Christmas Day

Because we had done most of our celebrating with my side of the family the day before it really made Christmas and enjoyable day this year. We didn't have to split the day between 3 families and it was really nice. (Maybe we should do that every year from now on!) Matt had to work until 3 on Christmas day, so the kids and I slept in a little bit and then got ready and went next door to my parents for our traditional Yancey brunch on Christmas morning. We had pancakes, sausage, fruit and juice. It was yummy and a great way to start the morning. The kids played for a while and then we went home and loaded the car to head out to Unlce Kendall and Aunt Stephanies for the Keller get together. We got there early enough that we were able to skype and visit with Elder Keegan Keller that is serving a mission in Spain right now. He has been out for a little more than 10 months and will be home before we know it. It was really great to see him and talk to him and hear how he was doing. I know it was a highlite for a lot of the family. For the Keller lunch they did a pasta bar. There was lasagna, spaghetti, fettuchini with shrimp, and shrimp alfredo with salad and garlic bread. It was so fun to have all the different types of pasta, and pretty much all you could eat. We never go hungry at a Keller get together. Grandma Keller gave away some of her jewelry to her granddaughters, and great-granddaughters and Paige and I fell into this catelgory. It was fun to look through and pick something out special that belonged to her. I wore some of the jewelry this last Sunday and got several compliments. So that is fun! After dinner we did the pass around gift exchange. This year they changed the rules so that once a gift has been open it can only be passed 3 times before it is out. That made the game go quicker, but dissapointed some of the people that were at the end of the game because it made it so a lot of the items were out of play. Also we all drew numbers for the order in which we picked a gift so it was all random. I ended up with a $25 gift card to Chili's and a box of whoppers and Matt got a grooming kit. It was one of the better years for us! We had a fun time with everyone.

After that we went to Grandpa & Grandma C's house to open more gifts. Paxten got a new outfit, 6 books all about trucks and tractors, Jake and the Neverland Pirate toys, toy dinosaurs, a pack of gum (that was his favorite), and at our prior Christmas Party he got a headlamp and a Mcdonalds gift card.
Paige got a new outfit, a cheetah print jacket, the movie Brave, Tinkerbell toy, Fur Real Friends bunny, gum, and a lalaloopsy and a McDonalds gift card.
Parker got: A new outfit, remote control truck, Ben 10 4 in 1 gun, gum, Avengers book all about the characters, and a headlamp and a Mcdonalds gift card.
The whole family got the game Cootie and Matt got an affliction shirt and I got a bag and Adobe Photoshop, which I am really excited to use! We had a great day with family and spending time with the people we care most about.

Christmas Eve Dinner/Celebration

This year for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner we had lobster, prime rib, baked potatoes, spinach salad, yogurt salad, and rolls. It was all delicious and we all were stuffed after dinner. The kids could hardly take waiting until after we got the table cleared off and the dishes done to open their presents. After sorting out all the gifts into piles of who they would go to we started opening gifts. This year we did it differently having each person open 1 gift and then going around the room from youngest to oldest so that we could all see what everyone opened. Ususally there is so much wrapping paper and boxes flying around that we miss seeing half of what people open. So we tried something new this year. It did end up taking a little longer, but it was fun to see all the excitement and expressions on everyones faces as they opened each gift. Once again we were all spoiled and had such a great time together. We really do have a great family. This year Paxten got: A church outfit, a play outfit, a twin mattress (for the bunk bed), twin sheet set, dino racer, socks, drum set, RC & Woody car, Cars couch, elmo pop-up tent, bubble bath, cars slippers.
Paige got: Cinderella dress up outfit with a crown and glass slippers, church dress with tights, minnie mouse outfit, Rapunzel barbie, Hair bow holder, gold sparkly boots, 4 easy bake oven refills, bubble bath, duets sing-a-ma-jig, and an ipad mini with her name on it and an itunes gift card and a pink cover.
Parker got: a track outfit, a church outfit, socks, star wars lego set with a storage bag, Avengers acrion figures, angry birds hat and gloves, angry birds slippers, dream lite, bubble bath, and an ipad mini with his name on it with an itunes gift card and a green cover.
Erika: Amazon gift card, scrapbook paper cutter, cake decoration class and lesson kit, photo display frame made from an old door, lotions from Bath & Body Works, 3 iphone covers, scrabble shuffle game, dish drying mats, jewelry display holder, and a cricut cartridge. (I also got a cute decoration that spells Frosty from Sheri!)
Matt:a Harley shirt, golf balls, tees, 2 golf shirts, Callaway hat, white socks, Cal-Ranch gift card, earbuds, Wii Cabelas gun & game, otterbox iphone cover, Blackfoot Golf Course gift card and as a joint gift to Matt and I we got a Traeger grill and cover and 2 bags of pellets... which Matt is very very excited about!