The evening of Christmas eve, we headed over for our annual Christmas party at the DeMann's house. It was a lot of fun, although we missed having Brant there...He's been working with the Park City fire department and was one of the lucky few that got to work that night. We had a great time eating delicious soups and just enjoying every one's company. After dinner it was time for the gifts to be opened...Which is just a madhouse in itself, but we all have fun with it. It's also a good laugh for all of us when my grandpa is trying to get every one's attention (which takes quite a few "can I have your attention, please"'s) and him asking us over and over to please fold our wrapping paper up nicely so it will fit into the recycle bin. Gosh, I love Grandpa! Unfortunately for me, I know I'm already on the path to having some of his quirks! I might be laughing now...but give me another 30 years to be exactly the same! This was my first year of buying a gift for all the cousins and aunts and uncles...since this is usually a chore done by the "old and mature" married couples. Will and I spent a good hour at All a Dollar wondering what to get everyone that they may actually use. We got the old ladies (the moms) magnet shopping lists, the old men (the dads) got bungi cords and the older boys got a screw driver set, the older girls got small notebooks, and the kids got an assortment of puzzles, books, and coloring books. I tried to go for things that I could use, but these guys may have just chucked them the day after Christmas! :)
It was fun to watch the kids (Elsie and Colt, my niece and nephew) open their presents. Elsie got this doll that my brother Jared and I had when we were kids. It brought back such great memories!
Most of us older kids spent the night over at my parents house that night...More to save time from having to drive to my mom's house so early in the morning! Mary and Bryce needed to head over to Mary's parents house at 9:00, so the morning started for us at 7:00. The gifts seemed endless! We all got duffel bags and laundry baskets full of household items that will all be put to good use! Thanks, Mom and Dad!! Again it was so much fun having Elsie and Colt (although Colt doesn't get into it much yet) opening their presents. Elsie was intrested in all of her gifts and was so fun to watch! She got a "Spongebob" umbrella and kept pointing out "Bob bob" to us. After opening the gifts, we had a yummy breakfast of Cinnamon Rolls, hash browns and cereal. We spent the afternoon into the evening at my Grandparent Kirby's house. It was great to see family we haven't seen for a while, although we got there a little late after taking our "Christmas Nap"...so people ended up leaving shortly after we got there, and the food was pretty much gone by the time we got there. But the best part of the whole day was hanging with my family. My siblings are my best friends, and I can't imagine it any other way!
The rest of the evening was spent with Will. We opened our gifts to each other...He treated me so good, even though we said we weren't doing Christmas for each other this year. He got me a pair of diamond studs and a plain white gold wedding band to wear when my diamond ring isn't appropriate. (Like when you travel to Mexico). I didn't do so well for him...I really wasn't expecting such a nice gift! I got him some shorts, a couple of button up shirts and a pair of tennis shoes. We returned the shorts and half the shirts because they didn't fit right...Don't worry he has already replaced those items. :) To end the night, we braved the snow storm and went to the theater to see "Four Christmas's".
