Christmas in Oregon

Christmas was a lot of fun. We spent the holiday at Dan's parent's house this year. It was fun to see cousins from Utah and other extended family that we don't see very often. It was a little strange to have a dry Christmas though. There wasn't a hint of snow anywhere and it didn't even rain until after Christmas. But it was very nice not to have to worry about traveling on icy roads.

We celebrated Christmas Eve at Dan's Great Aunt Carols house. It was fun to see members of Dan's extended family that we haven't seen for awhile. The food was great and the kids had a blast . They were so spoiled since they were the only kids there.

On Christmas morning we opened our stockings and then went to church with Grandma and Grandpa. We waited to open the rest of the gifts until Dan's brother Ryan and his family arrived in the late afternoon.  We ate dinner, and everyone got in their PJ's and then it was fun time!

 It was fun to see the cousins all together

I concentrated mostly on the kids opening their gifts so I didn't get many shots of the actual unwrapping. But this is a shot of what Santa brought.

Santa sure spoiled us. Both Kiera and Ethan received razor scooters and a remote control car from the Pixar movie Cars. I don't think Ethan hardly ever put that car away. He still plays with it constantly now that we are back at home.

Emma got a ride on car/walker and a cute hippo that shoots out little balls for her to crawl around and chase. They are going to be perfect for those times at the end of the day when mom is trying to start dinner and needs something to keep miss Emma occupied with. Thank you Santa!

Dan got a grill to go over the fire pit. It is perfect for the one we built in our backyard this past summer. We already tested it out. (See what I mean about the weather? Didn't even need a heavy coat! It's January for heaven's sake.)

Santa brought me some fantastic shoes! They are a combination between a casual shoe and dressy heels. I can't wait to wear them! I also got some 12X12 canvases (I have a special project in mind for them), pinking shears, and some food storage bucket lids that twist that I have been wanting forever!

The rest of our stay we enjoyed time with family and went out for bowling and even went to the aquatic center for some swimming! I didn't get any pictures of the swimming trip. I was too busy getting wet. But I did get one of Emma taking a nap in Grandpa's arms after she was done in the water.

Here are a few more of my favorite shots from our trip.

On Christmas Eve we went to the park to play for a bit. It was a beautiful day!

 

 It was amazing to see how much this little guy has grown since the last time we saw him in July

The kids got along great and even talked Dan and I into staying another day so they could get some more play time in.  Here's some pictures of them making paper airplanes with Uncle Ryan on the back patio and them testing them out from Grandma's deck. How fun! So simple but those are what make the best memories.

I married into a family that plays a lot of board games when they get together and it is wonderful! Grandma even planned a special game for the kids to play. They got to play Christmas BINGO! Whenever someone got a BINGO you cleared your board of all the candy markers and put them in a goody bag to take home. Then the winner got to pick out two extra pieces of candy. I don't know how many rounds we played but we ended up with full goody bags for everyone. Thanks Grandma!

I love Christmas time! I love the feeling it brings and for the time we get to spend with family. It makes me sad when I see the neighbors start to put away their lights knowing that we too will be doing the same in the next day or so. But it's on to a new year of more exciting Going's on at the Glenn's!

I plan on posting what we made and gave as gifts in the next day or two so stay tuned.