Christmas Eve 2013

Sweet and simple is how I would describe our holidays this year. We were glad to be at home with our little family and new baby. It felt nice to be so relaxed! On Christmas Eve we watched Christmas movies all afternoon and enjoyed a lazy day. We didn't skip out on tradition though and had our traditional meal of Chili and cornbread. After dinner we sat down and I told the story of Christ's birth. There were some great videos to go along with it on LDS.org. Its always such a reverent feeling. When it was almost bedtime we surprised the kids with a "Christmas Eve box" to open. Inside was Christmas jammies, a Christmas thermos, and a ticket to ride the annual "Polar Express." Emma was so excited to go look at lights! I made Polar Express Hot Chocolate to go in our new mugs and we set off in our jammies. There was no snow this year so it was an easy drive and we didn't have to go far. Our neighborhood had some fun streets full of lights! Owen picked up the enthusiasm right away and enjoyed the scenery as much as Emma. Lots of "OOooooo's" and "Aaawwww's!" from the backseat. We all sipped on our cocoa and then headed back home before we missed Santa. This is the one night of the year that kids willingly go to bed. Of course I am sure Emma was in there for two more hours before falling asleep! We waited til just after midnight when I was sure Emma was actually out and set up the gifts under the tree. It looked like the tree exploded! Then we set off to bed ourselves. Who knew when we would be awoken!

Emma and Owen in their matching PJ's!

Jude in his festive PJ's too!

We actually had three Christmas outfits for Jude and he went thru all three! :)