Christmas '09

Christmas this year was a lot of fun. The kids were super excited and Carter actually understood what was going on. He was a present MONSTER! All he wanted to do was open more presents and he did it with vigor. It was great. It was also a great time to reflect on our Savior and what he means to us. We read the story of Christmas with the kids and emphasized why we celebrate this time of year. We only hope they will always remember.

Now on to some pictures to share the fun we had Christmas day!

McKaylee was the first to wake up at around 7:30am. The boys didn't get up until 8am so Kaylee kept Jess and I company in bed for a while. It was great to see her giddiness. I also borrowed our company camera to see how well we liked it. We are hunting for a new camera before the baby comes this summer. Some of the pictures look a little different than others, but that's just me playing with settings. Overall I think it's a really nice camera.

Jess and the kids waited patiently while I made sure everything was ready and I was in the family room ready to capture the moment.

Carter started crying right before they came out because I walked away and he wanted to come with. Kaylee and Austin were nothing but happy.

It didn't take long for Carter to catch up.







One of Kaylee's favorite gifts was her EZ Bake oven. She couldn't wait to use it and has really found a love for baking over the past year.

Austin's favorite gift was actually 'used'. He's really been wanting some video games, but we don't have a game system in the house. Well, at least not a recent one like a Playstation 3, XBox 360 or his favorite...a Wii. I do however have an old Nintendo 64 in the closet and we were able to find some games for it at a used game store. He was confused at first at why he got games and nothing to play them on. Little did he know that hooked up to the new tv downstairs (Jess's dad brought over one of their old tv's the day before) was my Nintendo 64. This was his look as he came back upstairs. We didn't see him much after this.



This was my favorite gift of the day. I got Jess a new wedding ring this year. We had talked about it for our 10th anniversary in August, but decided not to get it at the time. I'm really glad I did it now. She loves it and so do I.

After having Christmas at our house we headed over to Jess' parents house for dinner and more celebrating. It was a great time with the rest of the family.

This is Jess and our sister-in-law, Jenny. We call them the Doublemint twins.

Grandpa is always in heaven when surrounded by his grandkids.

Love this picture. Kaylee saw me taking pictures and decided to spice it up a bit from across the room. She's such a good. Wonder who she got that from. Must have been her mother. :)

Carter digging in once again. He couldn't get enough.

We love this pic. Jess' sister, Carrie, has a rather loud laugh. I caught this moment mid laugh as Austin couldn't take anymore and had to cover his ears. It was hilarious! Sorry Carrie, it was.

Jess will be mad I posted this, but I love the look on her face. :)

How can you not love this picture?

Carter LOVED getting his new tricycle and we love that it has the extension on the back for us to push and even guide him!

Austin was in heaven with his Optimus Prime and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Wait a sec, is this the 80's? Wasn't this the exact same things I wanted as a kid?

Kaylee has found her new calling in life with this gift. Not only is it a cd player, but it has two microphones for her to sing along and boy does she sing. Her only problem is trying to keep Carter from using the other mic.