The Sunday before Christmas, we headed to Grubers for our Gruber gift exchange. We had a great dinner, talked about the birth of Christ, and opened presents. Isn’t Christmas just the best?
Charlie and Colson did a good job playing their roles: Joseph and Baby Jesus.
Christmas was on a Friday this year, so we headed to my parents house Wednesday evening. We got there just in time for dinner, but not in time for Charlie to be awake for dinner. He fell asleep on the way there and even after carrying him inside, he didn’t want to wake up and join the party. We put him to bed and he slept through the night. Needless to say, he was very hungry in the morning.
Bryan's organization and scheduling was in full force this year, complete with a mailing system.
Christmas Eve with my family is usually pretty “strict” with traditions. This year, for the sake of the boys, we mixed it up a bit. We still had a delicious breakfast, but instead of going to a movie, we played in the snow and decorated sugar cookies (a favorite activity of Charlie’s that he now thinks is associated with every holiday). Next, we took two blankets to the hospital for people who had to spend their Christmas there. Then we headed to Great Grandma and Grandpa Arbon’s house for our Christmas Party. We had dinner, had a Christmas program, and did a white elephant. That night after getting back to Draper, we opened special gifts from my parents. Charlie and Colson were the only ones to get pajamas this year. They loved them and looked adorable. The rest of us, including the boys, got special hand-made snow hats that my mom ordered from my cousin Brooke Severine. Brooke is so talented! Each hat was awesome and so unique. It was such a fun idea. After a late night of presents, pictures, and setting our cookies for Santa, we were all exhausted and fell asleep quickly.
We were the early risers in the house, so we spent the early mornings playing in our room.
Christmas Day was finally here! The day was filled with awesome gifts and fun games. We even had visitors later that evening. Kyle (Kim’s then boyfriend, now fiance) came over and McKayla (Bryan’s friend) did too. We played a couple of rounds of Werewolf (the official game thanks to a Christmas gift from Bryan to the family). The whole day was so fun! Charlie was in heaven with all of the presents. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! Oh Martha, Oh Christmas! - The Grinch
We were stoked to wake up to a snowy morning!
Charlie loved the blocks that Santa made!
The fun didn’t end with Christmas day. We were just getting started. The morning after Christmas, Jason went with Colson to pick up some donuts for the family. He surprised us since he had breakfast duty. Later, Mom, Kim, Camry, and I went to a salon/boutique nearby for facials and makeovers. This was one of the gifts from my parents to Camry for her birthday that was coming up on January 2nd. After that, Camry got her haircut and styled. It turned out so cute!
That evening, the family watched Charlie and Colson while Jason and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary. We went to dinner at Wild Zucchini, a favorite, and then went to the new Moby Dick movie, “In the Heart of the Sea.” After that, we went back to my parents and played a game of Age of Empires with the family. Kyle even joined in this time. We were stoked to find out that he had played before. He definitely fits right in.
The Salt Lake Temple
On Sunday we went to church at my parents ward. That evening, my parents showed us a musical Christmas Special by the group, Gentri. It was pretty dang good.
On Monday or Tuesday, we had a carpet guy come and stretch out the carpet in my parent's bedroom. That was one of the gifts from the siblings to my mom. It turned out great. Later, our little family came home to Orem to do laundry, to work, and to pack for the new week’s activities: our trip to Yellowstone. To be continued….
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