Christmas 09!

This is going to be a LONG one. We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas. It was almost perfect. All three of the kids had croup the weekend before and Reese's turned into an ear infection. She wasn't all the way back to normal and I don't think she was feeling great. We had a busy week. Sunday afternoon we had a Christmas party in Brigham City with my dad's family. It was great to see some of them that we don't get to see very often. Kenadee had her class party on Monday that I was in charge of and it went great. Monday night she had a performance. Tuesday she had her Christmas Sing at school and that was fun to watch. She did a great job. Tuesday night she had a class performance at dance and then a Christmas Party with her Dance Team. Troy took her because the other two were done and tired. I felt bad that I didn't go and watch her perform. Then I was jealous when I found out that she got to meet and get an autograph from two of the top six dancers from So You Think You Can Dance. Ryan and Ashleigh (the husband and wife from this last season) were at Center Stage and all the kiddos got to meet them. Troy wasn't star struck like I would have been! Wednesday was busy with last minute stuff.





Christmas Eve morning we met Troy's dad and step mom at IHOP for breakfast. The kids all loved what they got. It included Hannah Montana, Tinkerbell, a dump truck, clothes, and a Target gift card. We sure love Grandma and Grandpa Campbell.

Christmas Eve was spent with my family this year. We stopped at my grandpa and grandma Hardy's house for awhile to visit with everyone until Dani got off work. It is always full of people and food and presents on Christmas Eve. I loved being able to see everyone. Then it was back to my mom and dads. I love my parents house at Christmas time. My mom goes crazy and the house exudes Christmas. There is Christmas in EVERY corner. It always turns out gorgeous with lights everywhere. Someday my house will be the same way. We had a super yummy dinner and then we watched a wonderful Christmas movie about Christ. Then it was on to opening presents and I think that all of the kids were spoiled rotten. Dolls, barbies, darling tutu's, clothes, trucks and cars, and more. We let the kids go off to play while all of the adults had our own gift exchange. It was getting late so we opened up our new Christmas pajamas and cleaned up. By the time we left Brigham City it was 11:00. The kids were out cold by the time we got home, so Troy and I put out the cookies and chocolate milk for Santa.

I am like a kid on Christmas Eve. I think I woke up every hour to see what time it was. At 8:00 Christmas morning I woke up and turned on all the Christmas lights. I snuck downstairs to see if Santa found us and he did!



Came back upstairs to find this.

I nudged Kenadee a few times and she finally woke up. She was excited. Reese not so much. She is not a morning person. It took a bit to wake her up and make her happy.

We made them all go downstairs together just like my mom and dad used to do. I think Jensen was the most fun this year. He loves his horse. Every time he would sit on it he would get a goofy grin on his face. Kenadee's favorites were her doll and her makeup. Reese's were her Three Musketeers Barbie and her dress up. She could have cared less about her Itty Bitty American Girl doll that Santa thought she would love. Troy's favorites were his docking station for his iPhone and his Cardinals shirt. I was most excited about the Cardinals toothbrush I found him. Troy surprised me a few days before Christmas with a new camera. I was super excited.I also got a new purse, bubble bath that i LOVE, a Nicholas Sparks book, and the new Carrie Underwood CD. The girls got Moxie girls and a Barbie tents from the Great Grandma's and Grandpa. Jensen got a firetruck and a book. We had a big breakfast and a lazy morning until it was time to leave for Heber.

Troy's mom did all the cooking on Christmas Day and it was delish. She wanted us to all have a break and it was nice. Reese fell asleep on the way there and she was mean and grumpy pretty much the whole time we were there. The girls got the Snow White and Sleeping Beauty movies along with the Polly Pockets. Jensen got a VTech sit on toy that all the kids love. We have watched the princess movies a hundred times since then.

Whew. That was a lot of posting, but worth it for all the memories. Troy surprised me for our anniversary by printing the first year of my blog in a book. I love it so much and it made me appreciate blogging again. It is the best way for me to document our lives and all the happenings. I can't wait to print up this last year!

Our Christmas was wonderful. With all the hustle and bustle of the season we were able to have a neat experience as a family that helped us to feel the true spirit of Christmas. It is a special memory that I hope all of us remember for a long time. I am so excited to have new year before us and I hope it is a great one. Happy New Year!