Christmas Day

We had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas Day.  Beki and Owen rolled out of bed a little before 9 am.  Chris had been up for a while already and already had a cozy fire going.  We opened presents from each other and then ate cinnamon pinwheels.  After that we skyped with Grandparents.  Then it was off to the movies.  We have some good friends, the Lumis, that we met up with.  They took Owen and went to see Parental Guidance and Chris and Beki went and watched Les Miserables.  Then we met up for dinner at their grandparents house and enjoyed visiting.  It was a great day.  

Christmas morning when Owen finally decided to wake up.

New Beyblades for Owen and Papa.

Papa got an Arsenal tie.

Beki got a pastry mat.

Set of 4 soup bowls from Crate & Barrel.

LEGO Lord of the Rings.

Gift cards.

Fashionable hat. 

Grandpa Coins & Grandma Carolee sent Owen a Ninjago set. He loves it! 

FIFA 2013. 

Snowman books from Tia.

Beki got Chris an Arsenal shirt and sweatshirt.

LEGO Star Wars encyclopedia.

San Francisco Symphony DVD.

Science stuff from Maddy & Macy.

New hat and scarf.

Jeans. 

The boy got a matching Arsenal shirt (it is way too big, but he will grow).

A really cool pupet from Uncle Kevin.

New slippers.

Gift card (Thank you!)

Mario Party 9 for the Wii.

Owen and Papa got Mommy a pink Wii controller, nunchuck and steering wheel so she can play along too.

Owen on Skype with Grandma Nettie - a new Elephant & Piggie book (YEAH!!!) and another Beyblade!!

Owen on Skype with Grandma & Grandpa White - a Darth Vader Candy dispenser and another Ninjago Set.

The mess afterwards.  ALL the Ninjago sets had to be built right then - Papa did one and Mommy did the other. 

Owen with the toy he played the most with - one of the Ninjago sets.

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!  Thank you so much to family and friends that sent gifts and cards.  It helps makes Christmas a little easier being this far away from our families.  

Gingerbread Tree and The Nativity Story

In years past we have made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers with lots of candy.  We didn't have time for that this, but we did manage to make a Gingerbread Tree (out of a box).  On Christmas Eve we went over to our good friends the Curtises and read the Christmas Story and reenacted the Nativity.  The three boys were the Wise Men, Chris was the donkey and shepherd, Beki was an angel, and our friends were Joseph and Mary.  Afterwards we stood around the piano and sang Christmas songs with awesome harmony and such.  We ate pumpkin pie and drank wassail.  It was a great way to spend Christmas Eve.

Washington DC Temple Lights

Every year we go up to the Washington DC Temple for their Festival of Lights.  They recently remodeled the temple visitor center, so we got to see that for the first time as well.  Each year they have a Nativities of the World exhibit and each year there is something new to see.  

We love to go and be reminded of the reason we celebrate this wonder time of year.  We are truly grateful to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Garden of Lights

For Family Home Evening the first Monday after Thanksgiving we headed to a Christmas lights display called the Garden of Lights.  We went with our good friends, the Curtises, and enjoyed kicking off the Christmas season with them.  It is held at a county park and they did a pretty good job.

Owen and Dean is tree house.

The boys in the wagon being pulled by a bear.

Hyacinth Flower Lights - Chris was in love!!! (http://www.lonestartradingcompany.com/grpuhyflli.html) They sold them in the gift store for lots of money, but we decided to look online to see if we could find them.  Maybe next year.

They had a conservatory too with there sweet gourds and a train display.

Back out into the cold for more lights.

The Sea Monster!!

The Marshmallow Tree made for old gallon bottles.

Family picture!!  This was the caterpiller that greeted you as you entered the garden.

We had a good time and keep the boy out WAY past his bed time, but it was worth it!