What better place to spend Christmas night than the temple grounds? The music was beautiful, the lights were stunning, the Christmas spirit abundant. After the craziness of Christmas morning it was nice to feel the peace and joy of the real reason we celebrate. We love to share "our" temple with visitors!
We had a happy Christmas morning! Lots of great gift-giving and receiving. My mom surprised me with a new sewing machine because I hate my old one. But now she'll make me do my own mending, so was this really a gift for me or for her?
Since one of us usually is manning the camera, Jeremy and I don't normally get to have our picture taken together. Luckily, Papa the Photographer was here and got this cute shot.
Paper Jams: the hit of the day. Although the guitars belong to Jon and Spencer, everyone got their turn.
Jeremy got this awesome Ute hat. Because it was actually a University of Utah apparel item he did not already own. Love it!
We were so fortunate to have Nana and Papa and Uncle Jon with us for the holiday!
Noah's dream gift. Over 800 pieces of Lego Star Wars Nirvana.
Spencer's shirt says, "I'm right 97% of the time. Who cares about the other 4%?"
Isaac loved his new bike from Granny and Grandpa.
Jacob was in heaven. He got both football jerseys he wanted: Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals, and Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers! Lucky boy.
With some help from Spencer (and others) I had spent hours making special photo books for both sets of grandparents for Christmas. It was gratifying to see them opened and loved.
A mid-morning nap for Isaac and Jon. All the unwrapping proved to be exhausting! We are so blessed.
We love "our" Santa! He and his wife set up their throne on a brilliantly lit cul-de-sac in our neighborhood and receive visitors a few nights before Christmas. Santa takes his time with each child and always knows just what to ask them. He gives great advice and counsel, too! It cracks me up when he insists that even the teenagers sit and talk with him. We gladly wait in line to hear what he has to say.
Nana and Papa came to visit us for Christmas and we went so many fun places with them!
One evening we met Aunt Emily and her family and went to the Garden Railroad Christmas Open House Tour. We were entranced by the model trains at one man's house!
Six thousand feet of G-scale track in an eye-popping display! We were as astonished by the landscaping as the trains. Fantastic!
After that we drove to the McCormick-Stillman railroad park in Scottsdale and rode the miniature train around the park, enjoying the light displays.
Who needs Disneyland? 
We got to meet quite a few characters that night.
Isaac-do and Scooby-do!
Everyone was getting tired and cold and it was time to go home.
Jacob and Isaac pretended they were escaping a runaway train.
We stopped to buy hot chocolate on the way home, and with a warm tummy Isaac just couldn't stay awake. We were laughing so hard when Spencer was trapped beneath his sleeping brother until we got home. What a fun time!
My New Year's resolution for 2010 was to run a 5K race. I started to run out of "year," so Jeremy agreed to do the Reindeer Run at Tempe Town Lake with me on December 19th. It was a riot! Everyone was dressed up in Christmas-themed attire and it was such a fun atmosphere. All I wanted was to not come in last and I was surprised that I was about the middle of the pack. Jeremy hurt his Achilles again during the race, but he waved me on, so I got to cheer for him as he hobbled across the finish line! It is definitely something I will do again; anyone care to join me?
