All Things Christmas

Our Christmas was wonderful. We got to spend the entire month at home and both sets of parents came to see us during the month. Yay!

We kicked off our December by decorating the Christmas tree. So much fun! Both kids were SO into "helping" this year, so there were lots of ornaments at the bottom of the tree.... that got rearranged at least 1000 times during the month. ;-)

I take the kids to Bass Pro Shops every year to get our Santa picture because it's FREE! It's also usually super crowded since apparently tons of other people are cheap-o's like me. ;-) We did have to wait in a small line but luckily it moved quickly and I was able to get my picture. I thought Kate might do better this year but no such luck. Haha!

Kathy and Don came to see us in the middle of the month and we had a blast with them here. They brought the kids fun presents, we ate lots of yummy food, and we went to see the Mesa Temple lights. My kids were definitely sad when they left!

We also went to see Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo with some friends! We went to dinner beforehand and then walked all over to see some really fun animal lights. AND our wonderful friends (the Browns) got us a smokin deal, so we didn't even pay much for it!

Oh, and we did lots of baking, (and eating) because duh. It's treats-season!

Our ward Christmas party was in the morning so we ate waffles, did some crafts, and got to hang out with friends. I thought the photo booth was super cute.

My kids (and of course then myself) did manage to get a cold the week before Christmas, but it wasn't anything too crazy.... and I actually considered ourselves lucky considering sooo many people get stomach bugs and flus and all types of other crazy illnesses during this time of year. But - we had plenty of Christmas shows to watch during our sick days! Matthew and Kate's favorites were How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Frosty the Snowman. While those were definitely the favorites, they also enjoyed Christmas episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Super Why, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, Rudolph, and The Polar Express.

Oh, and we decorated a gingerbread house one night for Family Home Evening! The kids absolutely LOVED it! (And of course loved sneaking a large portion of it into their mouths). ;-)

And then.... Christmas!!! My parents came up on Christmas Eve and we spent the day reading, playing, and drinking Christmas punch. YUM! We had a delicious early dinner of ham, turkey, salad, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and crescents, and then headed to Queen Creek (a neighboring city) to see the Loop of Lights. It's a housing development that is SUPER festive and most of the residents put up tons and tons of fun lights. They even close down the streets to traffic except for residents! We definitely weren't the only ones to spend our Christmas Eve there (it was super crowded!) but it was still awesome. Sooo many fun houses to see.

The kids were exhausted from all the fun so they slept in later on Christmas than they normally do (ha!) but the morning was a blast, as usual. The kids loved their presents. It is seriously so much fun watching kids on Christmas morning. So magical!

And then we played Christmas Bingo! One of my favorite traditions growing up. I was so excited when I saw my mom had brought it.

My parents stayed a few extra days and we had lots of fun with them around. Me and Michael even got to sneak in a couple dates! Woohoo! 

And that just about wraps up our Christmas! It was definitely one of my favorites!