Merry Christmas

I can hardly believe that Christmas has come and gone. 
We had a wonderful Christmas and it was so nice and chill. 
We actually got to host Christmas at our house this year and Nanny, Papa & Aunt Laura came to us. 

While I wasn't feeling 100%, we were still able to do most of our Christmas eve traditions. 

We actually did something a little different this year and we had our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. 
We also invited the sister missionaries over for dinner and we had our friend Wyatt over as well. 

Dinner was delicious and everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

After Wyatt and the sister missionaries left, the kids smashed their gingerbread houses and ate the pieces. 

The "pajama elves" came and dropped off the kids' pajamas. 

Then we read the "Pajama Elves" book together. 

We left out some Christmas cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer and the kids made reindeer food to sprinkle on the front yard. 

We also said goodbye to our elves. Well the younger two said goodbye. The older two didn't seem to care that much.  

Then we decided to make some hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie together. 

The kids eventually went to bed and the countdown to Christmas morning began. 

Christmas began with the kids sleeping in pretty late for Christmas, and we opened stockings while we waited for Nanny, Papa & Aunt Laura to wake up. 

Then Bailey found our pickle so she got to open the first present. 

The kids had agreed this year that we would have a smaller Christmas in exchange for saving some money for our big trip to the Northeast states next summer. 

Regardless, they all seemed quite thrilled with the gifts they did get and it was a great morning. 

 

One of my favorite parts was when we had Nanny and Papa open their gifts and we zoomed all my siblings. I called Sarah and since Joseph was visiting her with his family, we got a two for one. Then Laura called David and so we all talked over facetime together. 

But this picture of the kids with their silly socks is probably my favorite thing from Christmas. 
I don't know why, but it makes me so happy. 

After opening presents we had Christmas morning cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. 

Then we played and hung out together. 
I made a Christmas charcuterie board at one point and we snacked on that until it was dinner time. 

The reason we decided to have a big Christmas Eve dinner was so we could all relax on Christmas.

This turned out wonderfully and we ate yummy leftovers for dinner on Christmas and no one had to do much cooking.

It was seriously the most chill and relaxing Christmas I've ever had. 
10/10 - highly recommend. 

Christmas is over now and as I'm reflecting over the season, I know I have so much to be grateful for. 
My family and my Savior are the biggest blessings in my life and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for them. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Big Cedar Trip

We just got home from a nice quiet weekend in Branson with Nanny, Papa and Aunt Laura. 

We arrived Friday night and picked up groceries and then had dinner at the condo. We stayed at "Big Cedar" this time, which is a little bit outside of Branson. 
Saturday we were pretty lazy and just hung out around the condo for a while. Tucker and Benson went for a walk down to the playground and we played some games. 

Then we drove into Branson for lunch and we ate "Local Flavor". 
The food was yummy and everyone enjoyed it. 

Then we went back to the resort to hang out. Once it got darker we drove down to watch the tree lighting and look at all the Christmas lights around the resort. 

The tree lighting was cute and both "The Grinch" and Santa showed up. We did a countdown and there were fireworks and then the tree lit up. It was so pretty.

Then we loaded up in the car and drove around the resort looking at all the lights and their different displays. 

Then we went back to our rooms and we made hot cocoa and then we had cookies delivered from the elves around the resort. 
We got our pajamas on and watched "A Christmas story". That's always a favorite. 

Sunday morning, Nanny, Papa & Aunt Laura left early to get back in time to sing with their ward choir and we attended church in Branson. 
I had to make sure we got one picture of us in our Christmas best. 

And one of the kids. I loved the boys ties this year. They all looked so cute. 

After church we changed back into normal clothes and the kids wanted to go ice skating at the resort. 

Ice skating is a stretch because while they did wear ice skates, the ground wasn't ice. It was more like a giant sheet of plexiglass/plastic. It was strange but the kids still had fun. 

At one point while the kids skated, I walked over to the little shops and found a Christmas ornament to commemorate the trip. 

Then we went to the clubhouse to swim. Well actually Benson and Tucker felt like swimming, since it was so cold. They had a blast though. They really loved the outdoor hot tubs. (They are crazy)

But they played for a couple of hours together and had a great time. 

After swimming we decided to head home. We had packed a picnic lunch so we ate that and drove home. It was a quick little trip, but we had fun and it's always nice to spend time with Nanny, Papa & Aunt Laura. 

Now Christmas is just a few days away and I can hardly believe it. 

Christmas Fun

Once I got through the Giving Machine opening, I was able to focus on decorating and prepping Christmas. Even though Chris was still gone to Virginia, the kids and I decorated the tree. 
They are tall enough now that the ornaments get pretty  well distributed around the tree. 

The tree turned out beautifully and I was grateful for the help. 
I love this time of the year!

On Saturday the kids and I went to Bella Vista to meet up with some friends and ride the North Polar Express. This is one of our favorite traditions. You get to ride this fun "train" and they play parts of the "Polar Express" movie. Then you arrive at the "North Pole" and see Santa. 

This is a free event that is put on by the Lyon's club and you can donate money at the end. 
We always enjoy this fun tradition!

I also added something new to my Christmas decor. 
I spent some time picking out nativity pictures and had them printed. 
Then I framed them and displayed them on my mantle. I absolutely love how it turned out. 
The pictures illustrate the nativity and each picture speaks to my heart. 

Aunt Laura came to visit during the second week Chris was gone and she helped me balance all the school events and outings. 

She also babysat for me one night so I could go out with some friends. 
We went to this really cool underground bar that was totally decked out for Christmas. 
It was called "Miracle on 2nd Street" and it was awesome.

We all wore our tacky Christmas sweaters and ordered virgin drinks. 

 

This place was so over-the-top Christmas that we couldn't stop laughing. 
The drinks all had fun names and they were yummy. 

We had a great time and I'm so glad we made time to try this place out. It's only around during the Holiday season and it required a reservation. We will have to make it a tradition. 

We also got to attend Tanner's Christmas concert. He had Jazz Band concert and normal symphonic band concert. 

Later that week we attended Bailey's Christmas concert as well. 

Poor Aunt Laura and Benson were so tired, they fell asleep. 

But Bailey did great and looked so pretty. 

Benson was also named "Star Student" this last week and that was pretty exciting for him. 
I was able to be there for the announcement and he was so excited. 

The teachers always write why they pick that student and Benson's "Star Student" qualities included: 
"a great friend to all, a kind heart & a calm demeanor".

I love hearing about times when my kids are kind. The world just needs more kindness and I hope my kids can help with that. 

Another night we got to go to the Centerton Christmas Parade. We haven't been to a Christmas parade in years, but this year we got to go watch Tanner march with the High School band in the Centerton parade. 
The band did great. They played "Grandma got ran over by a reindeer" and "Jingle Bells"

We had a great time watching him. It's always fun watching my kids do their thing. 

That night Chris came home from Virginia. We were all so happy to have him back. 
It was a long two weeks without him. 

Once he got home we did some more of our favorite activities. 

We went on our "Minivan Express" ride. The kids found their pjs and tickets under the tree. Chris punched all their tickets while I handed out hot chocolate. Then we drove around looking at Christmas lights. It's one of our favorite things to do during the Holiday seasons and there are some great neighborhoods around here that go all out. 

Another night I hosted a "Pjs and Board Night"

It was pretty cute. Everyone came in pjs and brought a different kind of charcuterie board. 

There were so many yummy boards and so much delicious food. 
Chris even snuck out of the bedroom at one point to make himself a plate. 

We all just sat around talking for hours and eating all the food. It was so fun and I think it will definitely be a tradition I want to keep up. 

Another fun thing we did was have a "Home Alone Movie Night"
We watched "Home Alone" and ate mac-n-cheese, cheese pizza and drank pepsi. 
I had some cute printables too. Like "Little Neros Pizza"  and an "Attack Plan" map. 

We were also cracking up at the "mac-n-cheese" prayer from the movie. 

After we finished dinner we made ice cream sundaes. 

We always love watching "Home Alone". It's one of our favorite holiday movies. 

Then today I got to attend Benson's class Christmas party. 

The party was cute. The kids ate their Christmas snacks and then did crafts and games. 

The last activity was the book exchange. It was pretty cute to watch. Ms. Skinner read a little story and it was full of the words "left" and "right". So when the kids heard those words they would pass the books left or right. They were giggling so much and it was adorable. Whenever the story ended, whatever book you held is the one you got to keep. It was pretty fun.

Tonight we are headed up to Branson to spend the weekend at "Big Cedar" with Nanny, Papa & Aunt Laura. We are looking forward to it. Stay tuned.