Heavenly Holiday

It was so great to have such a wonderful holiday this year. We decided to do our own thing for

Christmas Eve (phone pics to be uploaded) and Christmas morning this year. We hadn't decided what exactly we were going to do so on Christmas Eve morning we decided we would take the girls to see Tangled. (round 2 for John and the girls... the first time was when I was out of town and he took both girls to the movie... it lasted about 45 minutes before Haze was acting like a crazy person and they had to bail) We went to the movie, had popcorn and soda and LOVED it. Then went to lunch and sat in the little park area near the theaters. The day was full of lounging and loving having our Dad home ALL DAY.  We went to a great Christmas party at my friend Tina's house, where on the way we had a feisty conversation about how we are going to incorporate Santa in to our family traditions (if John had it his way he would be completely left out). When we got home we opened our Christmas pjs and we read in Luke of the birth of the Savior. It was a prefect Eve. In the morning we had to wake Goldie up at about 8:30 and had the best time watching the girls open their gifts. They were so excited about everything. Goldie was so cute about thanking us after each present. SIDE NOTE::Goldie was so adorable about Christmas. EVERYTHING was about "baby Jesus".... Baby Jesus present, baby Jesus Candy... you name it.... It was about baby Jesus. After we opened our presents we packed up and went to my parents for our Christmas breakfast of Creamed Shrimp on Toast (this year I added Alice Bolen's Carmel French Toast to the Christmas breakfast menu...  check out Alice and her French Toast)

We ate and opened and exhanged presents and ate and napped all before our Christmas Dinner...which was heavenly. We stayed all weekend and lounged and played games and ate some more. It was a GREAT holiday. I am a lucky girl.

our tree and our modest gifts (a JWHyde family tradition)

Personal name tags (also a JWHyde family tradition carried on from my family)

Growing up in a family of 12 kids Christmas day was a long one. My dad would sit in a chair at the tree and one present at a time would call out each cleverly written name tag like To "Shining Shelly" Love "Mother Kind and Dear." You can imagine that this would take FOREVER. It did. But we all loved it. Our friends from the neighborhood would come by at noon and we would still be steadily opening presents. Oh those were some good days.

JW, however, has not adopted this name tag creativity as a tradition... maybe next year

 

 Daddy's little helper elf

 

my sweetest little Hazelnut loving her baby

Sis showing Haze her new princess doll

The girls got tents and they LOVED them. Good thing they opened them last or it would have been all over.

Oh that face of hers

 

While we were talking and checking out my sweet christmas present my honey got me (nikon d3100, which i am returning... long story) I realized I hadnt heard Hazel for a bit and wen tot look where she was. This is NOT typical of her but she was up to no good. 

 RACAL

Not happy I took her away from her fun.

 mascara in her teeth and all

 

We head to my the folks house

this is my baby's secret... she never took a paci but she has an obsession with brown latex nipples.... a serious obsession. she has one in right now as she plays.

opening up their presents from her grandmunns'

jordy(in his new fancy lounging robe):shanda:sophia blue

 cute little kitta

the ladies and our babies (where were you Heather?)

Oh dear... we didn't even get one family picture over the holidays... with all the dressing up and partying we did... what a shame.