I know, I know. Christmas was 3 days ago. BUT in my defense, we had family over until late that night, and I've been sick with the stomach flu since Friday morning. So, here is the long-awaited Christmas update:
We have 4 - yes, 4 - sets of in-laws between us, not including our kids' 
other families. This essentially means at least 3 family parties beginning the Saturday before and ending on Christmas Day. Toss in my birthday on the 24th, and you have the makings of a hectic-but-festive schedule. On Saturday, we went to my Dad's party in Salem. My girls love this one! There was lots of snow, so they went sledding, and Lauren learned to drive the ATV with cousin Brendan. (Sorry, no pictures - too dark). Grandpa & Grandma Abbott really cater to the kids, so theirs is always the most active party!
other families. This essentially means at least 3 family parties beginning the Saturday before and ending on Christmas Day. Toss in my birthday on the 24th, and you have the makings of a hectic-but-festive schedule. On Saturday, we went to my Dad's party in Salem. My girls love this one! There was lots of snow, so they went sledding, and Lauren learned to drive the ATV with cousin Brendan. (Sorry, no pictures - too dark). Grandpa & Grandma Abbott really cater to the kids, so theirs is always the most active party!Sunday, it was off to Grandma & Grandpa Riley's (Kent's dad) up in Bountiful. Our SIL, RaDawn, decided to have the kids bring and decorate gingerbread houses this year for prizes. Of course, we already have a village of them at home, but the girls love it so much that they enjoyed making more!
Monday was pretty quiet - just finishing up wrapping and baking. Tuesday was our last-minute shopping day at the mall. Our first stop, of course, was seeing Santa and dropping off the girls' letters. Sadly, Lauren decided she was way too old for that this year, and took off to Claire's. But Emily, who thus far has shunned Santa's lap, decided she was big enough to brave it. When e joined Lauren at Claire's, we got a little surprise: Lindsey wanted her ears pierced! Now, you 
may not know this, but we've been trying to talk her into it since she was 3, and especially since Emmy had hers done a year and a half ago. Lindsey had steadfastly refused, but on this day she was finally ready. She was so brave! (Of course, she complained the next day that she preferred her"non-earring lifestyle"after sleeping in them for the first time, but she seems to be adjusting to it now.) Then it was time for my Mom's family party. It's always nice to relax with family and just enjoy a little eggnog! I never remember to pull out the camera at my Mom's. I spend a lot more time talking to my mom and sisters, though. :)
may not know this, but we've been trying to talk her into it since she was 3, and especially since Emmy had hers done a year and a half ago. Lindsey had steadfastly refused, but on this day she was finally ready. She was so brave! (Of course, she complained the next day that she preferred her"non-earring lifestyle"after sleeping in them for the first time, but she seems to be adjusting to it now.) Then it was time for my Mom's family party. It's always nice to relax with family and just enjoy a little eggnog! I never remember to pull out the camera at my Mom's. I spend a lot more time talking to my mom and sisters, though. :)Christmas Eve is always a little bittersweet for me, since it's also my birthday. As a k
id, it was pretty disappointing. As a parent, it's sort of nice to be able to largely ignore it, despite Kent and the girls trying to celebrate it. :) This year, Kent and I hit a few stores, and then the girls and I ran around delivering gifts to friends while Kent fired up the snowblower. When we returned, we realized that he had gotten artistic and carved a kneeling woman out of snow in the front yard. He's really cute and interesting to live with. After that we stayed in watching movies. Yay!
id, it was pretty disappointing. As a parent, it's sort of nice to be able to largely ignore it, despite Kent and the girls trying to celebrate it. :) This year, Kent and I hit a few stores, and then the girls and I ran around delivering gifts to friends while Kent fired up the snowblower. When we returned, we realized that he had gotten artistic and carved a kneeling woman out of snow in the front yard. He's really cute and interesting to live with. After that we stayed in watching movies. Yay! Christmas morning dawned bright and early - for me, anyway. I woke up at 6:30 too excited to go back to sleep. Crazy, I know. Seriously, how many moms out there wake up earlier and more excited than the kids?! Anyway, after showering and everything, I dropped in on Lauren, who was awake, and promptly awoke the little girls (who were NOT happy about it, even on Christmas). Finally, at 8:00, everyone was awake and excited to dig into the Mt.Everest of gifts surrounding our poor, little tree.
Everyone was thrilled with their gifts, but the best was the Wii that Santa left. Yay, Santa! In fact, that's why we had guests so late - Aunt Amy commandeered the remote and wouldn't leave until she got the high score in We Cheer (proving that everyone really does secretly want to be a cheerleader :)).
It was so much fun having all my family over for lunch/dinner! Amy and I never really got to know any of our cousins growing up, so we make a special effort to get our kids together frequently. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of everyone together, but I did get a great video of Amy playing We Cheer. Enjoy!
