Christmas 2009

On Christmas Eve it is a tradition in my family to open 1 present.

I made 2 pairs of fleece pajamas for each of our girls. Kent embroidered their names on them with his embroidery machine.

The girls put their pajamas on, and we headed to Grandma and

Grandpa Petersen's house at about 8:00pm on Christmas Eve.

We thought the girls would be asleep when we got there, but we should have known better. Waiting for us at Grandma's house was their cousin Kaydence, who they absolutely LOVE, as well as Nicole, Travis, Jonathan, Dane, Mickell, and of course, Grandma and Grandpa Petersen.

Christmas Morning

Our four stockings

Presents

Grandma and Grandpa Petersen got all the granddaughters these Furreal puppies. The all LOVED them!

They also got Camryn this AMAZING kaleidoscope.

Camryn and Kendra got these Transformers from Grandma and Grandpa Parkinson. They LOVE Transformers!

Kent got mostly tools for Christmas. The girls did pick out a couple treats for him too.

Grandma LaRee Petersen made this baby quilt for our little Corinne.

Kent got me an exercise bike and a TV for our workout room. I LOVE IT! We are both super motivated to get in shape after this baby. With a treadmill and a bike and a TV we can do cardio together, or get an extra cardio session in while watching a movie.

After everyone was thourougly spoiled, Grandpa took it a step further and made his specialty, homemade biscuits and gravy. It is SOOOOO YUMMY!!!!!

After breakfast, the girls got to playing. Kendra got a chest with dress-up dresses and jewelry and stuff. The girls got all dressed up, then played with the karaoke machine Camryn got.

Enjoy the performing and the arguing. That's our girls!

All us kids usually go in together to get our parents a Christmas present. This year, we decided to get them the shutters they have been wanting for their house. It took some planning and scheming to figure out the color, style, and size. We also wanted to put them up and have my parents be surprised when they saw them on their house. The only gift under the tree for my parents from us was a $30 gift card to Johnny Carinos. Later, my mom asked Nicole if that was from all of us. Nicole smiled an awkward smile, said yes, and walked away to avoid more questions. It was Nicole's job to get my mom and dad out of the house while the men installed the shutters. She took them to her in-laws. We were sure my parents were suspicious.

The shutters are up (at least on one main window) and my parents return. They come inside. Nothing is said....they didn't notice.... We go on with our morning, whispering about how long we should wait or ways to get them to notice.

Dad got an amazing new charcoal barbecue grill. All the guys got together to assemble it.

I take this picture. Then the guys say to Jonathan, "Way to go Johnny, show up just in time for a picture, when we're pretty much done." Jonathan laughs, "I know, just like the shutters."
We look at each other....Dad goes on finishing up the grill....did he not hear that? We relax and go back to what we were doing. My mom was in the kitchen working on our big Christmas Day meal. Five or ten minutes pass. Suddenly my mom runs to the coat closet, throws on her coat and shoes and runs outside. I asked her if everything was okay. She says yes and hurries out the door. We followed her. She is jumping up and down outside admiring her shutters.
It was priceless!!!

My mom said she heard what Jonathan had said, but she couldn't leave what she was doing in the kitchen. As soon as she was done, she rushed to see if the word "shutters" really meant what she thought it might.

Dad said he was so involved in what he was doing, that he hadn't even heard.

My mom's reaction was perfect! We all feel like my mom LOVES her shutters. It still makes us smile.

Cute little Kaydence was no where to be found.
She climbed inside Dad's new grill.

That night, I got to read stories to all the girls before bedtime.


The next day Mom, Nicole, Mickell, Dane, Kent, and I went shopping. Gotta love Ross. They have the cutest maternity clothes.

We came back and Grandma had fun stuff planned for all of us. She helped the girls make gingerbread houses while helping Nicole and me make beaded watch bands, at the same time.


The girls ate A LOT of candy in this process. SUGAR RUSH!!! While the girls start running around like crazy, Nicole, Mom, and me are too busy working on our bands to do anything. We ask Travis and Kent to get the girls to bed for us. Our wonderful men olbige.
While back in the bedroom, Camryn starts explaining things to Travis. "You can't come in any of these three rooms. These are for us to play in," she explains.
"What if I have to come get Kaydence?" Travis asks.
"Then you come talk to me." Camryn dictates.

That's my Camryn.

Kent reads the girls stories tonight.

Nicole and I got pictures of our pregnant tummies together. She is due anyday, I still have over 2 months to go. It is fun being pregnant together. We are so excited that we are both having girls. Our 3 girls we have now love eachother so much. We are thrilled to be adding 2 more girls so close in age.


The next morning, Kent, Camryn, Kendra, and I headed to Utah to see Kent's family. His mom spoiled the girls rotten.

She made the girls barbie clothes, 2 pairs of flannel pajamas, and quilts that matched the pajamas.

We also stopped to see Kent's dad for a little while before we headed back home.

Christmas this year was wonderful for me. It was one of my best Christmases yet. We had so much fun with those we love. I love that Kent loves my family so much and fits in so well. It makes everything so much more fun for me. Our girls are at such a fun age too, and they love being with family. We really missed Taylor and Amanda, but they will be coming to visit this month. We can't wait!