I cannot believe how much has changed, but I should probably post about Christmas first and save the 2015 review post for another day.
Would you believe me if I told you that I did not take one single photo of our Christmas? It's sad, but true. I just get so caught up in the festivities sometimes that I forget to grab out my camera. We didn't even take any video on our camera because somebody forgot to clear up space before we left for his parent's house in CA. hem hem. I did get two photos on my phone.
This is our second Christmas since being married at Andrew's parents house, but this time was a lot different than last time because we have kiddos, and they got SO spoiled. Funny how you think you're not getting them a ton of gifts and then they somehow pile up! I'd definitely say we won Christmas this year, though. Before Chelsea had even opened all of her presents, she lost interest because she was too busy playing with the gifts she had already opened! The 101 Dalmation and Frozen figurines were definitely a big hit. Alexa loved her little musical Doggie Piano from Grammy and Opa and played with it for a solid 15-20 minutes.
The night before (Christmas Eve), we all gathered together in the family room and read the nativity followed by a short talent show in which Chelsea sang a variety of Christmas tunes and I sang a song with accompaniment from my sis-in-law, Kara. The kids went to bed SUPER easily that night because of how active they had been all day and the next morning, Chelsea was so excited to open her stocking. We put off opening Christmas presents so we could eat some breakfast, and so that Kara could pick up Lauren and Josh from the airport and surprise Grammy for Christmas! It was so great to have everyone there this year!
Driving to and from CA was mostly uneventful except for Alexa crying "unbuckle" over and over again. Luckily, Uncle Karl and Aunt Kara were there to help keep her entertained, and Aunt Brooke really saved our lives by sending me a pregnancy care package right before we left with all sorts of goodies and activities to keep the kids busy. I'm so lucky to have such awesome family!
When we got home, we were all pretty exhausted and I should have taken a nap, but I decided to set up Chelsea and Alexa's last Christmas present instead. They love it!
I feel like we did a pretty good job with focusing on our Savior this year and it's the first year Chelsea was old enough to understand. She has been playing with dolls and calling them "baby Jesus" for the past few weeks. Children have the amazing ability to understand the simple truths of the gospel and teach them to the teachers.
I hope you all had a really great Christmas and that it was filled with fun, laughter, and joy in the celebration of Jesus' birth!
Happy New Year! I can't wait to follow along with all of your 2016 adventures!
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