December was full of HAPPY!
I hosted the dessert portion of our Christmas relief society progressive dinner which meant the halls were decked before December even hit. It was all the motivation I needed to get things in order.
The twins had their end of season football banquet and celebrated in style. Love to see the camaraderie their team has.
Eric was honored to be their coach this season and Kennedy was happy to support them (for the banquet:).
Kennedy hosted a party at the house. All these kids look so grown up sitting at the table. They did a white elephant exchange, ate Chicken Shack, watched movies and played games. I tried to stay in the background. Eric took the boys to the movie so they wouldn't be tempted to bother them.
Kennedy's volleyball team went UNDEFEATED this season and won their tournament against a team that was an elite club team. When the final match was over, the other team and their parents showed the best display of sportsmanship I've ever seen. They stood and clapped and said the nicest things about our players. It was really refreshing.
The Shadow Canyon Ward held their annual Christmas breakfast. Jackson was trying to be cool but Boston and Leighton were two of the three wise men.
You gotta love pajama day at school!
All three boys are playing on a basketball team. Haven't got a picture of Boston yet but I'd say Jackson's form is looking pretty good. We got a good laugh out of Leighton's. Even he did a belly laugh when he saw it. They are all showing great strides.
I wonder who actually wears these work coveralls??? They are huge!
We had the Crompton's and Beckstead's over for a bite to eat and a white elephant exchange. The Crompton's do so much for our family as they are our home teachers and still have one of the boys sit with them at church. And the Becksteads are a no brainer. They are our dear, dear friends. Can you guess what the hot number was during the white elephant exchange?
Nacho Libre won out! Kaden wore it home.
The Crompton's had tickets to the UNLV game they weren't going to be able to use so Eric and I went with the Corvino's. The game was great, saw lots of ward members and friends there, but this girl and her pants stole the show. There was lots of movement that this picture doesn't do justice to. People observing is always the best.
Eric made the finest Danish Christmas meal possible. He had the sausage custom made by the local butcher and even made a Danish layer cake to sing happy birthday to Jesus.
What a feast! He was exhausted by the time things were done.
Grandpa Bateman sure looks debonair in his hat he received as a gift.
Christmas eve we made reservations at Nora's Italian Cuisine. It was much less work than cooking all day and just might be a new tradition, at least the Italian part. We like to mix up the culture.
The scene at midnight...
Happy kids at 8 am. Yes they slept until then. Boston was elated with him drum set and sports gear.
Not sure what kind of face he's making but... Leighton couldn't wait to hit the pavement on his new bike and try on his new shoes and belt.
Jackson liked his bike but was especially thrilled with his Xbox game and new shoes.
After all the dust settled (unwrapping took about 30 minutes), we went for a family bike ride. Eric and I got bikes as well. Eric had big ideas to ride to Brad & Pam's but I pointed out that while the ride DOWN would be nice, the ride back UP would leave a bad impression on the kids. He listened to my wise advise and we took a fairly flat route - 4 1/2 miles in total. A good start to hopefully many more miles to come.
Kennedy is sporting her new sweats from Alli & Tony. Exactly what she wanted. Clothes and more clothes.
Later in the day we headed to the movies to see Parental Guidance - a great feel-good movie. Sadie and her whole family were there as well. What a nice surprise! Boston got to sit by Angelo. It was a happy ending to a great day. It's been a happy holiday season!
