December prompted us to unwrap the nativity set we purchased in Peru and make sure it was all intact. Sadly, it is the only Christmas "decoration" we have put up in our home for the past 4 years! Thankfully, the complete and perfectly beautiful creche gave focus and meaning to the season.
Christmas 2014 lured Bob and I back to the states to celebrate with our children. Having meetings in The Woodlands, Bob left Seoul about a week before me. Our flights to SLC arrived near the same time on our 34th wedding anniversary, Wednesday, December 17. We celebrated with dinner at Trolley Square and a night at Anniversary Inn - places reminiscent of previous anniversaries many years ago. We spent the next couple of days doing some final Christmas shopping and hanging out with Bobby and Jill's family. Chelsea and Thomas flew in from San Antonio and Stephanie and Ben's family drove down from Wyoming on Sunday, and our exciting Christmas celebration began on Monday. Chelsea, Thomas, Linley, Emma, and Max piled into Stephanie's van and began the five hour drive south toward St. George. You can see that kids are much happier in the car these days, thanks to modern technology. Back in my day . . . it was the alphabet game or counting cars that kept me and my brothers entertained on long road trips. Bob and I had fun with the kids at the "golden arches" where we stopped for dinner, while Chelsea and Thomas feasted at Texas Roadhouse with his grandparents.
By Tuesday, the whole gang had arrived and the holiday festivities began. What a pwer-packed and fun-filled week it was!
Decorating Our Christmas Tree
Creating Cardboard Gingerbread Houses
Dancing . . . Yes, Dancing!
Making (and Eating) Yummy Treats
Laughing at Home Movies
Playing Games and Learning New Ones Like "Kendama"
Going on a Treasure Hunt and Playing Indoor Mini-golf
Making Snowmen and Throwing Snowballs
Guess who each snowman represents . . . Hint, it looks like grandpa lost an eye.
AND DID YOU NOTICE THE BELLY BUMP ON CHELSEA!!!
Yep, best Christmas present of the year - Chelsea and Thomas are expecting a baby the end of June.
Competing in a Spudmobile Derby
(Look who took home the trophy!)
Creating With Crafts
Performing Gymnastics Floor Routines
Going to Church
And just in case you are wondering . . . we did manage to slip just a little sleep in between all the fun!
But wait . . . now that you've rested, there's Christmas still to come . . .
Sharon, it looks like you had a wonderful time with your family. What a perfect location for a big group! We will have to look into that when we get back. Please send me an email with some ideas of the way you organize things when you are all together. I am finding it to be more and more of a challenge as our family keeps getting bigger and bigger!
ReplyDelete