Christmas Turkey and Cramped Spaces

We made plans for Wes's family to join us on Christmas night. I decided instead of cooking the usual cheesy potatoes and ham I was going to be brave and cook a very large Turkey. I got it free at Winco thanks to a special they were running. I think it was 22 pounds! Turkeys have always made me nervous, not of course the live turkey, but the actual cooking of one. I fear dry meat, and I did not want to fall in the category of making a dry, parched turkey. I decided to use the recipe from a Real Simple magazine and made a cider glazed turkey. It required basting every half an hour, but it was so worth it. The turkey to my delight ended up being so yummy and moist! Thank you Martha Stewart. We squished everyone into our compact living room. I love family get togethers!

While we all ate and waited to open presents Violet played with Mac and Lightning.

One of the great things about buying Lydia a camera is not only is she taking pictures, but she also lets us take her picture now! Erica was really missing Phil, her Fiancee.

Adelle loves holidays so much and she always gets so excited.

Once everyone had eaten we all exchanged presents. We gave Ellen a super soft blanket. She hadn't been feeling very well and needed to rest a lot, so we figured a blanket would help with her resting time.

Violet got some really great presents from Ellen and Erica! Play food that you can cut and put back together.

Adelle loved looking through all the presents to see who each present was for.

In the end she ended up being the present girl and passed them out to everyone. I love Devin's surprised face!

Violet decided to spend the rest of the evening playing with her pretend food. There was nothing that was going to pull her away!

In the end we all ate way too much, but the company was amazing!

Christmas Morning

After we came home from church and got into some regular clothes we all gathered around the Christmas tree with the video camera and the camera to open presents. Violet was really starting to get the hang of how to open them. Adelle was sweet and gave Violet a little stuffed bird that used to be hers. Adelle would wrap up her whole room and give it to us if she could.

It was exciting to see the girls open all of their gifts that had been accumulating in my closet for months. Funny enough the girls do know that is where I hide their presents, but they have been good enough not to peek, probably because I told them a guilt filled story from my childhood when my mother caught Sarah and I peeking. My mother gave the presents to us early without an pomp or fuss and lots of guilt.

Adelle made Lydia special bookmarks since she likes to read so much.

Adelle got some crafty presents, most which she hasn't used yet. Maybe this summer she'll dig into them.

With Lydia getting bigger she got less presents, because what she wants is getting more expensive.

Violet is a huge Cars fan and absolutely LOVED her Mac truck and Lightning McQueen car. She loves to yell "Mac" at the top of her lungs just like Lightning does when he loses his faithful friend on the interstate.

One of the present requests on Adelle's list this year was a pair of roller skates (hopefully another thing that will be used this summer). Luckily Santa brought an adjustable pair that goes up in size as she grows.

Both the girls like the Wimpy Kid books and so they got the most recent book in the series.

Wes gave me Dracula, but not any Dracula, he gave me the book with the most gory cover. Love my man.

Lydia has been begging and pleading for a camera for ages and we finally got her one. It really is a nice little camera and is so small that it can go pretty much anywhere. It made me miss my little point and shoot a little.

Wes's big present was a computerized sewing machine. Unfortunately it has not been working as we would have liked. The threads get tangled on the bottom stitch :( At least we got precious time with the family, and our yearly Christmas Morning video.

Christmas Dresses

Christmas morning the girls got all ready in their new dresses and peeked and poked at the presents. I tried my very best to get some nice photos, but first you need to be good at taking pictures, second it is pretty hard to keep a toddler interested when she has a new toy in the corner, and third we we had to get out the door for church. As you can see Violet isn't looking at me, she is much more interested in her sizzling, bubbling kitchen with the little light.

It was hard to pull her out the door to church. She wanted to cook and play!

Oh, and who can forget the phone and boiling pot! Santa did a great job!

Santa Clause is Coming to Town!

Christmas morning is always an exciting time and this year was no exception! Santa brought lots of presents.
And a very large present for little Violet! Her very own kitchen!

The stockings funny enough were filled with socks and a few other treats.

Wes laughed when he got the Lord of the Rings Pez, especially when he saw the "short" hobbits.

We couldn't open presents right away. The girls and I got ready for church. They had to wait until we got home to see all the fun things they got.

Christmas Pajamas

Grandma Oates gave the girls a wonderful early Christmas gift. Dresses! Unfortunately none of them fit quite right, so instead she exchanged them for Christmas pajamas! The girls all looks so cute in their footie pajamas! It was fun to capture them in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve!

Christmas Visits

We always make it a priority around Christmas time to visit our extended family. It is very difficult for us to all get together on Christmas Day. A few days before Christmas we made four different visits: Sarah and Matt, Great Grandma Walter, Great Grandma Christensen and Lyndi, and Great Grandma Oates.

Our first stop was Sarah and Matt's house. It was fun to give Cedric some Knex.

Philip was living at my sisters at the time and he gave us a wonderful Tetris game that even Wes likes to play. Violet got some wonderful wooden blocks for her birthday from Sarah, Matt and Cedric. For Christmas they gave us a Cinemark gift card which is great for our family!

Our next stop was Great Grandma Walter. She always appreciates or visits, especially because she lives on our own. She was so very generous and gave each of the girls beautiful dresses!

Then we went over to Great Grandma Christensen's and Lyndi's. She gave us a Cinemark Move gift card as well! She also gave the girls a CD and book.

Violet liked Lyndi's Snoopy shirt!

We were afraid of Violet completely melting down at this point because we had been out so long. We decided to make a stop at McDonald's for lunch, which seemed to help immensely. Our last stop for the day was Great Grandma Oates's house. We gave her a temple calendar which she seemed to really enjoy. We worry about her getting sad now that the love of her life is gone, but we are grateful that one of her daughters is living with her.

We enjoyed all of our visits so much. It was so great to see everyone and to share together in Christmas Spirit.

On Christmas Eve Morning we made our way over to Grandma Julie's house! She is always so generous and sweet to the girls, and Wes and I. It feels so comfortable to sit in Julie's beautiful living room and watch the little town around the tree. It reminds me of my father.

The girls had a wonderful time opening presents, well most of the time. Violet had a few moments. Lydia has gotten so much older all of the sudden. She loves getting clothes!

Violet by this point was really getting pretty good at opening presents.

We had to watch her closely so she wouldn't break the village.

Lydia got boots that were pretty close to the pair that she was wearing that day. Wonderful Julie took time to exchange them a few months later for some beautiful, brown leather boots that are absolutely amazing!

Adelle really loved the Peanuts nativity. She is a big Charlie Brown fan. Violet is fast becoming one as well.

Violet got some amazing, new light up shoes. She loves them. She loves stomping around seeing the lights blink.

Violet also got a wonderful musical instrument set. Everyone likes playing with the instruments and as time goes by Violet is getting better.

Lydia got a beautiful ornament and it quickly became her favorite. It is a ballerina ornament that plays music.

I snapped a quick picture of Julie and Allie, our wonderful hosts!

As things calmed down Lydia took some time to gaze at all the ornaments on Julie's tree. It was magical to see my grown up girl taking it all in.