Christmas was a great day. The kids were so happy and nobody threw any fits about anything they got or didn't get or that someone else got or didn't get.
Wesley happily ate all the chocolate from his stocking in between his turns at opening a present.
And it snowed! We had a white Christmas for the second time since we moved here. Kind of amazing and totally awesome.
After Christmas things went down hill a little bit - Tyler got pink eye and there was some other health-related unpleasantness, but after a couple of days things cleared up and calmed down and by New Year's Eve we were ready to party.
Some friends were asking if our kids stay up until midnight...that has never happened. In fact they don't stay up at all if we're not at a party. We do a big countdown after dinner, no matter what time it is, and toast each other with our Martinelli's and call it good. This year we had some friends over for dinner and when they had to leave to go their family New Year's Eve party we did our countdown. I think it was 8:30. The kids loved it and it doesn't bother them one bit that it isn't midnight.
And now all the holiday hoopla is behind us and we are back to our normal routine. Our church schedule changed to 8:30 am (it was 1:30 pm) and I am enormously excited by that. I love having the whole afternoon to spend together as opposed to having the whole morning to wait around until it's time to get ready for church.
What else am I excited about in the new year? CT turns 8 next month! We have family coming to town to see him get baptized. We always look forward to visitors. This summer I'm planning on spending a couple of weeks in Utah to visit - any of you who also plan trips to Utah to visit family during the summer should coordinate your times - synch your watches! I would love to have a big party and see as many friends as possible!
