Tevya Was Right

In looking back, I am thinking I didn't take very many pics of the entire Christmas season.  Like I feel like I am leaving out many of our favorite festivities. 

 Like decorating gingerbread houses at Grandma Amy's with 2nd cousins Riley and Iris,

And seeing the lights and some of Santa's reindeer at Thanksgiving Point

And both girls' singing in their school Christmas concert 

And class Christmas parties

And making new ornaments as a family 

And picking out and bringing home and stringing lights upon and decorating the tree together

And dethroning our long lived BJ angel (with a Cambree one)

And Christmas morning and Christmas Day with the Meyers side of the family...

Some are stuck on my old, dead and buried phone.  Some were never taken because I was too caught up in the moments to bother snapping pictures.  Which is fine.  Sometimes that trade off is worth it, don't ya think?

We always go to Salt Lake Temple Square to see the lights.  Actually, Luke and I didn't go last year because he was only a month old.  But this year we allllllllll went.  Like everybody on BJ's side of the family.  I think.  It was so busy and a bit crazy with all the people and all of us trying to stay together but we do it because it's tradition and we wouldn't dare mess with tradition. 

It actually wasn't deathly cold though (for once) so that helped a great deal.  Afterwards, we all trekked back to Matt and Kim's home for dinner and to exchange gifts.

Christmas Eve was full of family time too.  We had most of BJ's family and my parents over for dinner, a white elephant exchange and chimes.  There's nothing like the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in my mind.  Nothing newfangled, fancy-fied, or in any way health-conscious.  Nope.  Tradition prevailed again.   So fun to get all the cousins together!

My mom and dad joined us Christmas Eve and helped us get everything ready for the next day.  Not to mention the gaming while we waited for the young'uns to fall asleep.  I think it was probably around 7:30 or 8 when the girls woke us up Christmas morning and, after reading the Christmas story in bed with Mom and Dad, went down stairs.  BJ and I just love seeing the girls' faces and watching them get so excited over the simple things they got.  It was also fun to watch them watch everyone else open their gifts.  

After a lazy morning and afternoon, we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's house to spend the next 2 days with the Meyers cousins!  I don't remember much about those days except that we played a lot of games.  A lot.  But it's tradition!