You're a Mean One, Mother Grinch

The girls woke up early on Christmas Eve. Why? Flu shots for all! I was not a popular mommy.

I was even more unpopular the day after Christmas when Marah woke up in the early AM with the awful, want to die flu... Oops!

Ghosts of Christmas Past

Now that the Christmas boxes are finally back into the garage, I can reward myself with a nostalgic stroll through old photos... This unhappy Christmas baby is Bethany - although at this age every one of our children feared Santa (and despised Santa hats - actually all hats). A sighting of Santa caused terrified shrieks followed by tears - even across the gymnasium.Kenna is our Christmas interior/exterior designer. We are too boring (exterior) and too cluttered (interior) for her taste. She began the ledge tradition. First, as access for more exterior lights, then as a late night escape (some things a mom never wants to know). Marah later made it her reading retreat and 'hang out with Kelsey' spot.

The hated Christmas Sunday family photo shoot... It still creates lots of whining.

Now that we share Meg, Jon & Seth, Thanksgiving becomes family photo day every other year - 2008 was a Thanksgiving year!
Christmas pageants... I have the best collection of blackmail photos! When the girls were young, Megan gathered her sisters and any willing neighborhood children to create Christmas programs filled with singing and dancing and humor (at least for the audience). Frosty was Meg's all-time favorite song/story/stuffed animal (we sang it year round), but how did she convinced Kenna to wear that costume???Of course, the program always ended with an reenactment of the nativity - which despite great efforts at reverence also become somewhat of a comedy...In the teen years, we added a walk through Winterhaven to our Christmas Eve festivities:

Christmas Eve ends with the opening of one gift, sprinkling reindeer feed on the back lawn, leaving milk, cookies (oreos, of course) and thank you notes for Santa. Just before bedtime, we read Luke 2, then goodnight kisses and sweet dreams! Gratefully, they slept until 7am - unless Aunt Pam was around... She's worse than a kid!

That, of course, adapted through the later teen years. No one goes to bed now - they head off to do Christmas service - folding newspapers until 3am so the carriers can spend Christmas morning with their families. Now the dogs are the first to wake up!

It's a very sleepy Christmas morning lineup! More backmail pictures...
Merry Christmas to ALL from AZ!

Christmas Tree Tradition

The morning after Thanksgiving, Russell's grandfather loaded everyone on the tractor/sleigh and headed into mountains to pick out Christmas trees. When I married into the family 25 years again, that was still the tradition. Over the years, the tradition evolved into driving to Christmas tree farms. After moving to AZ, we rebelled and had an artificial tree. Last year an AZ version of the 'real' Christmas tree traditional was revived. WalMart parking lot became our Christmas tree farm... Greatly adapted, the tradition continues...

Before his flight back to Maryland, Grandpa took Seth to pick out his first Christmas tree.

Seth, oblivious to the immense importance of this occasion, spent the majority of it asleep.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Seth (and his parents):While Lori and I drove the Bloods to Phoenix for their flight home, Kenna pulled out all the Christmas boxes and started decorating. She even got her 'lame' (her words) younger sisters to help. They prefer to observe...Kenna bought in our little pine tree from the backyard and decorated it in AZ fashion.

I must confess that the boxes Kenna pulled out are still in the living room. I definitely fit into the 'lame' or 'lazy' or 'disorganized' category this year. I have exactly four days to finish before the college girls start arriving to a Christmas disaster!!! The stockings are hung, the nativity is on display and the packages are almost all shipped - I'm not a complete Christmas loser. Maybe tomorrow? Today is Russell's real birthday - time to make a cake with 7-minute frosting and wrap his 'boring' practical gifts (and remind him that he loves his camera!)

The Great-Grands

My parents made the long drive to be with us for Thanksgiving:

Of course we know they enjoy being with us, but the REAL reason they made the long drive was to meet their great-grandson!

They filled their van with my nephew Leighton's old baby equipment - Seth loves his activity center! His chunky legs almost touched the floor...

Besides birthdays and Thanksgiving, we also celebrated an 'early Christmas' while the sisters were together:
My parent's van turned into Santa's sleigh for the return trip - filled with two BYU grand-daughters and their gifts. (Kenna asked Santa for kitchen appliances while Marah wanted Disney DVDs...)

They stopped halfway in Las Vegas - where I grew up. My daughters were NOT impressed by the Vegas strip and terrified by the strange men talking to them.

Now everyone is safely home enjoying snow, tests, papers and finals...

Thanksgiving Birthdays

Grandma Jan partied twice for her birthday - once in UT on her actual birthday and then again with Russell in AZ.Aunt Lori flew to SLC, picked up the BYU grand-daughters, toured Park City, then they headed to Roy to party with the rest of the Carnahan clan. The evening ended with mud masks for all!
Five days later, the party continued in AZ. We were very excited about their gifts. Anyone else old enough to remember the days of "LaVoy" pajama parties? I loved when my mom would host one. Lori and I would feel all the silky pajamas. Somehow, my ultra-conservative mom ended up with a silky sleeveless leopard robe, which for almost four decades, she has only worn when cutting hair. We were VERY excited to find some warm, fuzzy leopard pajamas to match!!!
Russell's birthday isn't until Dec. 15th, but we wanted to celebrate while everyone was home. We had saved all year to surprise him - no, not with another Xbox, but with a camera to replace the one stolen in New Jersey. This was a pricey undertaking but everyone joined in - daughters, parents, parents-in-law. Of course, we had ulterior motives - we wanted family pictures!!!
Guess who was the most photographed???