Salt Lake Christmas 2021

At one point I ambitiously thought that I might be completely caught up on the blog by Valentine's Day.  Ha!  That's funny.  With a dose of realism, I now hope to post Christmas.  How is life so busy?

To me, the Christmas adventure officially begins with a reenactment of the Nativity.  It's always crazy, but the chaos is beautiful.  

This year, Baby Jesus preferred the angel's lap to Mary's.

Sharing the good tidings.

Early Christmas morning.  With so many gifts, Santa must have had a packed sleigh!

Even the stockings got filled.

Waiting to come down the stairs on Christmas morning.

Special Christmas treats--Trix and monkey bread.

 And now for the moment kids wait all year for...presents!  Annika was beyond delighted to get this giant caterpillar from the Wilhoits.

It's big enough for a whole slew of cousins to ride.  :)

Giving gifts is just as fun,whether paper hearts or stuffies.

NomiAnn's got a pile of packages to enjoy.  Purple scarves and jewelry--always a win.

Tired teens on the couch.  These helpful elves stayed up quite late getting everything ready for Christmas morning.

Papa Kay in his typical role as paper collector.

Eli unwraps a few surprises.

Aunt Callie was delighted to get this original art from Brooklyn!

As for Talis, she made this cute little giraffe for Anders.  After a thorough examination, it received a clean bill of health.

Talia also made a special gift for Zoe.  A perfect likeness, except for the tongue.

Zoe was a bit less excited about the silly clothes we made her wear.  But hey, it's Christmas!

People dress up funny too.

Giddyap, mama!

Taking a break to burn off some energy at Sugarhouse Park.

Then back home for a lunch of tasty appetizers and on to stockings.

The only things better than gift-giving are family and food.  And no, Callie is not in a family-way, nor has she eaten too much food.  It's just an extremely odd camera angle.

The musical Christmas crackers were particularly fun this year.  We had a rousing rendition of jingle bells with everyone playing a different chime.

More Christmas memories, whether from Christmas Day or the relaxed day after.

 I fell asleep cuddling Zoe but had no idea that someone gave me the guinea pig to snuggle as well.  Just glad nobody piddled on me!

Eila and Annika had quite the toy nest going on in the basement.

On the main floor, everyone enjoyed the inflatable ring-the-reindeer game Papa Kay brought.

Enjoying our Exploding Kittens expansion.  Notice how Talia is donning the cone of shame.

Eli's turn!

We built Legos..

...and opened delicious treats from the Vedeckis family.

The homemade mushrooms are always Papa Kay's favorite.

We even got to enjoy Brooklyn's Suzuki Book 6 Cello Recital.  Many thanks to her amazing teacher, Dr. Lauren Posey, for her phenomenal teaching.

Sunday Christmas leftovers...

...followed by the Lights at Temple Square.

Feliz Navidad, Tout le Monde!  This was surely a Christmas to remember.