Merry Christmas!

Christmas has been so wonderful this year.  We all went to Temple Square for FHE Monday night before Christmas, and got there early enough to (avoid crowds &) get sandwiches at Seigfried's (our favorite German deli), rode the Light Rail back and forth, heard a concert from Anne's soon-to-start violin teacher, and saw the lights, a family video, and a Sister Missionary choir concert.
The children got out of school early Wednesday, and Thursday night we all had a ball going roller skating for Dollar Night at the skating rink.

 

 I was reluctant to go through to work of cooking a huge turkey for Christmas Eve, but it DID make the house so warm and cozy, and we had a wonderful feast w/ rolls, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, pomegranate salad, a separate pear salad course to start, and our favorite drink of cranberry juice and tonic water. We opened pajamas (I actually got sheepskin slippers instead of pj's this year!), and then Brian read the Navitivity while the children acted it out. (the angel thought she should at least be able to hold the baby for a while, and Maddie was a wise woman from the VERY FAR East!) We sang a few Christmas carols, and then everyone went to bed pretty early--all the older children sleeping (?) together downstairs.

 Christmas morning was delightful, with a dollhouse for the younger girls and a mattress warmer for Maddie (she ASKED for it!!--and got hilarious reactions whenever she told people that's what she wanted!), Heely shoes for the boys, and a jewelry holder for Emily.  They got a couple of other smaller things with it--Maddie and Emily have spent hours making earrings w/ jewelry supplies, Brent's played lots w/ his new basketball, and Spencer had the BEST reactions when he opened his own set of "stacking cups" (they really teach it in Fitness out here) AND a harmonica.  "I can't believe I got everything I asked for!!!! How did Santa do it??!!!" Lucy must've been a bit tired--she would say "No," when we asked her if she wanted to open a present (maybe she was just bored after having already opened most of them the last 2 weeks), and when she got a plastic "caterpillar" toy from Emily, she shrieked and ran away in fear, saying "SCAWY, SCAWY!"

We also got "Just Dance 3" for our Kinect, which has been HILARIOUS fun--as well as a killer workout! (I did "sweat" mode for one workout last week which was a LOT like the free Zumba class I got to do to the week before!), and an IRRESISTIBLE game called "Quirkle."  

We enjoyed a great and simple Christmas Sacrament Mtg. at church, had leftovers and stocking goodies the rest of the day, and just enjoyed being together.  Monday was much more of the blissful same! It's been such a nice reprieve to just be together, and not be distracted by much else.  Brian went back to work for most of this last week, but got off early to watch BYU win their bowl game (Hooray!), and then we went as a family to a new Trampoline place Saturday morning that we'd gotten coupons for.  It's so hard to see vacations end! Our hearts have also been in Idaho as Kathy had surgery right before Christmas to remove an abdominal growth, and now as Grandpa Stewart has been moved to ICU.