We have had a really fun Christmas season this year! We love all the parties, get togethers, delicious food and treats, and the spirit this time of year brings. We love Christmas! Here are some of our festivities this month.
On December 12, we had the Rhodes Christmas Party. Ben was out of town for work, so Payson and I went and had a really great time. It was Payson's first time seeing Santa this year, and he did surprisingly well. He was nervous at first, but once Santa gave him his coloring book, he was content to stay there.
Here he is with all the kids. He crawled right up to them and wanted to sit right next to them. He loves to be around other kids!
Santa and Payson
Cute boy in his Christmas outfit. I love it! And he wore it a lot! :)
The next Sunday, December 19, we had the Cox Family Christmas Party. Once again, a fun time was had by all. Payson did really well with Santa, again was a little nervous at first, but was fine after. We got some great family pictures, which is a yearly tradition.
Payson again wanted to hang out with the kids. Here he is sitting at the kids table. And then when all the kids were sitting in front of Santa, he wanted to be right there with them.
The next night, on the 20th, we went downtown to look at the lights at Temple Square. We went with the Hoovers, Stoddards and Andersons and had a really great time. We bundled Payson up and I think he had a good time. He reminded me of the kid on "A Christmas Story" when he says "I can't put my arms down!" But at least he was warm!
All the kids in front of the nativity scene
It's so beautiful there!
On Christmas Eve, we spent the day at the Lambs. Jan threw a fantastic party, as always, and we had a really great time. We ate a lot of delicious food, had a talent show, sang carols, played games and ended the evening with the kids doing the nativity scene. The night was so much fun!
Here is Pays in his jammies from Nannie and Pop-pop.
In the nativity, Payson was a lamb. He wandered around most of the time, and didn't quite understand that he was supposed to look at baby Jesus, but he is the cutest lamb I have ever seen! The role fits him, doesn't it?! ;)
Pop-pop read the story from the bible.
Little Drew was baby Jesus.
We just love our cousins!
After that party, we went to the Tye's and did our traditional present exchange. As usual, the parents gave us all matching pajamas, and the siblings exchanged gifts. We also gave our gifts to the parents, and I was so excited for my mom's gift. I made her a sign to hang in her house, and I think she really liked it. My sister gave Payson some books, which he is opening in the picture below. My favorite part is that he is sitting in the storage bin that we gave my dad. Love that kid.
Pictures of the boys in their jammies
The girls in their jammies
Christmas morning was so much fun! Payson slept through the first part of it, so we were able to open our gifts before he opened his. I gave Ben a picture of the signing of the declaration of independence (which I have had for awhile and was so excited to give to him!) a Cardinals hoody, a Jazz hat, some cologne, and some movies and other things. Ben gave me some accessories for my Cricut including some new cartridges, along with some USU Aggies clothes, some movies, and one of my favorite games- Settlers of Catan. It was a lot of fun.
Although the real fun began when Payson woke up. He, of course, went immediately to Grandpa and wanted to help him open his gifts. This kid loves his Grandpa. He won't go to anyone, including his mama, if Grandpa is around.
Once he figured it out, he loved opening his presents. He would rip one piece at a time and then give it to one of us. It was adorable. But he figured out quick that something was inside the wrapping. Santa gave him a lot of books, a snow suit and a hat, and a toy table that he can play with standing up. He LOVES the table- even more than we thought he would. He has been playing with it ever since he opened it. Good job Santa! :)
Grandma and Grandpa gave him a real cowboy hat, some cowboy boots and an adorable cowboy outfit. He wore them the next day and looked so cute!
After opening those presents, we headed back to the Lambs for breakfast and more presents. Nannie and Pop-pop spoiled us all! The kids all had a big pile of presents to open, and we took turns opening them so we could see what everyone got. Again, Payson loved ripping the paper one small piece at a time. I had to help him a little to move the process along.
Here are my cute boys!
And all of us, still in our jammies, still looking the same as we did when we first woke up. It was relaxing, but doesn't make great pictures! :)
I was so excited to give Jan and Scott their present. I had bought the cute box of shelves awhile ago, and was so excited to make this for them. I am really happy with how it turned out and I think they really liked it. The little tile on top says, "Happiness is having grandchildren to love" and then the names of all their grandchildren are on the blocks.
After that fun party, we headed back up to Salt Lake and got ready to go talk to my brother Terry who is on a mission in New York. He sent us hoodies for Christmas and we all wore them when we went to talk to him. We went to one of Terry's friends house who has a video phone, so we could talk to him face to face.
It was so much fun! He looks so good! It was great talking to him and just seeing him. He is doing really well out there and we are so proud of him.
After that, we headed to Grandma Tye's for the Tye get-together. As always, it was crazy, but lots of fun. It's been awhile since we have been there for that (due to scheduling and sharing the holidays with both families) and it reminded me of when I was young and all the fun Christmas memories I have. It also made me miss my Grandpa Tye. Each year Grandma and Grandpa Tye would come over to see what we got for Christmas, and every year, without fail, the first thing my Grandpa would say when he walked in was "It looks like Santa's been here!" He was a loud, fun grandpa! This year, Grandma gave Payson a fun toy that I know he will love.
After that, we went back to my parents house and played games and watched a movie. It was a long, but very fun Christmas. It was one of the best Christmas' we've had. It's always so hard to balance the time between both families and try not to miss anything. This year it seems we hit everything just right and were able to be at both places and the best times. And of course, it's so much fun to have a little one to spoil and watch get spoiled!
At church the next day, Payson and Ben wore their matching ties, and they looked so cute!
That night we went up to Grandma NaDene and Grandpa Duane's house for our Christmas with the Cox's. We used to do this on Christmas, but since our family is getting so big, and everyone is married and splitting the time between two families, we decided to move it to the next day to try and get everyone there. I hope we keep doing it this way- it makes Christmas last longer, and we will be able to go each year! Grandma always goes way out and give us all lots of gifts. She hides a bag full of stockings for everyone and the little kids always search until they find it. It's a lot of fun. Payson got a cute little chair that he loved sitting in. He kept wanting to get out and back in again. Grandma and Grandpa also gave us the first season of the Joseph Smith Papers, which will be fun and interesting to watch.
All in all, we really had a wonderful Christmas. We are blessed with amazing families and we love spending time with them. We are grateful for this time of year and for the chance we have to reflect and really focus on our Savior. How grateful we are that he came to earth and gave his life for us. We have many things to be thankful for this year. The Lord has truly blessed us.
We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
