This Christmas was the best Christmas we have ever had in Arizona. It was so much fun, low-key, relaxing, and very very enjoyable! A huge factor playing into it's awesomeness was that Grandma Close retired in November!!! For as long as I'VE known her she always has to work the holidays. Christmas Day was the only day she would ever get off. But this year we got her all to ourselves!
It was also super fun because it was one of the first white Christmas's we've had in AZ! The kiddos had so much fun (even though we weren't quite prepared for snow gear). They didn't care though. We put socks on their hands and they went out and built a snowman! It was so great!
One of my favorite traditions growing up is Gift from the Heart. And this year we started it with our girls. It made my heart very happy. Each girl chose a name of a sister and had to make something for that sister. Emma made a clay unicorn for Reese (because Reese LOVES unicorns). Reese made Nora princess sock puppets and Nora made Emma cracker candy. I loved talking with each one about what ideas they had that they could make. They thought hard about that sister and what she likes and came up with their own ideas. It was such a special thing to do.
One of the best parts of Christmas 2016 was a gift Cade and I gave to Tammy and Great-Grandpa. We took all of their film/video from many many years ago and got it all transferred to DVD's for them so we could actually view it. It was so fun to watch Tammy's parents when they were young and then see Tammy and her siblings as kids as well as Cade and Tara as babies and children. It was really special. There isn't anything better than wonderful family moments!
It's so much fun to see Emma and Ashur and especially Reese and Taft this time around play with each other. They are all best buds and it's so fun they each have someone their own age to play with. They still are young enough that they are into similar things. They love to make up their own music band, ride on the quads outside (when it's warm), do arts and crafts, play with legos, and make up lots of new games.
Unfortunately this was not Lucy's favorite trip. She had a very high fever for 5 days in a row :(. So the day after Christmas we were supposed to go see Dale's side of the family and Lucy and I had to stay back. I was going to leave her with Grandma but she wasn't doing well that morning. So she and I had a very quiet house all to ourselves. The rest of the family had a great time seeing everyone!
We went to Target together and made a train to keep track of everyone. It looked awesome with me and 7 children 7 and under :)
Emma: always ready for her picture to be taken :)...
