We couldn't start our Christmas blog without a picture of the Christmas Tree. It is so beautiful and with the decorated railing it really makes the house so festive. Christmas was different this year because we went over to my Jessica's and Crystal's where they enjoyed their Christmas morning with their children in their own homes. That's the way it should be now so we were delighted to first go to Jessica and Chad's for Christmas brunch.
Hailey and Shelby are in their new pajamas Grandma gave them to open on Christmas Eve to keep them warm and cozy while they sleep.
Hailey and Grandma, notice my new earrings Jordan gave me!
All the kids are in their pj's but Emily couldn't wait to put on her new pretty dress. The kids were so happy and excited and me and Grandpa were excited for brunch as Jessica and Chad were busy in the kitchen with last minute preperations.
Adorable picture of Hailey with her new, big teddy bear that Riley gave to her!
Here we are sitting down to a wonder brunch these guys made for us and I got to tell you how delicious it was. It really was such a treat for Martin and me to relax on Christmas morning and enjoy this special breakfast we all shared together.
The kids couldn't wait any longer so after brunch we all gathered around so they could open our gifts to them.
Shelby was first to open and she got a Barbie Laptop!
Jessica and Chad wondered if Riley thought he was getting a box of All Bran, but we think he was thrilled that it wasn't! A Star Wars Lego dictionary and the new Mario Bros. Wii game.
Emily had opened up her present before I could get more shots but she got a Barbie Laptop too!
I had Jessica's name so she got make-up and a manicure set and Chad was thrilled to tears, literally with Martin's gift. We got this when we were in Newfoundland earlier this year and just had to get it for Chad.
Getting together like this on Christmas morning was so fun relaxing for us, we really enjoyed ourselves and Jessica and Chad did a wonderful job with our traditional Christmas brunch!
Our next stop was at Crystal and Jonathan's and the kids were so excited as they showed us some of their new toys.
Here's Taylor with Mommy and Daddy. Except for Jonathan and Jordan, everyones was still lounging still in their pj's. It was around 1pm when we finally arrived but the kids had been patiently waiting all morning.
Taylor was the first to open his and we were so excited because we knew he likes trucks. We found the biggest one we could find for him! It was really neat because it came with a smaller truck with toys and he could also ride it!
Elayna and Brianna were just in a flurry to open theirs, it was so fun...and you guessed it....Barbie Laptops! We ordered up four of them for our four grand daughters since they are so close in age and play together constantly. It was a safer solution;)
This truly is one of the joys of being a grandparent to watch all our grand children smile with delight with their new toys but more importantly to be together to share all these memories.
Crystal had Martin's name and got him a Back Country Slope Meter and a Emergency Blanket from Mountain Equipment Coop. You can't go wrong getting anything from there...good job! Martin was thrilled because he had a Slope Meter before and lost it. It is a very handy tool to have.
I was focusing in on Taylor when Jord leaned forward just as I was snapping the picture...so cute! It was so nice to have Jordan home for Christmas. He had just returned from Jerusalem where he did a semester at BYU Jerusalem this past fall. We all love Jordan but he gets particular attention from all his neices and nephews as they just love Uncle Jord!
The girls didn't take long to get their laptops going. I noticed they disappeared and found them upstairs in their play room all set up working on their Laptops. They're so little but they know how to work these electronics in a snap! Even Taylor knows to hit the right buttons on computers or iPhones.
That was our Christmas morning and I must say it was one of our betters ones. Every Christmas has it's nice memories but we truly enjoyed visiting or kids and grandchildren in their own homes. I think everyone was more relaxed and it was so much fun. I think we've reached the stage in our lives that this will be a tradition that we accept wholeheartedly. Thank you for everything as I know it is a lot of work but as 'old people' it's time to pass the tradition on.
Christmas Dinner
We decided this year to have one big Christmas dinner on Boxing Day so for Christmas Day we had our good friends , Genevieve and Andy over for dinner. Martin snapped some shots of the house before they arrived. I wasn't sure how I felt about not having the traditional turkey with our kids like we do every year. I can't remember Christmas day without turkey in my life so what was this going to be like? As a mother who really feels tradition is important for our kids and know they like it too, I was a little concerned. I was confident though that our kids were also at the stage where they were doing their own traditions whether new ones or keeping some of ours. So our dinner turned out to be so wonderful, it was a quiet and so fun with wonderful friends that I didn't miss turkey at all!
Martin's brother and sister-in-law, Gerry and Dawn gave me this beautiful orchid for my birthday when we had them over for dinner on December 18th. The orchid lasted until the middle of January! It is so nice to have fresh flowers in our home.
Thank you Genvieve and Andy as your company was so enjoyable and to share Christmas dinner with a difference was a pleasant change!
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