Merry Christmas!

Here is our Christmas tree complete with a train to circle around the presents. Every day the position of the packages change as Bryce and Adam check out the presents and rearrange them as landscape (most often tunnels) for the train.

The festivities started Christmas Eve with our traditional enchilada dinner. After delivering dinner to Grandma & Grandpa Porter, we settled in for a meal of our own. With Brandt in Brazil, and Grandma & Grandpa unable to join us - we all fit around the dining room table. Everyone was advanced to the main table - the kids didn't know how to act.

After dinner and some fun activities, the Porters headed home and it was time to open the Christmas Eve present - new jammies! This is an exciting time - not only for the new PJs, but each year Michelle wraps all the presents and assigns everyone a reindeer name so that the contents of the presents and their recipient remain a surprise. On Christmas Eve, the reindeer names are revealed!

The kids always figure out some of the reindeer names, but there is generally a surprise in store. It's always more challenging when Morgan & Jamie and Lindsay & Boyd are with us because then we use all 8 reindeer names!

Bryce (aka Dasher) is enjoying the anticipation of it all. Adam is ready to find his reindeer - this year he was Comet. Michelle threw in a curve - since there were only the four of us at home, she wrapped some presents that were to both Bryce and Adam and assigned those another reindeer name - Rudolph. That really threw them off the track.

Here are Dasher and Comet in their new pajamas on Christmas morning - 5:30 a.m. Not too bad...

Even Luna got a present (actually several). Here she is modeling her new sweater. She tried to get a bite of it at first, but soon settled in to being comfortable in it. She really enjoyed the extra warmth when she went outside because we had a cold rainy Christmas.

Here is Adam checking out his new Wii game - Animal Crossing. Since it was a cold rainy day, it was nice and cozy to stay inside and play with our inside presents.

In the afternoon (after talking to Elder Brandt via telephone in Brazil) Ashli and Collin came over to have some cousin time. They almost made it outside to try out the new badmitton set, but the rain started and so they were forced to play Wii Music (oh what a hardship). As you can see, Luna was enjoying her new bed and toys too.

In the afternoon we went visiting to the Porters and to Grandma & Grandpa Porters'. Then we ended up at Aunt Sue's for the annual Dahl Family Christmas Night gathering.

It was a great day to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!