Christmas Vacation

We had a blast this Christmas with the family. We had everyone in the Phipps' family there except for Mr. Collin, who had to stay in Florida for work. We missed you Collin!

Without the snow, there wasn't a LOT to do outside this Christmas, so we went for lots of walks down to the park in Kevin and Vicki's neighborhood.

We usually pull the little ones in the wagon with lots of blankets since it's quite a climb back up to their house.

We visited Grandma and Grandpa Phipps right before they left for St. George. Grandpa has been doing much better since his surgery for bladder cancer.



Three generations. Soon we'll be able to do four male generations with our boy!

Vicki's Christmas tree is so beautiful! I love that it's covered with ornaments from the grandkids.



Since we couldn't go sledding, we tried ice skating! The little ones kept their shoes on while the bigger kids mastered their blades of glory...it was really fun to watch.

And the sleds were quite handy on the ice as well!

 The little ones tried to stay warm with Gram and Aunt Stacy.


Hazel sure loves her cousin Kate.

I am so excited that I caught this ornery face right after she and Henry got in trouble for goofing off in the restaurant!

He loves his Carhartts. And he looks good in them too.



Papa Kevin is definitely a favorite.



That's one way to pull her around on the ice.
 We did get brave enough to try sledding up higher in the mountains, but it was SO WINDY that Vicki and Stacy stayed in the van with the little kids while these boys and the bigger kids (and me!) braved the cold with the sleds. I was so proud of Hazel. She and Sam would pair up on one sled and FLY down the hill. So cute.

Vicki organized a hay ride for us at a nearby elk farm! 

 
It happens to be the same elk farm where David took me on a sleigh ride six years ago and asked me to marry him!



There's the exact place where he wrapped a small Christmas tree (gone now) in hundreds of lights that lit up (by Collin nearby) as soon as he got down on one knee. Fun memories. Here we are 3 1/2 kids later.



One of my favorite parts of getting all of us together is the GAMES. We bought the kids version of Apples to Apples which was a big hit this year.

On New Year's, we had a great fire works show put on for us by the boys.   Happy New Year! Welcome 2012.

A Lovely Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve night, David and I wrapped the bottom of the stairs with Christmas paper so that the girls had to burst through in order to see their presents. Little did I know, that after I went to bed, David stayed up and set up our new tent!
 

So that's what we saw when we ripped off the paper! We decided to do a "food storage" Christmas this year and buy gifts that helped us to be more prepared. We got a tent, 72 hour kits, and lots of beans and rice and FOOD. The girls got matching sleeping bags with flash lights, which they were pretty excited about.

And we got a few fun items too. Like Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2! See the thrill on his face??

I found a kid's sewing machine for Hazel at a thrift store that I'm hoping to get some use out of over this next year. I bought her a pattern for a doll to go with it.

The girls received their very first sled!


Lottie got her own TAG reader pen with some books. That's been a favorite in our house.

Ellie got a My Little People farm!



The girls had saved up some chore coins to buy gifts for one another. Of course when we went to the store to buy them, they gave some very strong suggestions.

Every year we get each other an ornament that has to do with what we did that year. This year David bought me a pencil for getting two of my articles published. Look at that baby belly poking out!





That afternoon we headed up to Gram and Papa Kevin's for a week with the cousins!Merry merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Ah, Christmas Eve. We were so lucky to have Kevin and Vicki join us for the evening. We really love having them so close to us. I love that my girls are creating such great memories with them. We had a lovely dinner with a beautiful table that Hazel helped me decorate.

We made these Santa hat brownies for our treat. I loved them!

Ginger cookies are some of my very favorite. I've got Hazel hooked.

We're ready for you Santa!




Then we opened our Christmas Eve presents (jammies) and read the story of the birth of Christ in the scriptures with candles lit all over the room. I still remember doing that (minus the candles) at the bishop's house on my mission in Livermore. It was the best Christmas I'd ever had because the spirit was so strong. I've tried to emulate that in our little family ever since.



Kevin read "The Night Before Christmas" to the girls before bed.



And one of the very best parts of the night: Ellie took her first few steps! She did it right as we were posing for one of these pictures. Then she did it the rest of the night and got up to about four or five steps!


What a lovely Christmas Eve.