Christmas Vacation

I'm just a little behind here but these are some Christmas vacation highlights:

There was LOTS of snow. I haven't seen that much snow in a long time and it made me happy to be a current resident of California. We took the girls sledding one day. It lasted about fifteen minutes as they only made it down the hill three times before they were too nervous to go again (must note that it was a small beginner hill). Lucy might have gone more but since she likes to copy whatever Esther is doing she decided she was too scared too. This picture was completely posed--Esther only got back on the sled after we PROMISED she would not have to go down the hill again. The girls enjoyed other snow activities--shoveling, snowballs, and two or three snowmen with Grandma.

John will probably not appreciate this picture since he has some "morning" hair but having the boys do some of the cooking was fabulous. Dan took a cooking class last semester so now he's Chef Dan with his own stack of recipes (it's really cute!). This is the boys making Christmas Eve cake with Esther.

Here's Grandma with the girls in their Christmas Eve pajamas. They loved every second they spent with all the family's attention!

This is my sister and I playing the duet Sleigh Ride (a Christmas Eve tradition) and Dan joining in on his saxophone. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a LONG time. I don't think Dan has played his saxophone since last Christmas so it was pretty much horrible-sounding, but hilarious. There were tears.

Of course, watching the girls open their presents was one of the best highlights. The little looks of pure joy on their faces was priceless.

It was really fun to spend Christmas with the Hess Fam in Utah. My girls also enjoyed seeing lots of Great Grandpa, Auntie Mary, and Bryce(Ju's boyfriend--I think the girls had a crush on him too). The only low point was the fact that Lucy had a cough pretty much the whole time we were there. Maybe she's not used to the cold Utah air--who knows. I just know I spent way too many hours in the middle of the night on the couch with Lucy. We did watch a few good Christmas movies.

It was also so great to see old friends and catch up!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the great holidays with you!