Unfortunately, no one received a Red Ryder BB Gun this Christmas.
However, we still had a fabulous Christmas full of decked halls, fa la la la las, and gay apparel. (Hooray! New clothes!) It was especially fun considering we had a little Zoey to spoil. And boy, was she spoiled by parents and grandparents alike.
We arrived in Salt Lake VERY behind schedule. The three of us were exhausted and ready for bed after traveling for 13 hours. My mom and sister met Zoey for the first time in the airport. It was a special moment for everyone. We hurried home so that we would be able to get up in time for church the next morning. I was really excited because I couldn't wait for Zoey to wear her Christmas dress.
My mom's family has a huge Christmas Eve party every year. The dinner was delish and the entertainment chaotic, as always. The little kids do the Nativity (or as my cousin Jordan calls it, "the whatchamacallit with the angel." Don't worry, he's 21 years old! Ha!) and can't make it through without some sort of incident. My favorite part this year was when Mary, played by Baylee, got pushed off her donkey, played by Carson, by an angry shepherd. Our Nativity is a little more wild than spiritual, but those kids sure are cute to watch and create funny memories for all the adults watching. Zoey got to make a cameo appearance as Baby Jesus at the end (she wasn't actually IN the Nativity since it wasn't really safe for her to be carried by Mary riding a donkey on their way into Bethlehem. Case in point, Mary getting roughed up by a shepherd.) and we took some sweet pictures of her with Baylee as Mary.
Christmas morning was spent with my Dad. We had such a fun time opening gifts together. Grayson got his best gift ever: an iPad! He was so surprised and excited about it. To anyone else, he probably looks only semi-excited. For Grayson, that was a full-on meltdown from excitement. He's a mellow guy, what can I say? He also got a Craftsman ratchet set and was thrilled about that as well. I will have to add the photos and video later when I get them from my dad.
After opening gifts at my dad's, we headed over to his fiancee's house fora yummy brunch and to open some more gifts. We had a good time being together as a new, big family.
We headed to my mom's for Christmas number two and had a fantastic time. Brady and Katie were spoiled AGAIN and Grayson and I got a very exciting gift: a Nikon camera! Zoey got a play gym; she loves it so much! It was definitely her favorite gift.
We got to go to Temple Square with my mom, sister, and brother. It was a great experience. I really wanted to go because Zoey loves to stare at lights. I was so excited to bring her, but she fell asleep and wouldn't wake up. When we were in the parking garage getting ready to leave, suddenly she was wide awake and couldn't stop staring at the light in the ceiling. Oh, Zoey.
We also got to visit a lot of family members and introduce them to Zoey. It was really special for us to get to bring her to family.
We had a great time getting Belgian waffles, eating at Cafe Rio, seeing movies in real movie theaters, and hanging out with family, and shopping. We had a really nice time in Utah and are so grateful that we were able to go out there for Christmas.
