CHRISTMAS RECAP

I am finally able to share about our Christmas, thanks to reconciling all of the nasty messages that iPhoto has been giving me over the last few weeks.  The bottom line?  Apparently I take too many pictures.  Well.  This has spurred a goal of increasing my organization in regard to my computer, but at least for the time being, I have enough to do what I need.

This Christmas was great.  We had good visits with each of our family, and some really great family time among just the three of us.  We went to church on Christmas Eve, and then visited with my family for the evening, but really just had a quiet night.  I woke up the next day promptly at 5, and Mason slept until almost 8, so the mood at our house was probably backwards from most of America - it was me who was jittery with excitement.  We exchanged gifts, but kept it small this year.  Mason's big gift was a scooter, Byron got a bunch of new clothes, and I got something super exciting - a new camera lens!  (Note:  I am still learning to use not only the lens, but also my camera.  Don't expect anything amazing to follow.)

After this, we went over to my parents' house where we opened more gifts and had brunch.  My mom has started a tradition getting us a "family gift".  Last year, we all got fleece pullovers.  This year, it was moccasins.  Although most of the boys didn't like it quite as well, whoops.  She shouldn't feel bad, though, since it was my idea in the first place.  We also spent quite a while taking photos of each other. For example, I spent about 20 minutes directing my sister on how to achieve the perfect mermaid hair flip, so we have quite a few out takes from that evening.  The pictures make me laugh, and as much as I want to post one for the sole purpose of embarrassing her, I am afraid nobody else will understand our odd sense of humor.  We did manage to get one nice family picture at the end of the evening, so score one for us.

Santa also happened to bring us matching Christmas socks.  Christmas socks are fun, but sure aren't Christmas Jammies...

The next day, we celebrated with Byron's family.  The best way I can describe that time (as always) is fast and furious.  There are so many family members, that so much just seems to happen all at once.  We had a brunch and opened presents, but the best part for me was watching Mason interact with all of his aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We don't see them as often as we see my sister, and Mason's circle of "people" is really rather small, so I am never sure how quickly he will warm up to his extended family. Apparently the theme is anyone who will play iPad with him is good in his book.  I also caught him in a series of pictures where he is putting his fingers in the cookie frosting and licking his fingers.  Sorry to anyone who ate the cookies.

So that was our Christmas.  We had such a great time with our families, and can't wait until the next time!  Also thanks to Erin for grabbing the camera and shooting some of these!