Fantastic Christmas

Oh what a fantastic Christmas, it was magical. Last year at Christmas my Grandpa was dying and the family was in high stress mode, plus it was the first Christmas after my parent's divorce, so it was a hard year. This year was completely the opposite. Everything was perfect, and my dad and mom (and their new respective loves) both joined me on Christmas Eve at my house, and everything was great.

Let me start at the beginning (sorry if this is a bit long):

On Saturday the 22nd, E and I met our good friend Ashley for lunch at our favorite Middle Eastern place, Mazza. We exchanged gifts (thank you Ashley) and had a grand old time. Plus, I love the food there, so it was sure to be great. We then went to Costco, the store, etc and ended up at home that evening just in time to get ready for my Dad's birthday party. We had my siblings and my dad over for a Italian pasta, salad, and pecan pie. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

On Sunday E and I were very lucky indeed, we were done with our Christmas shopping, so we decided to head up to Snowbird for our new favorite tradition, a day at the Cliff Spa followed by drinks at the Aerie Lounge. The spa was great, the day was cold with constant snow and cloudy skies, so the hot tub on the roof was fantastic. The steam room, sauna, Solarium, and heated outdoor pool all were wonderful, as always. After fully spa-a-fying we headed upstairs to the Aerie Lounge where we got wings and spiced cider with rum. Yummm!

Monday was Christmas Eve, and E and I had a busy day. After prepping our house for the large cocktail party we were going to host, E and I headed over to his families house for a doll's Christmas. Our dolls exchanged gifts (yes, I know I'm lame, but it is fun!) and Violet came home with lots of goodies, but the best of all was a wonderful Christmas photo album full of all my doll's Christmas photos. Thank you Chelsea.

Once we returned home we finished getting ready for our party, we set up the bar, made about 15 appetizers and waited and waited and waited! E and I joked that nobody was going to show up, the snow had moved in and the roads looked pretty bad. Finally everyone started to show up, and it was fantastic! First my brother and his new girlfriend Natasha, then my Mom, Chuck, Melissa, and Chandler. Soon after that Logan arrived, then E's family and then my Dad and Kimmie. We had a full house, but it was wonderful! My Mom and Dad were fine together and my Mom and Kimmie ended up chatting for awhile. E's family seemed to have a great time, and everyone got along perfectly. The snacks and drinks were a big hit too, we ate and ate and the spiced wassail was gone in no time. It was wonderful.

Natasha, Chandler, Brandon, me, Kimmie, Dad, and Melissa

David, Chelsea, Connie, Steve and E

Chuck, E and Logan hang out in the kitchen with the wassail
My cute brothers and Natasha.

After the party was over I was so tired! E and I filled each other's stockings (another tradition) and headed to bed.

Tuesday was Christmas day! E and I woke fairly early to the most beautiful day. The sun wasn't yet up, and the whole world had a fine mist over the newly fallen snow. Our living room looked especially lovely, don't you agree?
First we pulled out the new cat nip toys for the kitties and laughed and laughed as they flipped, ran, bounced and sucked on their new toys. Then we opened our stockings, and E had filled mine with the most wonderful treats! Mini German cookies, beautiful colored pencils in a wooded box, and pomegranate juice! Then we opened our "big" presents and I got Lei Mei, the beautiful Chinese doll I had been hoping for! E got a new wool coat that looks so sexy! He also go me purple Crocs and a coat for Lei Me. I am spoiled.

E's new coat

Once our presents were opened it was time to head up to E's family's house. I was hoping for breakfast at home, but that didn't happen. Once leaving the house I was awestruck by the beauty of the world. The sun was just peeking up, and the sleepy houses looked so pretty with their Christmas lights flickering from inside. On the way, I insisted that E pull over so I could snap a photo, I don't remember any other Christmas being so beautiful.
Once at E's house our ripping of wrapping paper skills were put to the test! Man oh man are we spoiled! I got so many wonderful things! A Gap gift certificate, doll clothes, doll ski stuff, and more and more and more. Then came the final present, a huge box....

E's wonderful family got me Kit's trunk (another doll item) but it is such a great surprise, and something I had really really been wanting, but I didn't put on my Christmas list because of the price. I am thrilled because not only is it a beautiful piece, but now I have my first complete collection! Here I am when I realized what was in the box. ;)

E had been hoping for a new CD player, he is working on building a stereo system, and the CD player is the start.

After we finished opening tons and tons of presents and having a yummy breakfast we headed over to my dad's house. Now the sun was fully up, and it was truly glorious outside. The valley was crystal clear and everything was fresh and white. After hearing the very upsetting news that Brandon's house had been robbed the night before (they had stolen all his Christmas presents, a pile of sunglasses, watches, his Christmas bonus, and bracelet my Grandpa gave him, which was one of his most prized possessions and having it stolen was worse than all the other stuff put together) we moved onto presents. We all felt so bad for Brandon, but we all had things to give him, and hoped that he could still have a good holiday.

I gave all my siblings presents, and they all gave me great things too. My Dad and Kimmie went all out and got us some really special items, Ethan got shoes, a sweater, money, an antique radio (which is awesome) and water from the BMW shop (a joke of course!). I got shirts, a neat mirrored box, a sweater, and a new coat! It rocks. We also all got a box of oranges and we read the sweetest story about Christmas oranges and a little girl in an orphanage.

My new most awesome coat for snowshoeing.

Once we were done at my dad's we headed back to E's family's house for a bit. I had a chance to relax and then we packed up our gifts. I can't believe how many things we got! Holy cow, we are so spoiled! We dropped off the presents at home, grabbed a few things, and headed to my Mom's at 5:00. Here house looked wonderful, she lives in an old house in a very cute area, and her red door with a lighted wreath really set the mood for the night, I took this photo as my mom opened the door, I like it!
Once inside the spoiling continued. We had snacks, drank wine and opened more presents! Chuck had been in charge of stockings this year, and he did such a great job! He got us the neatest things that were just fun! I got sea animal toys and dinosaurs, a potholder making kit (like the kind I had as a kid), candy, a toothbrush, a mini frame, and so much more, just in my stocking! The presents were just as thoughtful, E got some GPS accessories he has been wanting and I got snow pants to go with my new coat. Also I got a really cute dress, a sweet llama toy, a cool bag, and tons of other things.
After the last of the presents were opened we ate a fantastic meal of stuffed shells (tradition in my family) and visited with the Laytons. We gave them our presents and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

E and I went home to a house that has presents stacked to the ceiling (seriously, we got so many wonderful things), three sweet kitties, and a warm bed calling our name.

Merry Christmas.