Saturday, December 26, 2009

the night before christmas

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days. It is full of traditions. And of course, there is nothing that compares to the magic and excitement of children on Christmas Eve.

In the afternoon, we took the girls to see Princess & The Frog, and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Croney's for our traditional Christmas Eve party.

Each year we enjoy soup for dinner, after which the kids go in one room to play games and exchange small gifts (organized by the oldest cousins), while the adults exchange white elephants in another room in a heated game of "spoons". It gets pretty funny!

Shawn was really loving his new hat, and was especially happy with Kelsey's gift. . . but the best part of the night was definitely Matt and Kerri's gift. Earlier that evening, Courtney, AJ, and Shawn had sneaked outside and removed the tire off from their van, and then had placed it into a box and wrapped it up as one of the white elephants.
In what may have been a bit of a set-up, Matt ended up with the tire. We all laughed and laughed when they realized it was off their van.


After all of the raucous of the gift exchange, everyone settles down to act out the nativity. This year, Carson was Joseph and Ryenne was Mary. Keeping with tradition, Bop played the donkey.

The Stosich boys sang a rousing rendition of "When Joseph Went To Bethlehem".




(Oh! And we can't forget. . .Emmy lost her very first tooth on Christmas Eve! Boy, was she so excited when Uncle AJ pulled it out!)

During the nativity, I captured Ryenne deep in thought. I loved watching her face, and something about the way she was sitting there made me think of how she looked when she was a bit younger. I had to sneak a few pictures. . .






Following the nativity, we passed out the Christmas pj's (another favorite Christmas Eve tradition). Although I didn't get any pictures of the pj's, it is always pretty fun to see the excitement in the kids eyes as they show off their new attire and realize that the time is finally here! Pretty soon we will head home so they can set out the cookies and milk, make sure the chimney is clear, toss food out for the reindeer, and snuggle into bed. . .
It's almost Christmas!

christmas dresses 2009











cookie party 2009

Each year, Grandma and Grandpa C's cookie party is a highlight of the holiday season, and this year was no exception. The kids love making and decorating cookies (eating lots of sugar as they go), and especially being together with all of the cousins.






We are always hoping for a visit from someone special, (aka the man in the red suit). And of course, he never disappoints! Claire was especially excited to see Santa. We all laughed as we watched her squeal, point, and giggle.
That is, until it was her turn to sit on his lap! Then, she wasn't quite sure what to think!





Kate was soooo excited to get a chance to be Santa's helper, handing out the goodies from his big red bag.










Even Papa got a turn on Santa's lap. Later that evening, he told us that was the first time in his almost 90 years he has ever sat on Santa's lap!



Friday, December 11, 2009

a really bad accident

Each Friday Emmy and Halle have ballet in Brigham city. Amy and I take turns driving, and whoever drives usually invites the other over to play until ballet time. Emmy looks forward to her fun Fridays with Halle.

Last Friday was Halle's turn to play at our house. After a while, the girls decided to build a fort. They were playing quietly in their fort for quite some time. When it had been too quiet for too long, I realized I had better go see what they were up to.

This is what I saw. About a hundred and one band aid wrappers.

I tried not to laugh while I reminded them that we only use band-aids when we are bleeding.

"But it hurts really bad," Halle explained.

"Oh? How did you get hurt?"

That's when Emmy and Halle matter-of-factly told me that they had been in an accident. A really bad accident, like Uncle Shawn's. As a result, they had incurred serious injuries to their legs, just like Uncle Shawn. This explained the 101 band aids.

The best part is, the serious injury was even on the left leg. . .just like Uncle Shawn.



When they came limping out of the fort so I could take a few pictures, Halle gave me a relieved smile.

"I thought you'd be mad," she gushed.



Now, tell me. How could I possibly get mad at these two faces?

one cool chick