Christmas Vacation

We got back from our Arizona Christmas trip on Sunday. As always, it was lots of fun and hardly seemed like we were there for a couple of weeks. This year, the bulk of our Christmas festivities were with my side of the fam. We switch off with every other year being with Jake's side or mine. Just makes things easier that way! Anyhow, here are some of our favorite Christmas memories from this time around. I want all of these pictures in our future blog book... so there are a lot!
Christmas Eve was spent roasting hot dogs and making smores. We all had so much fun... I hope it's going to be a new tradition. Luke especially loved watching Grandpa Paul start the fire and could not get enough marshmallows. After stuffing ourselves with food, we played games and opened presents. Christmas Eve has always been my favorite part about Christmas!
Our little fam...
Luke and Grandpa!
Fun roasting!

Even more Christmas Eve...

Luke was excited about Santa, but thanks to a late Christmas Eve, he didn't wake up until 9:30 or 10:00! Jake was off at about noon with Ben to go to the Spurs vs. Suns game. I guess it was a pretty slow game, but picked up in the end. The Spurs won on a 3 point buzzer shot! Jake is a pretty die hard fan, so it's only fitting that he was watching them play on Christmas with Ben!
Luke checking out his stocking loot...

Ella's first Christmas!

Last year when we were in AZ for the holidays, my mom put some chocolate ornaments on a little tree in the house, and Luke loved it! So, this year she and my dad had some waiting for him. This little dude couldn't get enough. He had fun picking oranges off of the tree outside too.

We went to see The Polar Express in 3D. It's Luke's favorite movie now! After we saw it at the IMAX, Luke watched it like 10 more times on DVD before we left. Grandma sent it home with us, so he can watch it even more! haha. We were stylin in our glasses...

Yeah for riding the merry-go-round in the mall!

Luke, Abby, mom, and I made a gingerbread train....


Another highlight of the trip was wedding dress
shopping with Abby! She didn't find the dress
when we went this time, but we had fun! Here are some dresses she won't be wearing. Haha. I found the most ridiculous dress in the whole store and she tried it on for kicks. Haha. It's that green and black beauty. :)
We had fun. Love that girl!

We went to the park one day with the Smiths. All the cousins had fun running around together and riding bikes while the adults got to hang out. Joe, Rick, Ben, and Davey made and launched rockets and the kids counted down for them to blast off!

more park fun...

We got to go listen to Joe and MC6 perform at the temple again this year. Nice work guys! They are awesome. It was fun seeing all the lights again, too.

Dad took us to ride the ATVs one day. The sun was deceiving! It was soo cold. Totally worth it though! It was such a fun place to ride. Luke is still talking about riding the "tractors" and splashing in the muddy water. Thanks for a fun time, dad!

We had a late Christmas Eve dinner with the Smiths. It was great being with everyone. Luke was soaking it up. He likes being Ethan's shadow. Cute cousins!

Jenny and Todd introduced us to the goats at Jenny's parent's house. They are funny little guys! Luke kept eating their Lucky Charms. Haha. He did give them a few though. We took them for a little walk.... fun times!

My dad's birthday is Dec. 31! So, we had a birthday party for him. Everyone came over to eat waffles and omelettes for breakfast. Abby and I had a fun time decorating the kitchen for it. Happy 48 dad!

We went to visit Grandma Taylor... Jake's cute grandma. Isn't she the most stylish little lady around?! She and Ella got to meet for the first time.... and yep, ella's headband is falling off in this picture and it looks like Luke is eating his sleeve. oh well..
I found some new favorites on this trip! First up, Fresh and Easy's Strawberry Lemonade! Sooo good! Even beats out Chick-Fil-A's lemonade in my opinion, which is pretty hard to beat. Also, my mom introduced me to Naartjie. They have super cute baby and kids clothes! Such a fun place. Last but not least...




















I finally got to try Sprinkles!! Mom and I took Luke and Ella with us one afternoon. Their cupcakes are so yummy. I want to go again! Between us, we tried strawberry, orange, lemon-coconut, and white. Strawberry was my fav! Go next time you're in Scottsdale!

I got to see two of my cute BYU roomies and their families. Love these girls!...

We had family pictures taken. Here's one of a billion :)...

It was a memorable trip. We were lucky to be able to do so much with family! Luke and Ella were great on the plane rides. Luke is in a crazy airplane and rocket loving stage right now so he was a happy guy!
Checking out the airplanes in the airport and once we were on the plane...

Santa left a present in TX for Luke, so he got to come home to it. Woo hoo!
Now we're just getting back in the swing of things here! Jake is back to school, and we're getting back to our normal routine. It was fun having a break from everyday life for a little bit!