Christmas Day

Christmas time is full of family traditions that occur every year. One of those traditions is to receive a new pair of pajama's to wear to bed on Christmas Eve. Here is a picture of our cute little family each wearing our Christmas pajama's. The reason Alissa looks upset in this picture is because when mommy was setting up the camera to take our picture, she accidently touched the Christmas elf, which can make him lose his magic. I told Alissa that tonight is the very best night for the elf to lose his magic because the elf will ride back home with Santa and will be able to have his magic restored. But, Alissa was quite distraught. I felt horrible.

Our little family in our Christmas P.J.'s

Mommy's favorite gift from Alissa - a decorative plate she made

Christmas morning, Alissa received a note from the elf that told her not to worry about him. Santa took good care of him and his magic has returned. He looks forward to seeing Alissa next year. Alissa received some really nice gifts from Santa, Mom and Dad. She received a Frozen Ice Castle, three dolls to include Kristoff, Anna, and Elsa, some books, clothes, and a few other things as well. Her Anna and Elsa dolls have a magic wand that when you add water to it and run the wand across their dresses, a fancy pattern is revealed. Alissa enjoyed playing with them. Here are some pictures:

Alissa's Stash

Steve's new tablet from me (the wife) and his parents. 

After opening gifts and getting ready for the day, we went to Steve's parents house for breakfast and presents. Steve was super excited to get some Star Wars car mats for his car. Jason and Satoko always know the perfect gifts for him. 

 Alissa's smallest cousin, V. received this great bike and the 

Mickey Mouse table and chairs behind him.

 I received a pair of Ski's that was from Steve and his parents. Clark had them professionally bubble wrapped and it took me about 15-20 minutes to get the package opened. Luckily, Satoko helped me to save some time. Clark even bubble wrapped the boots he purchased for my birthday in March. 

Alissa's large gift from Grandma and Grandpa was this Doc McStuffins Doc Mobile, that Alissa has wanted for over one year now. Everytime anybody asked her what she wanted for Christmas, the first thing she would say is, "I want a Doc Mobile".

After presents and gifts at Steve's parents house, we traveled to my parents house for more gifts and lunch. We never starve on holidays as everyone wants to serve us a big meal to celebrate. Luckily, we have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner provided for us on Christmas. My parents provided money for the older attendees and gifts for the three youngest grandchildren. Everyone brought gifts for the three little kids and my parents as well. Then, we participated in a fun gift exchange with all my siblings and their children. Alissa ended up with a Taylor Swift Poster that she stole from uncle Zachary and he nearly cried, but was a good sport. I have never seen my 23 year old nephew so distraught. It was kind of funny. He even tried talking Alissa into trading him for the poster, but Alissa is too stubborn to give in. Alissa now has that poster hanging in her room above her bed.   Here is a picture:

Here is Alissa with a Flashpad Air and Anna coin purse from Grandma and Grandpa, a book and CD from Aunt Jill and Uncle Brad, and a Pez dispenser from Aunt Liz and Uncle Dick. 

 The most meaningful gift I gave was this photo album I made for both my parents and Steve's parents. My mom informed me that she looks forward to my photo albums every year since none of her other children have ever made one for her. So, I work hard at making a book each year.

After food and presents, Rose and Alissa went outside to enjoy the newly fallen snow. This winter has been strange since snow has been rare. We have enjoyed warmer weather than normal at this time of year. So, the "white Christmas" was a special treat that occurred today. 

 Christmas Day ended with dinner and presents at the Tyndall's. Steve's dad, Clark, has one sister that we spend time with every Christmas. Here are some pics of the highlights.

 Grandma and Alissa holding up Alissa's gifts from the Tyndall's

Alissa with her cousin Zoe

 The two youngest members of the family

Alissa's School Party

Alissa had her winter party at school today so I decided to dress her in a Christmas outfit for the occassion. My good friend Denice made this cute Santa necklace for her. Here are a few pictures of her in front of our Christmas decorations at home.

 

I volunteered in Alissa's classroom today and helped out with the party. I took all the pictures for the party and also prepared an activity. Here is a picture of Alissa playing one of the games. She was trying to guess which child was hiding the candy. 

Here is Alissa playing another party game. Each child had a turn at removing a layer of wrapping paper from this gift. At the end, there were treats inside for ALL the kids. 

I made these snowman kits as the final activity at the party. 

Here are some pictures of Alissa making her snowman.

 

 

 After all the games and activities, the kids participated in a gift exchange where every child brought a wrapped $1 item and passed them around a circle until the music stopped. Once the music stopped, the kids were able to open the gift they ended up with. The teacher was so good to make sure than none of the kids ended up with the gift they brought. Alissa received this recorder. She was excited. 

Santa Clause

We took Alissa to the mall to get her picture taken with Santa. Unfortunately, their printers broke down and so we ended up waiting in line for two hours. I felt bad for Santa because some people were so mad that one man pushed Santa when he walked out to take his break. Can you believe that? Who pushes Santa? According to Alissa, "that man must be on the naughty list". Anyway, I felt our two hour wait was worth it because this turned out to be the best Santa we have ever seen.

 When Santa found out that Alissa had brought a list for him, he read it out loud to her. Isn't this a cute picture? I was very impressed by how sweet this man was. I cannot believe anyone would want to hurt this poor man. It certainly wasn't his fault the printer broke down. I'm sure he was just as frustrated as everyone else, in fact, probably more frustrated since I guarantee his day was much longer than our two hour wait.

Family Picture at Christmas Party

There is a very talented man that lives in our neighborhood who painted the picture you see behind us. At our ward Christmas party, he made these fun sayings for everyone and then took pictures of people in front of his painting. Isn't this a cute idea?