Learn To Laugh: Best Christmas Season Yet

Yes. It really was the best Christmas yet. And the following picture is why.

Crazy how you pee on a stick and next thing you know your life has changed once again. :)
Details in a later post.

To start off the Christmas season we started the very long process of putting up our several trees. The kids are quite helpful as you can see.

The 3rd graders singing...with the prettiest girl in front.

Trey was getting a little bored waiting to see his sister sing.

Bailee and her dance team worked very hard to put together their jazz and dance pieces for the Christmas recital. Love the costumes, hair, makeup, and whole dance experience! Could these girls be any cuter?

My pretty little rag doll.

Bailee and her friend, Gracie.

Bailee is far right.

Front and center.

Every year my grandma and grandpa Garretson have a family Christmas party. The family has gotten so big only about half of us can make it each year, but we take who we can get.

Uncle Bill entertaining Trey and Drew with his bread stick man skills.

Cute grandma and grandpa took some time reading us stories of their past. Their lives have been so full and I look up to them so much.

Each Christmas Eve we have a party at Damon's parents house.

Our family.

Still in love 11 Christmases later.

The grand kids each take a turn putting on a little performance for each other. The kids sang a short but sweet, "Ha Ha Holiday."

So difficult to sit still through so much singing. Must get up and dance!

Pre-pajamas.

Ever so patiently waiting to open Christmas pajamas.

Post pajama pic. Bailee and I got matching ones while Damon and Trey got matching BYU pj's.

Gifts from grandma and papa.

Happy birthday, Jesus!

The long awaited Christmas morning. The kids making their way downstairs with the warm fuzzy jar. (Jesus' Christmas gift.)

A sneak peak before the kids got to the bottom of the stairs.

And there's the look we wait all year for. I love being a parent at Christmas.

Santa surprised both kids with a zu zu pet track. The picture doesn't do it justice. This thing is huge, and yes, very fun.

A remote control Iron Man. The one thing Trey was asking for.

Last year Bailee gave Trey this same gun for Christmas and it broke. They were both devastated and Bailee wanted to replace it this year. I made a sticker chart for the kids to earn money by doing chores. Fifty cents per chore with a fifteen dollar limit. The kids worked hard all season long. The chores were pretty big too. I'm excited to continue this tradition. Two reasons. It was SO nice to have all the extra help. But it was even nicer seeing how hard the kids worked for each other. Sacrificing precious play time to do chores. I was so proud of them!

Bailee's gift from Trey.

Trey got a new leapster explorer, games, Iron Man costume, clothes, candy, zu zu track, guns, cars, and more.

Bailee's #1 request for Santa was this globe. This thing is amazing. It tells you everything you could want to know about anywhere in the world. It's all current info updated by the internet. Sweet, right?! Not to mention educational. Bailee already knows geography better than I do. Not that that's saying much. She also got baking supplies, Moxie Girlz dolls, coloring stuff, junk food of course, clothes, my ipod loaded with new music, and more.

Our main gift to the kids this year was a PS3...

...and yes they enjoy it...

...as do Damon and uncle John.

Best Christmas gift.

Bailee has been asking nearly every day for a couple years for a baby sister. Actually, lets change asking to begging. She has been BEGGING. Well, Santa being the smarty-pants that he is, knew there was someone else to set out gifts for. He left a little pile of baby things to surprise the kids. I thought Bailee would be running around screaming with excitement. No. Just quiet and slightly confused. She thought Santa was surprising her with baby doll things, and she thought that was a little wierd considering how grown up she is. Then the pregnancy test on the table with the baby things. No, we do not give our 8 year old pregnancy tests to go with her dolls. Once the confusion was over then the excitement began. Love this Chrimstas!