Christmas Day

I think it's funny that all the adults were awake before the kids this year.  I guess that can mostly be attributed to Jinny wanting her breakfast at 6 am.  We finally had to go wake Xander and Paizley up at almost 7.  Paizley is not a morning person so she was fairly ticked at being woken up for the first ten minutes or so until she got into the present opening.

Xander and Paizley's stockings after Santa came

As I was saying Jaynie was pretty ticked about being woken up, she likes to sleep in

Hailey and Zach's stockings

Xander received the Halo set he was hoping for

Paizley perked up after unwrapping her Ariel figure set

Jinny didn't care about her sock, she'd rather sleep

Paizley is all about the princesses

My annual Nate sleeping on Christmas day photo

Boppy buried in a pile of presents

Is this ridiculous or what

Steven hates the Rankin Bass Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.  So being the loving wife that I am I get him something themed in that vein for Christmas.  This year was a sucker that when you put it in your mouth you look like you have a Rudolf nose.

Heidi recieved some handy nose pickers

Paizley creating pizza for everyone

 

Xander's favorite, a gun

Steven's favorite, Call of Duty

Boppy's favorite, a knife

Paizley tried her makeup kit out on Steven, he loved every second of it

Hailey and I made Zach a chocolate chess board, it was pretty cool

We opted not to do a huge dinner this Christmas.  Everyone brought one bag of appetizers, we did a ham and turkey breast and my mom made her famous rolls.  We just grazed for awhile.

Santa loves me..especially when I explode in my new outfit 13 seconds after my mom puts it on me.

Freezing Rain And Other Such Atrocites

This is out of order because I'm obviously not caught up from Christmas yet, but if I don't write about it now I'll forget and I won't do it.  Plus I'm not really feeling a big Christmas day post today. 

Today Utah had a phenomenon called freezing rain.  I guess it's when there are clouds above the fog, the clouds try to snow but because of the layers there isn't time for the moisture to turn into snow so it freezes.  It turned the roads into giant sheets of ice.  The news was saying it has only happened six or seven times in the last twenty years.

I was fine until I reached the University Parkway exit.  I started to break up the hill and started swerving.  I pumped my break and fish tailed into a complete 360.  I flew off the road and ended up in the decorative rocks they keep on the off ramp.  I don't know how I managed to not get hit but I did.  While I was sitting there trying not to have a heart attack, I saw several other cars start to slide.  A police officer drove up to me and asked it I was alright and if I had hit anything.  I said no so he told me I'd better go so I didn't get hit. 

I pulled out and drove onto University.  There were literally twenty cars involved in accidents as I drove the next couple of miles.  A couple of the girls had arrived at work 10 - 15 minutes earlier than me, but the roads had been fine then.  Everything went to hell in that amount of time when it started raining. 

I'm thankful tonight that I didn't die, my car is fine and I'm home safe.  Hopefully I won't have an adventure like that again soon.

Christmas Eve

It was great because my whole family was able to make it to my house for Christmas Eve.  We are up to thirteen people now, it was a little crowded but fun.

We don't cook a big meal for Christmas Eve, we get a ton of crackers, cheese, and a Swiss colony beef log and snack.  It's nice because then there isn't much clean up.  We have a little program, reading of the Christmas story and such, and then we open our draw name gifts to each other.

Meemer slicing the cheese (or cutting depending on how crude you are)

Xander's multi-tiered sandwich

Heidi and Nate

Steven, Heather, Xander and Paizley

Emily, Ryan and Jinju

Zach, Hailey and Zach's beard

Grammy and Boppy

 

Heidi was the MC for the festivities

 

My mom got the kids these cool glasses that when you put them on and look at a lighted bulb it looked like a reindeer

What could it be?

 

A naked bum on a glass?!

Paizley received this pretty purse from Korea and a Twilight Sparkle My Little Pony from Ryan

Jinny received a Hello Kitty bank from Deeder

Xander was very excited about this dinosaur dig kit, a halo figure set and these books from Hailey

Goat received a goat beanie, a goats in trees calendar and a bumper sticker from me.  They seriously have calendars for everything these days.  Thanks for the photo bomb Zach.

Zach got a model mustang and this funky wall hanging from Meem

 

Meemer got a card game and some sparkly slippers from Steven

Boppy got a two liter of coke and a giant coke bottle piggy bank from Zach

Emily got a hello kitty shirt and the Cars movie from Xander

Ryan got a giant Stein, a sock money catapult and a 52 ways to poop book from Paizley (she has excellent taste)

Heidi got an Alice in Wonderland ornament from Jinny

Nate received BYU salt and pepper shakers and a Stitch doll from Emily. Don't you love Nate's ugly Christmas sweater t-shirt?

Steven got various "green" items, Wayne's World, Robin Hood Men In Tights and an Obama "hope" Button from Nate

I got a snifty face scrubber and a $15 gift card to itunes from Heidi.  Sweet!!

 

This is our advent calendar from the Ross side.  The kids always have fun taking turns putting up the ornaments every year.

My mom had this cute idea this year.  She brought a jar that had reindeer food in it.  The kids took it outside and scattered it in the yard so the reindeer would have something to eat when they got to our house.

 

Christmas Cookies

I hate sugar cookies.  I think the frosting is too much and the dough is gross, in fact I hate making cookies in general.  It makes a ginormous hogstye and then you are stuck baking them for the next century and a half.  Needless to say this whole mess was Hailey's idea.

 

Paizley ever the giant helper was very excited to cut out the cookies since her mom is mean and never lets her do it.

Hailey and Zach

Boppy with is favorite color

Emily decks the halls

 

Xander

Paizley

These are Xander's zombie cookies, anyone think my son is a tad morbid?

Paizley was making Hailey's brain explode.  She had to cram one of each candy on this one cookie

plate of semi-goodness

Goat cookie (I think the whole point of this exercise was so Hailey could use the cookie cutter we got her for her birthday this year)

Boppy with the fruits of our labor

Ginormous hogstye