Christmas Eve Fun

This turned into the "dance" portion of the Christmas Eve Program! The Chad Taylor family gave us a great talent show- reminiscent of the Jim and Pam's wedding from "The Office" Too funny!

Elise gettin' her groove on..
I should forward this pic to Chad's ward... Bishop's got some sweet moves...
with a little pleading, David showed us our favorite moves! Everyone got into it!
Annual "Stuff It" Game: Jacob with cousins Luke and Naomi

Candy Sled Racing!

Candy Sled Races- a very fun Christmas Eve tradition!! This year we split into more teams than just our families, because of the "heats" we needed. I have no clue about heats, but we had fun! Lynn and Jacob pictured below with their 2nd place prize- dinner gift card-yum! Eric and Alec won first place and the Dean family won the golden ticket this year (hidden inside one of the chocolate bars) One of these years, the Deans will take 1st place!! :-)Elise and I were on a team. We called ourselves the "Spice Girls" and we thought our sled was the best decorated! Uhhh, we didn't win.
Grandpa built a new and improved track system this year. Very slick!
Elise and Cyrena watching the races...

Jacob and cousin Isabelle

Jacob and cousin Cyrena

Hard at work, making sleds that are aerodynamic... kinda.... ok, chunky and loaded with candy, but sturdy.

Christmas Eve Dinner - Kid's table

My Favorite Time of Year

Dinner with Lynn's mom Betty and sister Pam before they left for the holidays. Niece Haley and cousin Alli from BYU came too- a fun night of food, visiting and catching up!
One of our favorite yearly Christmas traditions is seeing the musical "A Christmas Carol." It always puts us in the right spirit and reminds us of the true meaning of this beautiful season! We also have traditional treats- Milka Swiss Chocolate bars and Chocolate oranges.

Jacob pictured below at his Christmas piano recital. This year they performed for a local care center. Jacob commented how good he felt when playing for people who can't really go anywhere. He did a great job!!
This is Jacob's wood working project for scouts. He worked hard on it for several weeks (with dad helping) :-) I LOVED it!

All Through the House..

Christmas is the best holiday, and even though it's a lot of work, at some point I feel a spark and let myself become wrapped up in the "magic" of the season.  I want my kids to have cozy, warm, fond memories of holidays at home.  Fireplaces, cozy scents, soft slippers, warm cuddles, cocoa, homemade goodies, good stories, snowball fights, Christmas secrets, advent, service to others, fun traditions, and most of all time together.

Neighborhood Luminary Walk Party

This is the same Santa's lap Jacob has sat on since he was a baby! He is the real deal. 

Elise and Shannon who's home from college!
Master Hay Rider... and a pretty cute Santa too.
Red noses, hot chocolate
Snow ball fight with Brother Rogers  :)
Lynn is the official driver of the hay rides... he LOVES it and even got a generator this year so he could have music and lights.
Singing Carols...  Our neighborhood Luminary walk party has become a tradition 9 years now, thanks to wonderful families who started it.  The first real holiday snowfall was that day, so it made a very festive atmosphere!  We line our sidewalks with luminaries, Christmas music is playing, bon fires are going, Santa comes, kids are singing, cocoa and cookies flow and it's a wonderful time to be together with great friends!

Christmas Party

Christmas Party with book club friends I LOVE!!  Husbands came and Skanchy's hosted - what a fun night!!  :) Pictured:  Christie, Heather, Katie, Carolynn, Ginger, Debbie, Meghan, Linda, Jennifer.