John and Pauline decided to spend Christmas at their cabin again with Suzanne's family. (I don't blame them it is a very peaceful place)
So she held the annual P.J. gifting party the Sunday before.
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| The O.G.'s |
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| The rat pack |
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| The girls with Baby Alice |
Because we live so close to extended family we aren't used to spending major holidays with just the six of us. We opened up suggestions with the kids about what to do on Christmas Eve. I insisted we go the sing along at the Capitol Hill ward since Emily shared in a sacrament talk a couple of weeks ago that singing the Christmas music and hearing the bells has been a major part of feeling the Christmas spirit. Ice skating was at the top of the kid list! Bart didn't share his opinion happy to spend it with us so off we went up to Steiner skate rink for some early afternoon skating before the sing along.
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| Having a bummed leg makes me the official photographer of ice skating. It's a hard job but someone needs to document the day for the blog. Emily informed me when the youth were planning on an ice skating activity, she made everyone laugh when she impersonated me trying to get everyone to stand close and get a picture. She's hilarious even if I pretended to be insulted and called her mean for making fun of me. |
They closed the rink sooner than we were expecting and since we were already in Salt Lake we had a couple of hours to kill until the sing a long. We decided to go out for a lunch/dinner but discovered most restaurants are closed Christmas Eve. Cheesecake factory was open so we decided to put on name on the wait list and stroll around City Creek Mall while we waiting. The 45 minute expected wait time turned into 1 hour and a half, they were out of our favorite dishes and the service was so crappy. Despite the mishaps we had fun playing the texting game cup pong on our phones.
I also insisted that we do not start opening presents until after Sacrament meeting. It was not up for debate so the kids didn't give me too much grieve about it.
I loved opening the gifts not feeling like we were in a hurry. I cherished all the giggles, hoorays, hugs everyone shared.
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| Spencer got his pro scooter he really wanted and it was in red too. |
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| I surprised Aaron with a subscription to crunch labs with Mark Rober. It's the gift that keeps on giving and will put his thinking fingers to work. |
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Jane got a lot of little cosmetic and a cosmetic fridge to go in her bathroom.
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Emily's list consisted of the things that make her happy. Clothes and Shoes.
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Last summer I discovered the genius behind those popular Stanley cups. They fit in your drink holder, have a straw and are easy to grab with the handle. I found a knock off Wal mart one that has suited me fine, the straw is garbage on it but I had too much pride allow myself to be too trendy. My girls decided it was time to step up and be a 'real" Utah mom. My sister Raquel gave me one too and I'm humbled to say I love my Stanleys. I have one that lives in my car and another one that everyone drinks from because it always has the coldest best water in the house. I guess the only shame is in denial that "I actually am a utah mom so I might as well embrace it and the stanleys that go with it.
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| The Girls got Bart a pair of shoes. New Balances for the win! |
The rest of the day we relaxed and prepped for the coming week at the Pace Party and the Cabin. I just love this Fam 'dam' ly of mine!
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