Christmas Day

The girls were super sweet and let us sleep in until 6:30.  I don't know what time they were up and moving, but 6:30 still felt early!  Cambrie and McKenzie got to work opening their presents right away.  

The girls each received their Christmas wish from Santa.  Cambrie now has a Polaroid camera (yes, they actually make those again.)  

McKenzie received her own iPod touch.  I have a feeling we are going to hear a lot of dance parties going on up in their room from now on.  

It seemed to be the year of American Girl doll accessories.  Both girls received new outfits and fun accessories for their dolls.  

Seeing how the boys were still asleep, Jeremy and I decided to get to work on our presents.  He and the girls totally surprised me with a pair of authentic cowgirl boots!  It's been a wish of mine for years and I'm so impressed they managed to surprise me.  

Jeremy knows I like being surprised, but it's hard when I end up picking up and wrapping my presents myself sometimes.  I wanted a new go-to coat that I could pack in small suitcases and would actually keep me warm.  I was shocked when I opened the box I had wrapped and Jeremy had switched it out for a coat he picked out.  Well done hun.   

It was the year of race gear for Jeremy and I.  I ended up with a new pair of fancy Roka running glasses, and a swim skin for our race in Hawaii.  

McKenzie was incredibly jealous that Jeremy received cookies in his presents and she didn't.  I'm curious to give those "healthy fuel" cookies a try.  

I also managed to surprise Jeremy by getting him Normatek recovery boots.  Those are the reason why we go to the Ironman expos.  They instantly make your legs feel more recovered and ready to go.  With the amount of training he's doing, they will be well used.  

The kids couldn't wait to give them a shot either!  

When the boys woke up the girls couldn't wait to help them open their gifts.  The kids drew names this year and it was so much fun for me seeing their excitement as they gave their gifts to their siblings.  Cambrie gave Kelton a new board game.  

McKenzie gave Daxton an animal train to go on his new tracks.  

Kelton gave McKenzie a sparkly notebook, pens, and a new little hedgehog.  

And Daxton "chose" a soap making kit for Cambrie.  

Some other highlights from the boys' gifts were the scooter and snowman bubble bomb Kelton received from Santa.  

He also has his own robe for those chilly mornings and a Paw Patrol watch.  

Daxton received a Cars Geo Trax set that he played with until the adults had to hide the remote.  

Bruce and Leesa gave him a magnetic gear set that he just loves. It hangs on the garage door and he can change the configuration any way he wants to.  

I also made the boys slumber sacks of their own which they quickly made little nests and didn't want to come out.  

When the Kings arrived the fun just kept going!  Bruce and Leesa picked up Manchester United jerseys from Lillywhites and had their names and numbers put on the back of their jerseys.  

The boys also received the craziest marble track I've ever seen.  Bruce and Cambrie started putting it together for the boys later that day but we didn't even finish it until the next day.  

The boys also ended up with Nerf guns like their daddy's did last year.  

More Christmas moments.

The fun wasn't done for the adults.  Bruce and Leesa had one more gift for us.  In keeping with the eyes closed theme from the night before, the girls closed their eyes and the boys had to help us unwrap the present.  I was laughing so hard.  

We all ended up with Instant Pots.  I am very excited and hope that it helps with some of the weeknight craziness.  

The kids with their hauls.  

Later that night we went over to Alysha and Brody's to spend time with the Pearce family and play games.  On the drive over Jeremy and I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous the sunset was reflecting off the mountains.  A storm came through that morning and cleaned up the air so it was so crisp and clean.  

One of the highlights of that night was the Pearce kids' gift to Louesa.  They gave her a new TV that will be simpler to use.  I love the surprised look on her face!  

Pictures with Grandma Pearce

Jeremy and I headed home somewhat early so we could get Jeremy to the airport early the next morning, but the kids stayed up late playing with their cousins.  I have no idea what time they came home.  All I know is that they didn't wake up until 9:00 or 10:00 the next morning.  That is unheard of for my kids!  Maybe the Warmies had something to do with it.  Daxton sure loves his.  Or maybe it was just because he had an awesome day packed full of fun.  

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at the Rogers began at church for Sacrament meeting, then we went home for some family time.  We made fudge and finished some last minute preparations.  

Then we sat down to a delicious Christmas feast.  I think we were just missing the Who Hash.  

Cheers everyone!  

The kids surprised us by getting up and singing some of their favorite songs that they had been learning in Primary.  It was really sweet.  

While waiting for dinner to be cleaned up so we could move onto Christmas Eve presents, Daxton totally fell asleep.  He has had such a hard time sleeping since we've been here that I didn't have to heart to wake him up.  Okay, that's not entirely true.  I let him sleep through the Nativity, but he couldn't miss out on the jammies so I did wake him up.  It was hard, and not very pleasant.  He was mister grumpy pants!   

But while he was sleeping and peaceful we did out own Nativity.  It's harder to fill the cast rolls with a smaller pool to choose from, but we did all right.  This time McKenzie was able to be Mary, Daxton was the sleeping baby, and the rest of the kids were wisemen.  I was the lone shepherd.  

After a few Christmas carols including Silent Night we moved onto the presents.  Nana and Papa told the kids to close their eyes for their first gift.  It looks like we have varying levels of participation here.  

When they woke up they each found a Warmie in front of them.  They are lavender scented rice bags essentially, and make cuddling in bed so much warmer!  They found them for the kids in Germany.  

The next flurry of excited pictures are when the kids could open their Christmas jammies.  The boys are appropriately decked in the Queen's Guard pj's, and the girls have super cozy ones for the winter nights.  I laughed when I looked through this series of pictures and saw that everyone's hands were a blur because they were opening the gifts so quickly.  

Everyone ready for a warm and cozy night!  

We exchanged the cousins gifts that night because we weren't sure if the King's were going to have time to come over in the morning with all of the chaos.  The boys exchanging their gifts.  Hugs were included.  

Alysha drew/painted pictures of the girls with a few of their favorite things which was really sweet.  Then we put out cookies for Santa and sent the kids to bed.  

The adults decided to stay up partying a little longer.  We pulled out our big kid jammies, and unleashed our inner wild child after we put them on.  

We exchanged sibling gifts too because of the possible time crunch in the morning.  Honestly, it was really nice just doing an adult gift exchange.  The kids weren't running around unwrapping all the gifts at once and we were able to take our time.  I think Jeremy wins the prize for the most creative gifts this year.  I had no idea he was doing it and we scrambled a bit to get it ready.  He put each of the sibling/dad gifts in a gag box.  Dantley received toddler training weights with his Man U cufflinks.  

Brody got the crib dribbler to cut down on those exhausting night time feedings, but really received an air couch.  

And Bruce received a baby's first fire kit (gasoline not included), to go along with his dad jokes socks.  

We were cracking up.  Nice work hun!

Stratford family party

After Breakfast with Santa we busted on up to Brigham City where my Stratford cousins were getting together for gingerbread houses and the nativity.  I couldn't believe that ALL of my cousins were there!  I don't think I can tell you the last time that happened since we now have cousins living on both coasts and everywhere in between.  I'm so disappointed we didn't get a group picture with everyone, but we still had a good time.  After dinner we made our gingerbread houses.  Nancy premade all of the houses so we only had to worry about making them look pretty.  My kids were really excited that they had cart blanche this year and could do whatever they wanted.  

The girls worked on one together, and Kelton ended up with an extra one all for himself. 

 Here are all of the creations.  Cute right?  

After the houses we moved onto the Nativity.  Cambrie was cast as Mary this year, McKenzie as an angel, and Kelton was a shepherd.  

It's always convenient when we have a live baby Jesus.  This year Caroline and Austin's baby, Wesley, was the baby and he slept the whole time-perfect.  

Daxton spent the entire party snoozing on the couch so he didn't ever participate at all.  Can I just take a moment to say that I love the collection of costumes this family has?  Always such a great selection for every age and role.  And while some of the quirks have matured out of the program, I still love it.  I'm so glad it worked out that we were able to attend the party this year.