A long awaited post!

Merry Christmas!
So I am finally getting around to updating this blog! I am sorry to those of you who check it frequently...it is easy to get out of the habit...or just be overwhelmed by all the things that should have been posted :) Therefore, I am only posting things from Christmas and New Years. Hopefully that will pacify most :)

Jeff's family came down for Christmas. Mom, Dad and Mark arrived late afternoon on Christmas Eve, which was good for us because we left lots of stuff until late. All of the cleaning I had been planning on didn't get done, but, no one was attacked by anything so I guess it wasn't all bad :) Becky also spent a lot of time hanging with the family. My Mom (Iris) usually makes a German meal for Christmas Eve dinner, so this year I attempted it. I realized afterwards that I should have made Jeff take some pictures to prove that I really did it, but dinner was long over before I thought of it. Anyway, I made rouladen, sauerkraut, potato dumplings and some other veggies. (A random picture here! Potato dumplings and red cabbage are also on the plate. I thought about doing red cabbage, but opted not to when I found that I had no idea how to make it!) While I worked on dinner, there was a Wii party going on in the living room--great way to get moving after being strapped into an airplane seat!

It took me longer to finish dinner than I expected, but I think it turned out pretty well. I don't think as good as my Mom's, but I think that is usually the case! After dinner we went over to the Mesa Temple to see the lights...we needed the walk after dinner :)

There was also a little nativity display inside the visitor's center. We took only one picture in there--I had to show my Mom! I have decided that I need a nutcracker nativity! (My family are collectors of nativities for those that don't know!)

Anyway, later Christmas Eve we ended up reading the Christmas story from the scriptures, opening up our new Christmas pajamas, and then drinking cocoa and watching The Grinch :)

Christmas morning was fun. There are several videos of people opening sibling gifts, I promise that those will go up soon! We also got a video of Mom and Dad Henry opening their gift from the kids. The rest of the week was spent playing lots of Wii, board game playing, chatting and snacking. Jeff and I were grateful for the help with work on the house/yard from the boys. We were also able to go on a couple of outings. We went to the Phoenix Zoo and then did the little walk up to the Hole in the Rock. It has a great view of the city. We also got to go out for dinner one night for Mexican food. There were other little outings, but those were the major ones.

We enjoyed being able to spend some time with family over the holidays, and it was sure an interesting experience having Christmas at home! I waffled over which of my family's traditions we should keep and which we should pass on this year...It made me that much more grateful for the years we head out :)