Merry Christmas!

 What a sweet Christmas!

Things I want to remember:

Brothers giving each other gifts on Christmas Eve. The boys making the clay figures from Jim and Nancy and just laughing, laughing, laughing together. Doing our sneaky 12 Days of Christmas drop offs. Drive through Christmas lights out the sun roof. Christmas Eve pancake bar (snowmen and Santa, no one chose the reindeer option!). Reading Emma M. Lion by my tree when all of Santa's work was done on Christmas Eve. Watching the Nativity movie with the boys before bed on Christmas Eve. Everyone sleeping in on Christmas. The wildly warm weather and all the kids in the neighborhood playing outside Christmas Day. The real candles at the Lutheran Christmas Eve service. Games with Grandma and Grandpa. Football at Shepardson. Watching the BYU Pop-Tarts Bowl. WINNING the Pop-Tarts Bowl! Picnic and river playing up at Gateway. Getting my dad the Twilight Zone. Reading Emma M. Lion at the same time as my mom. The older boys watching Star Wars at night with Grandpa. Making 42 sticks of butter worth of toffee. Christmas dinner being so easy on the Blackstone. Goat cheese. Birthstone earrings. A counter full of treats that makes us think of all the friends we love here. More wildly warm weather. Staying healthy. Working out with Michael. Asher loving his tie. The boys doing their treasure hunt to learn we are going on a cruise. The boys actually processing later that we really are going on a cruise. Puzzles.

Oh man, my favorite Christmas yet.

Jim and Nancy brought the boys these little modeling kits,
and they were laughing so hard at their funny little characters coming together.
Asher made a blowfish, Camden made Santa, Westin made a chicken and a nest, and Bennett made a hermit crab.

They were so cute.
It's a little hectic helping four people at once but I love that they all four want to do these things.

Belly laughing at Asher's blowfish kissy face haha.

Out the sunroof for Winter Wonderland lights drive!

Christmas Eve pancake bar -- we had them choose Santa, snowman, or reindeer.
Santa came with a loooot of whipped cream for the beard haha.

That weird lunch between big breakfasts and big dinners.

Cute boys!
I had them get in church clothes to go to a Lutheran service on Christmas Eve,
and they were good sports.

The real candles might have been Asher's favorite part. And mine.

Brother gifts for Christmas Eve.
Maybe my favorite part of it all.

Wrapping up their big surprise while Michael made a treasure hunt leading to it :)

Santa is done.
He works really hard.

No matter what time Santa is done working on Christmas Eve,
I've got to lay by the tree with a clean kitchen and everything prepped for tomorrow,
and just read my book.
This year that was Emma M. Lion and it was a very glorious, sweet time.
From 12:15 to 1:00 in the morning, haha.

Snacky Santa!

My neighbors the Hepworths growing up always brought us those individual fun cereal boxes,
and I just think they should come around each Christmas break.

Those yearbooks are a labor of love,
but this year felt easier than years before to get everything done.
My boys are just getting bigger :)

The cranberry Christmas star

Preschool party 

We went up to Gateway the day after Christmas to get some outside time in.
The weather this Christmas has been wildly warm!

Luna was SO happy here.

Cocoa and snacks for lunch!

And had to get some Pop-Tarts for the BYU Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Which also meant we had to get Toaster Strudels because they're much better than Pop-Tarts.