Christmas this year was a California/Las Vegas affair, juggling both families and succeeding once again to be with both of our families for Christmas! We left Provo on Tuesday afternoon and were in California late that night. Christmas Eve, we had a family trip to the YMCA for a pre-Christmas spin class (our favorite!) and then went to Grandma's for dinner to spend time with our cousins.
Cousin love!
Grandma's house was very warm, so periodic breaks to the backyard were necessary. Notice in the picture that Chad is wearing his rainbows and a short-sleeved shirt.
I, of course, had to take some time to play with my camera.
Then it was time for the annual Christmas Eve yarn shenanigan. Everyone has to follow their piece of yarn throughout the entire house until they get to their present. Even Chad and I had yarns to follow!
Luke and Maddy.
Grandma loved the sweatshirt we got for her.
He has a hormone disorder. We all try and be very supportive by giving him fake mustaches for Christmas.
Aunt Julie joined the ranks of owners of this amazing water bottle. She was excited.
Uncle Tommy could hardly contain his excitement with his herbal adventure game.
Matching scarves!
...and most of us stayed conscious.
Luke got really into the story telling mode- he even started acting out some of the characters!
Grandma made some delicious Christmas goodies.
After Grandma's house, we all headed back home to read the Christmas story and play games before going to bed. The rule was that Luke was not allowed to wake anyone up until 8:00 a.m., however at 7:15 a.m. my mom came down and informed us that Luke was awake and we were expected upstairs so that we could participate in the traditional, "walking down the stairs to Christmas event".
Luke's gift was a baseball bag with a clue attached to it, he followed the clues all over the house...
...and was rewarded when he discovered his new baseball bat in the attic!
In the Myer family, we always exchange names for getting each other a big Christmas gift and then give everyone else in the family a stocking stuffer not exceeding $1. The dollar store gifts for each other are one of my favorite parts of the Christmas morning experience!
Even Tasha got into the Christmas spirit and submitted to wearing reindeer antlers all morning.
Cinderella socks... what more could I ever ask for?
Chad and his doo-rag.
Dad loved his poop shovel for camping(he bought this for himself and although it may SEEM like a dollar store gift, it was something he was really excited about).
Luke was not quite as excited for his 4-pack of Lysol cleaning wipes. Santa sure does have a sense of humor!
Dad working on the infamous "wrapping paper ball". It's a tradition.
Riley in her Russel gear. She sure does love that Russel.
After the present-opening, Riley decided it was time for a holiday hair-dye...
...and McKenna helped.
The rest of the morning was spent playing dominos and the new Beatles rock band that Santa had brought for Christmas.
On Christmas night, we went down to the Boud's home for our second annual Christmas day game night. It was a blast, as usual, and everyone's hidden talents shone through during one of our favorite games, celebrity.
My dad was probably the most entertaining to watch.
The next day (our last day in Cali), I helped my mom fold some laundry and observed this very curious relationship between our cat and Tasha. Apparently, if Zoey can't see the dog, it must not exist. She's in denial.
A trip to California would not be complete without a mountain bike ride with my dad!
It was great to be home in California with my family for Christmas. We love you!
After our California Christmas, we headed up to Las Vegas for our Christmas with Chad's side of the family. On our way into town, we stopped by Brad & Terry's house to visit and then drove over to his mom's house.
Just playing around with the nephews.
Isn't he cute in his BYU paraphernalia? We're trying to indoctrinate him young.
Just monkeying around.
With my new camera in tow, we decided to go to the Lakes and have a little family photo shoot... Without kids of our own yet, I take every second I can to take pictures of other people's children.
The entire family.
I never would have anticipated how hard it would be to have all 3 of the kids sit and smile at the same time. Near to impossible. Here are some of my attempts:
I think this is one of my favorites, I like Johnny's model pose.
This is perhaps the only one where everyone is practically smiling, even if it is in 3 different directions.
The Bennett brothers and sisters with their beautiful mother.
Later that night, we went and drove around to look at Christmas lights so that Santa could visit our house. Apparently Kenzie was a little bit exhausted...
Santa visited while we were out and about.... Apparently Kaitlin did something right this year.
Courtney's birthday was on Monday so we headed to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. It was delicious!
Thanks for an amazing Christmas!
