment. Thanks for all you do for our family. I hope your kids appreciate the great life you and Mike provide for them--but then they don't know any different, so I'll just have to remind them.
Gwen and Earl have really set the mark for us on how to be fabulous grandparents. They continue to have such a positive influence on each of their family members. Thanks for all you have done to help mold Mike into such a great husband and father.
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