We survived another holiday! :) This year we did two Christmas's again. Because I'm an adult and can make up my own rules about these things. So on December 22nd we had our first, early
Christmas Eve. (Or Christmas Adam's Eve. Or Christmas Eve Eve
Eve....) We did this so that we could have Christmas at home AND then
again in Boise and not have to pack all of the presents to Idaho. It
was also nice because Buck's parents were able come over for it too
and it's like we got to do Christmas with both families.
So I made a fancy dinner of crab
legs, sourdough bread, artichokes, tomato and mozzarella, and a red
and green fruit salad of grapes, kiwi, strawberries and raspberries.
For the girls we made white mac and cheese. We had a candle light
dinner. For dessert we had little cheese cakes. Then we sat together
and read the bible story of Christ's birth and then watched a little
video about it. Then we prayed and I think that was it.
And the stockings were hung.... er, I mean, piled in a heap by the chimney with care...
Then the girls got to open new
pajamas and then presents from their Nana and Pops. They were very
excited!
And then to bed they went and Buck and I stayed up super
late assembling presents and getting it ready for their “Christmas”
morning.
The morning finally came and the
girls were surprised at their gifts. I also thought this was funny and worth mentioning: My presents were cursed this
year. Buck's present to me got back ordered, his parents present to
me arrived damaged and so was sent back and my parent's present to me
got lost in shipment and they didn't have any more in stock! Haha
Later that morning Ben and Lauren
came and spoiled them all with more gifts. Then we just spent the day
at home playing with gifts and me stressing out over cleaning it all
up. Haha. AND I was trying to pack for everyone for Boise! (can you blame my stress? no.)
Christmas carnage
A few fun photos my sis-in law, Lauren, took!
So the
next day we drove to Boise.
We got there pretty much in time
for Christmas Eve dinner. Erin and Dan came over too. We had the
traditional fondue dinner. Then it was de-ja-vu all over again with
getting them to bed and setting up some presents. We didn't have as
much this time, of course, but my mom always manages to have things
for everyone to unwrap.
The "green couch"
There was fog that night and it made these lights cool
June and I also walked to the park to see the luminaries.
June was concerned about Santa's diet this year.
"Santa. Eat the orange if you don't need more treats!"
So Christmas morning was good. More presents.
Good breakfast. Playing and hanging out. Erin and Dan came over. We
had a goose dinner with figgy pudding. Played games. A success.
The next day Buck and
I got to go to the temple. Erin and Dan came over again. Just lots of
crazy kids and hanging out this day!
Despite how they make it look, it was very cold outside...
The next day we all went out to breakfast and then went to the
new Children's museum. It's a small museum but really well done so
the kids all had a lot of fun! Then it was back home again, more
dress ups, playing games, movies, the works. That night June and
Hazel had a sleepover with Ginny at her house. Buck and I and my mom
stayed over there too and played games with Erin and dan until it was
way too late.
And apparently I followed Hazel around the museum the most.
Later that day, after more hanging out of course, we all went to the Capital building and took some family photos and then photos of the girls in their Christmas dresses that Erin made. It was a bit crazy with everyone but the girls loved the fancy building and Hazel loved the view of the city.
Spot the Liz
And sorry, there are too many cute ones I have to post!
Behind the scenes ;)
Saturday Erin and Dan left for Utah
and we stayed in Boise for one extra day. Buck and I went on a random shopping trip with
just Hazel. Then we all went to a fun kids movie, which was our first
time with all four kids! But it went surprisingly well.
Then the next
day we packed up and drove home. Johnny slept more this trip, which
was fantastic, and again, I just played non stop movies for the
girls. ;) The end of the drive was stressful as it got dark outside
and we hit a snow storm in Utah. The roads were really slick but Buck
did a great job driving and thankfully so did everyone around us...
So that was Boise! Over all it was a
good time. It always is. I felt more relaxed like I always do. I even
took a few naps and hid away in the bed a few times. The girls had
fun and Buck got to play more games than he has in a long time. And of course we love all the family time!
