Christmas

This Christmas was one of the BEST I have ever had.  This is probably due to the fact that Covey and I weren't running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get to all of the places that everyone else wanted us to be.  I feel bad that some people had to be left out, but with a growing family (and tummy), we had to make the choice this year as to who we saw and when.

To start with, we drove out to Sharon (step-mom) and my dad's house on Friday (the 23rd) evening for my grandpa's birthday party.  (His birthday is actually on Christmas Day.)  We hung out with family and just enjoyed the time together.  Sadly, I don't have any pictures because I was having too much fun talking and hanging out with everyone.  I guess that's as good an excuse as any, right?  

We spent the night at their house and had Christmas Eve breakfast the next morning--yummy french toast and bacon with orange juice.  Covey got one of his Christmas presents early--a big gallon of Simply Orange All Pulp Orange Juice--which he absolutely loved.  

 He was nice enough to share it with everyone for breakfast but he had finished the rest off himself by the afternoon. :)

After breakfast, everyone got ready for the day and we waited for my step-sister, Brooke, and her husband and kids to show up so we could give our presents to them since we weren't going to be seeing them the next day.  Once they got there, the present opening began.  River and Sayler opened their gifts first: we gave River a beanie and Sayler got some Justin Bieber cards that I had made through work.  I'm pretty sure it was her favorite gift cause she couldn't stop looking at the cards.  It was pretty funny.

River's helmet.  This isn't the gift we gave to River but it was the only one I got of him opening his gifts.

Everyone else opened up their gifts afterwards.  Probably one of the best gifts were the marshmallow shooters!  When we were down in St. George for Thanksgiving, the girls had all gone to a craft expo and we found them there and Sharon wanted to get them for us as a Christmas gift.  We loved playing with them and pretty much as soon as they were opened and everyone got their bag of marshmallows, the shooting began!  It was hilarious and so much fun!  I can't wait to ambush Covey one of these days when he gets home from work. ;)

After presents, we got ready to go to my Grandma Baldauf's annual Christmas Eve party.  This year we did it at about 3pm rather than 7pm and it worked out a lot better.  Covey and I picked up my youngest sister, Cheyenne, on our way home so she could spend the night with us and be there for Christmas morning.  (She lives in Salt Lake and currently doesn't have a car.)  We got home and got settled for the night and went to sleep.

CHRISTMAS DAY!  I love that Christmas was on a Sunday this year.  I remember the last time that Christmas fell on a Sunday and it was great because it just set the mood for the rest of the day.  This year was no different.  Me, Covey, Dani, Stephen, Chey and my mom all went to our 9am ward and then came home and made our traditional breakfast of crepes.  It was fun too, because my other sister, Jennie, was able to take a break from work and come by for breakfast and presents.

Present time was fun.  My mom pretty much always has a disclaimer or two to go along with each present given ("Now, I thought you'd like this, but if you don't then we can take it back...") and I give her a bad time about it every year.  (I guess I just assume people are going to like the gifts I give and if they don't then they better not tell me.  hehe.)  Covey and I got a lot of gifts from "grandma" to her new little "granddaughter", as well as some other fun gifts.  Covey got a skill saw, a couple dress shirts and ties, dress pants, socks and a huge case of Dr. Pepper, among other things.  I got some jewelry, a couple shirts, a pair of shoes, a book ("The Brothers" by Chris Stewart--awesome book!), the movie Tangled, a glider (yay!) and a few other fun things.

After we were done with presents, my mom and Chey had to go because my mom's mom (Grandma Sheri) does an annual Christmas Day buffet (another one of the events we decided to forgo this year).  Covey and I actually sat down and relaxed for about an hour before we had to go to Covey's parent's house for Christmas lunch/dinner.  We spent the rest of the night with Covey's family and just relaxed and ate and talked and built a puzzle.  Covey and I got home around 10pm and went to bed soon after.  

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas!  We were more relaxed this year on Christmas than we have been any year since we've been married.  We promised ourselves to make sure to simplify Christmas more in the years to come so that we actually have time to enjoy it and remember the reason for the season.  I made a little plaque this year to put up as a Christmas decoration that says "Simplify Christmas.  Celebrate Christ".  I think that says it all.  Christmas isn't about the gifts or the parties.  It is about spending time with those you love and remembering why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place.

I am so excited for this new year coming up!  We have our baby girl on the way (only 27 more days until my due date!) and Covey and I are getting anxious for her to make her appearance.  We are so grateful for the year 2011 and we hope that 2012 will be just as great!