Christmastime is Here {Temple Square Lights}

We originally planned to get down to Salt Lake before Christmas to see the lights, but weather and life had other plans.  Good thing they stay up and on till the new year!  We boarded the Front Runner train in Ogden on the afternoon of the 28th.  Callie and Sam both had a blast sitting on the big chairs and playing uno on the table and watching the outside world fly by.  We got to Salt Lake in time to grab some grub at the food court in City Creek and while we were eating we saw the lights turn on.  We crossed over to Temple Square and enjoyed looking at the nativities, luminaries and colorful trees and bushes as we worked our way over to the North Visitor's Center.  After spending a few minutes inside, we headed back to the station to catch the train back home.  It was probably the quickest tour of Temple Square lights I've ever done, but it was pretty much perfect for our little ones.  A fun outing together as a family, for sure.

So excited to be on the train!

Dad and Cal's side.

Sam and Mom's side.

Our attempts at family + light selfies were not
super successful in getting the full effect of the
lights as well as seeing our faces.  Just pretend.

I love to see the temple.

Another try.  Another fail-ish.

Dad and Sam's side.

Mom and Cal's side.

As it got a little later, things started to get silly.

Home again and in bed before 8:00.  I call that a win!

Christmastime is Here {Christmas Day + Boxing Day}

Christmas morning starting dark and early with Sam waking much much before the crack of dawn.  No, it's not because he was excited about Christmas.  It's because he does that every day.  Nice.  Gregg got up with him, letting me snooze in bed a little longer (he does that every day, too, and I think he's amazing!!), though, honestly, I was too excited for Christmas morning to sleep anymore.  I came out to the living room to see Gregg cozied up by the heat vent with a tv fireplace crackling away and Sam running around like a crazy kid, carrying a baby doll and stopping only to take a bite of cold pizza in Gregg's hands as he ran by.

Running away with a full mouth and baby doll
in his hand.

Callie slept and slept and finally woke up around seven. :)  She told me the night before that she was going to dance down the hall in her new ballerina jammies to see what Santa brought her in her stocking.  She didn't quite dance, but she certainly was excited once she was awake.  Whenever she was asked pre-Christmas what she wanted for Christmas, her default response was, "I don't know!"  A few times I heard her say something like ice skates (which I'm quite certain she came up with from her favorite Corduroy's Christmas Surprise story).  It was fun to see her as she opened her stocking and her gifts that she was so excited about everything.  I heard her exclaim more than once, "this is just what I wanted!"  She even burst into a little made-up song about opening presents on Christmas as she unwrapped each one.  Man, it's fun to have a three-year-old at Christmastime!

"A jump rope!  Just what I wanted!"

Sam knew everything that was edible in his
stocking and begged to eat it as he pulled it out -
applesauce pouch, animal crackers, dum dum
sucker, you name it, straight into his mouth!

Her legitimate favorite treat: dum dums.
(All of them even in her favorite color: red.)
Man, Santa is gooood.

Note dum dum in Sam's mouth, too.

Moving on to the animal crackers.

One of the gifts I was most excited for Callie to
open was this new digital camera of her very
own!

Sam is measuring things and Cal is figuring out
her camera.

The aftermath.

After all our opening was done and we had feasted on our cinnamon-raisin sweet rolls and grapefruit and eggnog for breakfast, we got all dressed up in our Sunday best for Sacrament Meeting.  They shifted and shortened our meeting time to 10:00 am for forty minutes, so we had the Sacrament and listened to a few musical numbers by the choir and others and then we came home.  Our plan was to go to Logan to spend the day with the Elwood crew, but the snow just kept fallin' here and in Logan and all the way between.  We probably could have made the trip, but it would have been slow going and then we'd have wanted to leave earlier than normal to make it back home before dark, so in the end we decided not to risk it and just enjoy a lazy afternoon at home.  We skyped with my family for a while, watched Muppet Christmas Carol, took naps, and played with our new toys.  Gregg made Christmas Dinner Gromlets and I had time to make the Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake I had wanted to make but didn't know how to fit it into my schedule for dessert.

The masterpiece, as photographed by Callie June with her
new camera.

It turned out to be a lovely, low-key day and a perfect Christmas.  Then, since Monday was the official "work holiday", and there was a Thornley party in Logan to look forward to (we would have missed it had we gone up on Sunday), we gathered up our final gifts to give and a few new toys to show off and headed North to spend it with my family.  Heather and Terrell and Grace were in California with T's family for Christmas, so we missed seeing them, but everyone else gathered at my parents' house (even my Elwood Grandparents came over, which was fun) for some more gift exchanging and lunch.

Cal got a science kit and microscope and Sam got
"bug blocks" and some percussion instruments
from Grandpa and Grandma Elwood.

Great Grandpa and Grandma Elwood gave the kids
books and stuffed animals.

I envisioned a cute and well-posed group shot,
but instead got this hilarious series.

Which I ended up loving anyway.

After some lunch, we all loaded up again to go to my Thornley Grandparents' house in North Logan.  There was a big gathering of most of my cousins and aunts and uncles on my mom's side (only Heather's family in Cali and my uncle Randal's family who live in Arizona were missing) for the traditional "Boxing Day" party.  (The Thornleys have always gathered on the day after Christmas for their family party for as long as I can remember and I'm sure even longer than that.)  We enjoyed visiting, playing chimes (my mom and grandpa made these years ago and have amassed quite a collection of song posters for everyone to follow along on our favorite carols and hymns), listening to a mini recital from the musical ones, and eating soups and salads for dinner.

Callie was so good at her #11 part.  Seriously.  She followed along
and knew right when to ring her chime and I couldn't have been
more thrilled or prouder of how quickly she caught on.

Clearly.  ;)

After dinner, we all parted ways (why didn't I get a photo with my kids and the Thornley Greats?!  I'm still kicking myself about that) and ended yet another fun day of family Christmas cheer.

Christmastime is Here {Christmas Eve}

Christmas Eve with the Blanchards started a bit earlier than we originally had scheduled due to some nasty weather that was supposed to roll in that afternoon/evening that we didn't want to have to deal with on our way home.  So we gathered in South Jordan around 10:30, and started our party with a lunch of the traditional Christmas Eve feast: clam chowder or oyster stew, cold cut sandwiches, chicken nuggets, egg rolls, chips and dip, and shrimp with cocktail sauce.  Mmm-mmm.

Heather and Scott and the boys then rushed off to pick up their new Christmas Eve kitty that had to be picked up by one.  They brought little Bronx to hang out for the rest of the party.  He was certainly a hit with everyone, not the least of which his new owners!

Then we opened presents and stockings.  We gave Kage and Dray cereal.  I don't know if they are really that impressed, but Cal was excited to pick out the most random flavors and wrap them up for her cousins.

Sam opening some little board books from grandpa and grandma.

I love the stockings Kim has made for everyone in the family!

Callie was got to peek first.

Checkin' out the loot.

Grandpa and Grandma with the Utah half of their grandkids.

Next came the nativity.  A highlight for sure.  Even if it's short and sweet.  By the way Callie was acting the night of Christmas Eve Eve, you would have thought the next day was Christmas Day.  She couldn't fall asleep because she was planning out who everyone was going to represent in our nativity play, as well as what they'd be wearing and where they'd be standing ("maybe grandpa can make a stable inside?").  She made a list in her head of the order of events for the day and was just so excited and so stinkin' cute!

Mary and Baby Jesus.
(I wondered aloud if it was sacrilegious to use Minnie
for such an important part, and Gregg said that
Min is such a beloved member of Callie's life,
who better to represent the Baby Jesus?)

Grandma was the single lucky adult who got to dress up and act
with the kids.

The cast: Shepherd Dray, Callie Mary, Samwiseman
(bearing gifts of partially eaten chicken nugget and
a new shovel), and Kage Joseph

Sam was asleep for most of the present opening
earlier, so he had a chance to open his gift from
the Wihongis after the play.

It's a toy that makes noise and he was LOVING
it!

All cozied up in their new Open Christmas Eve Jammies.
(Sam giggled all the way home at those goofy monsters
who were wiggling and smiling at him in his seat.)

And it's time to say goodbye before the snow flies.

We got home safe and sound and ahead of the storm, and with time before the kiddos had to be in bed to get the Christmas morning sweet rolls started.  I couldn't wait for Sam to open his little apron so he could wear it while we all "worked" together.

I think he likes it.  ;)  And I like him.

Then it was off to beddy-by.  Cal had such a fun-filled day, with anticipation for more to come, I thought for sure she'd take forever to fall asleep.  But I think she was worn out because she didn't put up much of a fight at all.  She fell right asleep with visions of sugarplums dancing in her head, I'm sure.