There were a few Christmases that I didn't blog about, like the Christmas when I was in 4th grade--the first Christmas we lived in Tremonton. A neighborhood Santa came to our home and surprised us for a visit on Christmas Eve. Afterwards, my dad told us that he had seen Santa on his rooftop when he was a kid. I questioned him over and over if that was true, and he stuck by his story. After we went to bed that night, I stay glued to my window to see if Santa really was real and if I could see him flying outside. After a few hours with seeing nothing, the anxiety got to me, and I threw up.
There were so many Christmases since we got married that I didn't share, so many good gifts that Josh has surprised me with over the years, and so many fun memories we have with our family...like the Christmas of 2009 when we had to put the Christmas tree in our kitchen because there was no other room for it in the house. And we went sledding on Christmas Eve in Logan with my sisters and my brother Mick's family, and we had so much fun together! And the boys finally got a wii from Santa, and they played it all morning at my mom's house.
But I just decided that for this final blog post in this 12 Days of Christmas series, I would share with you our Christmas of 2011.
Now that I work full-time at the elementary school, my life revolves around the school schedule. December was a crazy-busy month. Our last day of school was December 15, and everything was crammed into those first two weeks of December. We were gone to multiple places every single night. The stress was getting to me, and I didn't think I would make it to Christmas Break as a sane person. The last day of school began with the big kindergarten Christmas music program in the morning, and I had so much to do for it. I'd had nightmares and couldn't sleep well for a week before it because of the anxiety it brought me. Thankfully, the program went wonderful and smooth and I was so glad! But around 11:00 that day, I realized that I'd forgotten to plug in the crock-pot that morning of soup I'd made and refrigerated the night before for the twins' class party at 11:30. I couldn't hold in the stress of the last two weeks' nightmarish and stressful schedule any longer, and I burst into tears in front of the 4th grade class I was teaching. I finally fell apart, and only 5 hours short of the arrival of Christmas Break. Thankfully, my mother-in-law Kathy and my friend and fellow employee Kit came to my rescue, and it all worked out. So when school got out that day, I've never felt happier about beginning the long 18-day Christmas Break. Because the first 2 weeks of December were so over-the-top stressful for me, I've made it a point to just relax over Christmas Break. And that aspect alone has been the biggest influence on me enjoying this Christmas holiday.
Josh's work schedule is very slow in the winter. The golf course officially closed on November 1, and through the winter he works on equipment and trimming trees and winterizing the course and buildings. He's able to determine what hours he works, so he's been helping me a lot more with Kanyon. He babysits Kanyon in the mornings, then feeds him lunch, then takes him to school before he goes to work all afternoon. Because he's spent so many hours at home in November and December, he had time to do all the Christmas shopping. He spent a lot of time on ebay and other online stores purchasing gifts. I didn't feel any stress over shopping this Christmas because, for the first time in our marriage, he did it all. I never asked him to do it, he wilfully chose to. And since he likes shopping, it worked out well for both of us!
Also, for the first time in our marriage, he put all the lights on the Christmas tree. I usually do it, because I'm sort of anal about how I want it done. But I simply didn't have the time or energy to do it this year, and after the tree was in our house for a few days without any lights on it, the kids were begging to put the decorations on it. So one morning when he was home, he put up the lights on it. And he did a great job! When we came home from school that day, we were all so happy to see the lights on the tree, and the boys went right to work decorating it. Jonah, Micah, and Kanyon completely did it by themselves, which was also a first. Usually the boys only decorate their own little trees that they put in their rooms and I decorate the big tree, but they wanted to do the big one this year, too, and I let them. And they did a fabulous job! They brought chairs over from the kitchen so that the ornaments would be spread all around the tree: on all sides, and on the high and the low branches! I was so impressed with the job they did! The lighting and decorating of the tree was truly a gift to me from my husband and sons, and I loved admiring their work!
We went to Utah over Christmas Break the week before Christmas. On our way there, we stopped in Pocatello to visit Josh's mom who was recovering from surgery in the hospital. The boys did so well in the car, and it was nice to visit his parents and sister and take a rest from driving. We were in Utah for 3 nights, and we came home the day of Christmas Eve. Besides Katrina, we were the only ones at my parents house, and the house felt very calm: I talked with my mom and my dad alone, we watched movies, and the boys decorated gingerbread sleighs.
We also looked at lights together. There is one home in Tremonton that has a light show on their house that is coordinated to six songs. We loved it so much, we went there twice!
We went to Logan on the 22nd. We went ice skating in the indoor arena with Mick's family. Josh and I haven't gone ice skating in 15 years, and we've never gone together. It was the first time me and the boys had ever ice skated on indoor ice, and it was the first time Kanyon had ever worn ice skates. Josh was amazing! He got on the ice and whizzed away. He could do little tricks, too, which was fun to watch! Ammon did really well, too--he looked just like his dad on the ice. The twins looked like comedians on the ice--they were always falling in dramatic fashion and bouncing right back up. It was so funny watching them! And Kanyon was slow and steady--he started out with a walker, but by the end of our 2 hours skating, he could skate 10 feet without needing help or falling. I was so proud of him! I will admit that I was the worst one--I used a kid walker for the first hour, and I looked like a caterpillar without it, just inching slowly along the ice. I'm a terrible skater, but I had so much fun skating with my family. Jen was a pro, like Josh, and she looked so graceful on the ice. Aspen and Libby were good little skaters, too, and we were so happy to spend the day with them!
We had lunch together at Mick's house when skate time was over, and the kids played with their cousins while I went to the temple and Josh went to finish the Christmas shopping. I was glad to be able to attend the temple, to complete my temple goal for the year. It was peaceful and I had quiet reflections as I read the book of mormon while waiting for my appointment.
That night, we had dinner at Tawna's huge rental home in Logan. My siblings all came, and after the filling dinner, the adults and kids had separate white elephant gift exchanges. Then we watched the kids' puppet Nativity show. It was fun to have a pre-Christmas party with my family since we weren't going to be there on Christmas day when everyone else was getting together again.
On the 23rd, we went to Salt Lake. We went to Ikea, and picked up the little red leather loveseat that I've been eyeing for years. It was my Christmas gift to the family, and I was so excited to finally be getting the piece of furniture that I've been dreaming about for so long! Then we drove to Temple Square, and we walked around for several hours. We toured the conference center, and we went in both Visitor's Centers. We watched part of "The Testaments" movie, and we saw the lights as they were just coming on. The boys loved the lights, and especially the reflection pool.
I wanted to go in the Joseph Smith building too, but by that time, the boys were tired of walking and they were all hungry. So we left and went to eat dinner at Costa Vida. It's one of Josh and I's favorite restaurants, but we've never taken the boys there. Ammon loved it just as much as Josh and I! Then we drove to Ogden to drop off the couch at John's parents' house, because he was going to bring the loveseat home to Salmon since he has a truck. I finally got to meet John's family, and they were so nice! On our way home to Tremonton, we stopped to see the light display at Willard Bay. There was a huge line of cars, and it took us an hour to drive through it, but they'd added some new items to the display and Josh drove slowly so we could enjoy every bit of it before heading back to Tremonton. It was a full, but good, day.
We came home on Christmas Eve day. When we got home, we put everything away and went to the store to get a few things to make Christmas dinner the following day. As I was doing all the food prep work, the boys watched a Christmas movie. Then we re-enacted the Nativity with figures, read Christmas stories, wrote letters to Santa, and then the boys went to bed. I was glad to be home for Christmas.
On Christmas morning, everyone was up at 7:30. They played with their Santa gifts and then they started taking turns opening wrapped gifts.
We stopped at 9:00 so we could eat breakfast and get ready for church at 10:00. It was Sacrament meeting only that day, and it was so lovely to not have to take a ton of bags and manuals and kid activities with us since it was for just one hour. The services were so beautiful, and I loved listening to all the Christmas music that was shared.
After church, we came home and Josh and I made dinner. Josh made the ham, and I made the potatoes and rolls and salad. His parents and brother Malachi joined us for the meal. It was the first time we've ever had Christmas dinner at our own house, and I loved it! After dinner, we finished opening gifts with his parents and Mal, and we were done around 2:00.
I loved that the Christmas Day festivities took all morning and most of the afternoon. I was glad that we had family come and share it with us in our home. I loved being together, and feeling the magic of the Christmas spirit in my own home! Christmas 2011 was a beautiful one for me.
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