A couple days before Christmas, we went with Brandon's dad and stepmom to his Grandma Pam's house where we opened presents and ate treats. Brandon's dad modeled a vest his mom got him that he didn't think was his style. We have so few photos of Dennis - I had to get this one in here!
On Christmas Eve, we went to my parents' house for our annual Shoaf Christmas. Our grandkid picture hasn't grown in numbers recently but they're all growing in size!
We weren't sure Isaac and Dominika were going to be able to come for Christmas, but we were so happy that they made the trip!
Emerson, Cooper, and Campbell all performed Christmas songs for us on their various instruments (Campbell - piano, Cooper - xylophone, Emerson - cello), Nalon and Holden read from the scriptures, then the guys performed "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on the handbells. It was awesome!
Then it was present time! The greatest gifts were the surprises from both Alisha and Dominika that they're expecting babies - both due early August.
Jonah opened his gift from his mom - a ski trip to Utah with the older guys. Later in January, he, my dad, Jacob, and Brandon would all meet Isaac and Thomas in Utah for a ski weekend.
Annual Sisters Pic - just missing Madison!
We had Jackson for Christmas morning this year, so when we got home from my parents' house, we set the cookies and milk out and put him to bed. Santa visited overnight and the next morning we opened gifts. We really went pretty low-key this year, sticking to a strict budget, but between grandparent gifts and some hand-me-down gifts from Tessa's kids, he ended up opening A LOT of packages. Legos were the hot-ticket item this year. This boy is officially Lego obsessed, though he really just likes playing with the little guys. Fortunately, they have knock-off Legos at Family Dollar and you can buy entire packages of Lego guys for $5. Brandon got him a Red Rider BB Gun but he was a bit afraid of it at first. I think next year he'll be more excited for that one. :)
After presents and breakfast at our house, we dropped by Brandon's dad's house for presents, then went to Brandon's mom's. These people go all out on gifts for the grandkids, so this is always Jackson's favorite destination on Christmas.
From there, Jackson went to his mom's house and Brandon and I came home to spend the evening together. Sometimes it feels over-the-top with all the different families we have to visit on Christmas, but I'm so grateful we're so close to so many of our family members. We are incredibly blessed to have such a strong support system and happy family relationships. This is one of the greatest blessings in our lives, thanks to the birth and life of Christ and his Atonement that make happiness in family relationships possible. It seems like a wonderful way to celebrate his birth.
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