Holiday Hoopla

Matt & I (& Mom- who's taking the picture) decorating the Christmas Tree!

Christmas Tree all lit up!

Wow the last 3 weeks have been filled with all kinds of fun craziness!!! So much so I didn't stop to take any pictures, which means all picture credits from this post belong to either my mom or sisters.

Anyways- back to the excitement. It all started with my sister, Stacy, and her 4 girls coming into town. From there on we went non-stop from one fun activity to another... despite over half the family being sick at one time or another. We seriously were quite the group with all of us coughing and blowing our noses every 5 minutes. But we didn't let that stop us from having fun and enjoy being together as family!

Since pictures are more exciting than writing- let's just get straight to it shall we? We'll go by event okay? ;)

Playing in the Snow:

P.S. I was so SO happy that we had a white Christmas this year!! If it's not a white Christmas- any snow we receive after that I'm just bitter towards. Dead serious. 

Lot's of fun cousin/sibling bonding time:

Isn't this picture filled with so much awesomeness?!

From left to right: Kylie (2), Makai (21 mo), Kate (5), Aly (11), Lise (8), Jaden (10), Camren (8)

Swimming:
          (Thanks to Matt's friend, Shae, and her awesome pool with a bubble over it- they were able to take the kids swimming. Who says you can't go swimming in the middle of winter?! I unfortunately had to miss out on that fun due to my responsibilities at LDS Family Services.)

I don't know if Kate is cold or what...

Look at that form!!!

Playing Games:
       I think that's how we spent the majority of our time- playing one game or another. We played No Thanks, Word on the Street, Over/Under, Quelf, Wits & Wagers, Clue, Ripple, Mad Gab, Rack-O, Skip Bo and I'm sure some others I've forgotten.

Here's a picture of the girls playing "The Matt Game". They LOVED it!! Who needs expensive gadgets when you have some books, imagination, & people to entertain you?!

Christmas Morning:

Yes I know I'm very spoiled with that massive pile of presents in front of me.

Ice-Skating:
      (Try not to mind the blurry pictures. I also had to miss out on this fun- again due to being at LDS Family Services.)

Haha!!! Her facial expression is hilarious in this picture!

Sibling Dinner- California Pizza Kitchen:
            My siblings (and that includes my in-laws) are my best friends. There's honestly not a group of people I'd rather spend time with than my family. They all have helped shape me into a better person than I otherwise would've been without them in my life. I couldn't ask for better examples to look up to than these people. I love them all so much.
            

Spencer's 26th Birthday (Dec. 29th):

Haha! I love this picture!!

I have an amazing brother! He can always make me laugh, is one of the smartest people I know, and has such a strong testimony of the gospel.
Love you so much Spence!! 

New Year's Eve:

Nice face Laura.

I have no idea why she looks so traumatized in this picture. She was all smiles when we were outside banging on the pie pans to ring in the New Year.

Laura planned all these fun activities for the kids to do during the night so they wouldn't be bored on New Year's Eve. One of the activities was to decorate their "noise maker". Cute huh? They absolutely loved it!! Major aunt/mom points to Laura!! (I need to step it up in the aunt department apparently...)

Not Pictured:

• Family Parties (both the Webb Ebelskiver party & the Jackman Christmas party--> where all the girls got a "bra purse". I'm dead serious- and so was my Grandma in giving the gift.)
• Christmas Eve tradition of the formal dinner in the "nice" dining room by candlelight, followed by stating why we love each other by the fireplace. After that we do our "Gift to Christ". It's a great night filled with the Spirit. 
• Watching The Cosby Show (Spencer got all 8 seasons for Christmas) --> I'd forgotten how hilarious The Cosby Show truly is! And you gotta love how clean it is, which is hard to find today! 
• Watching movies (October Baby, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, Knight & Day, Men in Black 3, Les Miserables, The Hobbit, and of course lots of Christmas movies!)
• Going to the Jordan River Temple as a family and doing sealings (the first time for me)
• My entire family going to church together (loved being in Relief Society with my mom & all of my sisters)
• Me finally meeting my best friend's baby girl, Lila, for the first time. Oh my heck she is absolutely ADORABLE!!!

All in all- it was 3 weeks where lots of great memories were made!! I'm so grateful that my entire family was able to spend so much time together over the holiday season. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that.