Of Parties and Christmas and more Parties

It's become a tradition now to celebrate our anniversary with Chris and Kristen. This year we had dinner at Kabuki. They put on a show as they cook your food, juggling eggs with spatulas and throwing shrimp in your mouth. It was really impressive and the food was incredible. Such a fun time!

After dinner we went to the Christmas Carol which played at Sky View High School. It was really good and fun to be with Chris and Kristen. 

Mom, the kids and I made sure Kaleb was ready for Christmas. 

You know it's Christmas when Loren brings home caramel apples. 

Allie and Lydia's fruit and vegetable stand they made from their Kiwi boxes. 

   We couldn't find a babysitter so Lydia got to go to Loren's work party with him this year. She had a great time and was excited to be chosen for the dress up game. 

Allie did great at her preschool Christmas program. 

Lydia had fun at her class Christmas party.

  We volunteered to do a musical number for the ward Christmas devotional. The girls and I sang When We Seek Him while Loren played the piano. He recorded the girls and I singing first, then we had a videographer take the video. Though it was stressful at times the finished product is awesome. It's something we can keep forever and I'm glad we did it. 

The Swan Christmas party was a hit as always. Lydia, Allie and Elizabeth sang Jingle Bells and we also sang our song we recorded. 

Lydia was Mary in the Nativity this year.

Hudson was a shepherd.

Allie was an angel.

The day before Christmas Eve Lindsay showed the girls how to bake and decorate Christmas cookies. Lydia is really into cooking and baking and wants to be a chef just like her aunt. The girls had so much fun and we're grateful for Lindsay in taking time out her day to teach them.

We ended the evening by watching The Polar Express. Such a fun night!

We had our annual Christmas Eve party with the Rigby's. We had dinner and played games like catch the stick and dodgeball. Loren almost made it to the very end.

  These two decided it would be fun to play in the drinking fountain until they were soaked. Hudson was literally dripping on the floor. 

Why is this so true.

Christmas morning picture! Hudson was actually asleep still. The girls had dressed and were ready to go.

Lydia got a Lego Medieval castle set, a robot polly pocket case, books, Uno Dare and a planner.

Allie got a mermaid palace, an animal polly pocket case, books, lego set and a planner.

Hudson got a road carpet, cars, a remote controlled fire truck and a book. He was in heaven.

The kids got each other some play dough sets. They had fun baking treats and food for us. We had a lovely morning just soaking in all the fun of Christmas in our new home. We went to Avon in the afternoon and had a delicious Christmas Dinner and opened presents from each other. I got some cute shirts from Maddy and Loren got a macrame plant hanger from Rachel. It was a wonderful day and I think everyone was sufficiently exhausted by the end of it. 

Happy Birthday to Loren! He started the day with a not so relaxing breakfast in bed with Hudson.

A little later we had Nate, Todd, Brayden, Rachel, Jon, Sarah, Lindsay, Maddy, Landon and Aaron over for a new game Brayden got called Secret Hitler. Its like Mafia only more fun I think. It was pretty epic.

Brayden gave Choose Your Own Adventure game to Loren for his birthday. He and Rachel, Lindsay, Maddy, Jon and Sarah had a blast playing it during the break. 

After games we had family pictures in the freezing cold in Avon. Loren won the ping pong tournament which we all attributed to it being his birthday. We took Lydia to the Voice Male concert that evening and she had so much fun. She almost split a lung laughing so hard at the cowboy poem. It was just as fun watching her reactions as it was watching the actual show. 

The next day we continued the party with sledding for Livy's birthday at the Delgatos. Although it was freezing, everyone had a great time.

  My family Christmas party started up next. Here's how Addy said hello to Hudson. He wasn't so sure he liked it. 

  We played games, ate good food, opened presents and played more games. We got Em and Tyson a welcome mat and they got one for us too! It was pretty funny but also great because I really wanted one. 

  Cam got us to Herm's for breakfast which was delicious. We had a wonderful time with family and are so grateful for each one of them. 

It's been a constant party everyday for the past two weeks. I'm grateful for the memories we made and the laughs we shared. Although it was hard to say goodbye to everyone and try to get back to normal life, we are excited to start a new year. I wonder what it will hold.