Christmas 2011

This year we were excited to have Christmas Eve & morning in our own home. Everything was ready for the big day so Friday I cleaned the house so Saturday we could just relax and enjoy. For dinner we had ham and potatoes and I even made some pumpkin pie. We also got a special treat--some sparkling grape juice which Lexie wasn't so sure of, but Hoyt kept asking for more.

After dinner we read the bible account of the birth of Christ and watched "Joy to the World" which has songs by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and shows the story of the First Christmas. We then put all the Christmas presents under the tree.

Lexie really wanted to make cookies for Santa so we made chocolate chip cookies and put them on our "Cookies for Santa" plate (thanks Kirsten). She was super excited! I love having little kids because they were in bed asleep by 9:00.

Here is our house Christmas morning...

I woke up at 7:30 and took a shower and about 8:00 Hoyt woke up and I woke up Lexie so we would have enough time to open gifts and get ready to go to church. The kids were way excited about their Santa gifts. Lexie has been talking about her "Pink Princess Laptop" for months and Hoyt got a "Talk & Teach Turtle". Santa was really nice and the kids loved their gifts.

Here they are playing with their new toys.

Lexie was also excited to get a candy cane full of candy in her stocking. Here are the kids with their loot from their stockings.

Hoyt enjoyed getting some fun new toys. Books to read and new cars!

He was especially fascinated with this big present which ended up being more Mega Bloks which has been one of his favorite things to play with recently.

Lexie had fun opening presents. Christmas books from her friend Britton, and princess hair accessories from Hoyt.

Grandpa & Grandma Lyman gave the kids this dog to bounce on and they have had fun with him.

Lexie was excited to get all 3 Toy Story movies! And she had fun taking pictures of everyone with her new camera.

Hoyt's race track was a hit with both kids!

Here are a couple videos we took. I missed when Lexie first got to her laptop, but she was still waking up so the reaction was pretty subdued. Hoyt was having a great time with his new toys.

I think I spoiled Bryan more than the kids this year, but he deserves a little spoiling. One of his favorite things I got for him was a Mythbusters t-shirt and matching mugs. That is by far his favorite show so he was excited. He also likes to collect hardback books from his favorite authors so I got him the full hardback set of Fablehaven.

We both got new slippers which are so nice and comfy!

We both got DVDs of TV series we enjoy. Bryan got "The King of Queens" and I got "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman".

I love this picture with my stocking because David Archuleta was in the background singing. That concert was awesome when we went live last year, and I enjoyed watching it on DVD this year! I was also excited to get a new baking set with nice pans and a cooling rack which I haven't even had since I've been married.

This picture of the kids eating breakfast was the last picture I took on Christmas and for the rest of the week. We should have gotten pictures before church, but we had to hurry out the door to be on time. I absolutely loved going to church on Christmas! I've heard other people say this, but I wish we could go celebrate Christ and take the sacrament every Christmas Day!

After we got home from church, we finished packing up and headed to spend a few days with my family. I wish I would have gotten pictures of the kids opening presents from my parents. Hoyt got a new truck with cars and Lexie got a trunk of dress-ups which she loves and wears most of the time now! We had fun visiting with everyone and going to my Grandma Hoyt's house Christmas evening and seeing all the family. The kids had fun playing for a few days and we headed back home on Tuesday. I'm really excited to be able to have Christmas as our little family, and I enjoy being able to spend time with the rest of the family during the holidays as well.

Merry Christmas 2011 from the Lymans!