Christmas Day

Christmas morning we started at 8am. My mom lays out the 'Santa' gifts out in our designated spot and the first thing I picked up to open was something we all were to open together. Inside, was a t-shirt with Mickey Mouse and 'January 13-16, 2012' on it. Also a Mickey Mouse mini stocking and a paper with picture of a hotel and our flight departure/arrival times on it!!! We were freaking out and SO EXCITED!!! So we are all going to Disney Land in just a few weeks. Best surprise ever.

Then to top it off, we got to skype with Jacob on his mission for about an hour and a half. It was so nice to get to skype instead of just talk on the phone. He was at his Bishops house so he got to use their skype account. It was so fun to see him and talk to. Made us all miss even more.

 His good friend from highschool also came to say hi. It was a fun surprise for Jacob to see him.

 My grandparents came over to say hi before they went to church.

 I told Zach to make an excited face because he's playing the Kinect. He did good :)

Then we headed back to Logan for Christmas with the Johnsons. Here is Zach lookin so cute in his new hat and shirt.

 We did presents as soon as we got there so Adam and Jill could leave to be with Jill's family. All the kids got different magazine perscriptions from Bob and Willa. I loved that idea and they all loved looking at their own magazines.

For sibling gifts, we drew names and decided to do white elephant gifts this year. I got a personlized chia pet plant with my face on a pot and a plant on top as my hair. It looks hilarious. Zach got a gadget holder plate for the car. We had lots of laughs opening these gifts. During the day we ate a yummy dinner, chatted, played a candy bar game, and played the Kinect. Here are some funny pictures from one of the games.

 Once it got dark, we wrote on paper lanterns some things we wanted to accomplish or improve the next year. Then we lit them and set them off into the sky. It is so awesome seeing the lights go up into the dark. I loved this new tradition.

The two little lights to the left of the bigger lantern are the other lanterns we let go. They get so high and end up looking like bright stars before they go out and fall.

We ended the night with a message from Bob and giving gifts to Jesus. As individual families, we wrote down things we want to give as gifts to Jesus this year, then put thim in a wrapped box to open the next year and see how we did. It was great for Zach and I to make some goals together and think of how we can use our agency better to serve Him.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!