Christmas

This year for Christmas Eve we went to Jared's grandma's house in St. George like every year. His Aunt Louise makes the best Wassail and homemade Clam Chowder. We have a potluck and sing Christmas songs. This year Santa even stopped by real quick and gave the kids some candy. We drove home that night to have Christmas at our house and then went back the next day. We were able to visit Jeremy and Molly and see what their kids got and then we went to G&G Peterson's for a family dinner where Nick and Erica joined us. The kids had SO much fun playing together! It's great that they're all close in age - there's a 6 year old, two 4 year olds (including Crue), another that turned 4 a week later, Cooper was 2 and another turned 2 about a week later, and then a baby that turned 1 a few days before, and Aly that is 8 months. We missed Jared's sister and her family that live in another state. The boys got really spoiled with all their presents. It was a good Christmas. I didn't get pictures of them opening everything but I did get before and after pictures.

I found some kid Santa hats at the store and got a couple for the boys because they've wanted some. Our boys have big heads. I was reminded of that when I brought the hats home. They fit Aly perfect though and since she looked so stinkin' cute in it I kept the one and took the other back. I found some adult ones for cheaper that fit the boys.

The kids with Santa at our ward party. Cooper cared more about his candy than the camera, or even Santa! Aly obviously did not like being handed off to someone else. Crue's used to smiling for me and loved Santa. :)

A family in our ward invited us over for dinner the night before Christmas Eve. Another family came and almost everyone had a part and acted out the Nativity. Aly was the only baby so she was Jesus.

Crue was a shepherd.

Cooper was whatever. He cared to play more with the toy nativity than to act in the live one. He also went and played with Aly during the show. It was funny. They recorded it and we watched it after. Jared and the other two husbands were the wise men. They had robes on and were absolutely hilarious!

Grandma Peterson with her two youngest grandkids. Aly and Caitlyn who are only 4 months apart.

Hanging with Grandma.

The kids and me with Great Grandma Spendlove. Why we didn't get Jared in the picture since it's his Grandma, I don't know. Please excuse the pj's. This was as we were leaving and it was past their bedtime so we put them right into bed when we got home.

I was hoping to have new pajama pants made for them to open and wear Christmas Eve but I ended up not getting them done until 1 or 2 am Christmas morning. So I put them on the floor outside their doors to find in the morning (Cooper - dinosaurs, Crue - snow board/ski, Aly - fun animal print).

Jared blocked the hall when we went to bed so we could video the boys' reaction to their presents. You can kind of see the vacuum on the chair on the right. Jared found a little newer version of our vacuum for $5 at a thrift store so he got it since ours has been slowly getting worn out. When Cooper saw this picture as I was typing he said "there's my vacuums!" There was a vacuum on each barstool with the blanket over them.

 The tree with all the presents.

The stockings. Aly only got bows since she can't eat the candy and the stocking on the far right was for my brother that lives with us. The boys each got a new sippy cup and an LED headlamp for camping. No stocking stuffers for the adults this year (I guess Santa ran out of coal before he got to our house). :)

 We found a good deal on a Power Wheels Jeep up north so my mom picked it up for us. Crue's been asking for a toy jeep that he can drive. Mom and Dad delivered. Santa brought a new battery so it can go a little faster (the battery it came with is a good around-the-basement battery). 

 Crue got a hummer with a guy and motorcycle from Santa.

 Cooper got a tractor (that makes noise) with a trailer that had a four-wheeler and hay bales loaded. They also got matching Cars tents that they got to use that night at G&G Petersons, Cooper got a Cars sleeping bag (Crue got one a previous Christmas), gloves so they can help when we work on our front yard this spring, and lots of other things. They were sure happy!

My parents found a couple of ping pong tables at a store that was moving and they had some of the bigger stuff marked way down. They got one for us (we're the only ones with a house and somewhere to put it) that Jared finished setting up Christmas Eve and they got one for them. 

 Did the 2011 Christmas Tornado hit your house too?

 That night after putting Aly to sleep at G&G's house we took the boys to see the temple lights. Crue ran right up the stairs and Cooper wasn't far behind.

 I love this shot of them with the lights and the temple behind them.

My mother-in-law has two things of candy - one with peanut m&ms that I usually raid (and Jared and the boys a little too) and one with Hershey's Bliss that the boys can reach a little easier and love to get. Rather than going to the kitchen garbage nearby, Cooper would sit under Grandpa's computer desk, open his candy, eat it, and throw the wrapper in the garbage right there. It was the funniest thing.

 We were thinking of taking the boys to a parking lot so they could learn to handle the Jeep a little better without as much to hit as our basement had but then Jared just took them to our front yard. It worked great. Jared had seen where people put real rubber tires around the Jeep tires to give them more traction so he did that. It works great but it's a little more bumpy on the sidewalk/driveway.

 Cooper drove a little too. They both love it and are really good about taking turns driving. Notice Cooper's tongue hanging out. :)

I love their faces in this one.

Every time Crue drove, Cooper just sat there calm as could be with his hands in his lap. The front "windshield" would fall down sometimes and they'd both reach and pull it up. They were so cute together!

(I have a video to post with them riding around in the Jeep but for some reason I can't load videos to the blog. I thought before it was because they were HD and too big but I did a different setting and it's still not working. Anyone know why? It says something about server rejected.)