Christmas week with family

Picture overload time!  I always love to include all the pictures from a family vacation or holiday so they can be in my blog book.

Roy and Bonnie flew to KC on the 20th of December.  We were so excited to have family visiting for Christmas!  Keri and Brett's family drove to KC, arriving on the 23rd after a big snowstorm had hit the day before.  Church was cancelled because the roads were pretty treacherous (and as a side note, church was cancelled last week again because the temperatures were too cold . . . my Utah peeps will find that comical).  

Lindsey and Logan loved braving the cold to play in the snow.  They went sledding down the hill on our road for over an hour, while giggling and cheering.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids have fun together.  I wish all of their interactions were this positive!

Roy spent about an hour playing the piano each day.  Bonnie spent hours finishing a quilt she made for Kelsi's Christmas present.  

After taking my last final on the 21st, I went into complete holiday mode!  The footie jammies came on, the movie marathon was started, and the junk food consumption began!

Unfortunately, I came down with the flu on the 21st and spent the next two days in bed.  I didn't even leave the room to welcome the Webbs because I was hoping to trap my germs all in one room.  Bonnie took over by cleaning, cooking and doing laundry.  She was a fabulous help!  That is, until she also came down with the flu on Christmas Eve.  Luckily, we were the only two that got sick.  I was so scared the kids would all get sick on their favorite holiday.

On Christmas Eve, we prepared money wreaths to leave on doorsteps, spent hours cooking in the kitchen (that's a $120 prime rib!) and had the traditional Ellefsen program about Christ.  Roy led the discussion, and I was wishing the rest of the Ellefsen clan was there with us to celebrate.

My kids opened their new Christmas jammies and ornament, but they didn't receive picture books yet because I was too busy with schoolwork in December.  Brevan's jammies are the best - Batman, including a cape!

Tyler brought his saxophone from Texas so he could perform in the Christmas Eve program.  He is becoming quite the musician!

The presents under the tree before Santa even arrived.  We considered sending Santa a text that said our kids did not need ANYTHING else, so he could just skip our house.

But Santa still visited, even filling a stocking for Bella with treats and toys.

Roy and Bonnie slept in Brevan's room, Keri and Brett slept in Brynlie's room, Kelsi slept in Lindsey's bed, Brevan slept in Logan's bed, and the rest of the kids slept in the loft upstairs.

Christmas morning arrived, and we made the kids stay on the stairs until all the adults were presentable to come witness the excitement and chaos!  What a bunch of cute kids! 

Lindsey attached this letter to the fireplace before going to bed the night before.

Let the fun begin!

Ryan spoiled me a little too much this year.  He got me this cute Coach purse, a gift card to Sephora, a gift card for a massage, my awesome MacBook Air laptop, and several other gifts.  What a great guy!  I gave him a new golf club, popcorn machine (to use for parties in the basement), fridge for the basement kitchen (he is pressuring me to get the basement decorated so it's more usable), and several clothes items he wanted.

Tyler looks a little too excited about shooting Lindsey with that arrow!

I took this picture after Brevan opened a present from Logan.  The pride in Logan's face was priceless!  I adore these boys.

Roy had this super cute picture made for Bonnie.  Two lovebirds on one of their traveling adventures!  

Kelsi is wrapped up in the beautiful quilt Bonnie handmade for her.

We cleaned up during all the present unwrapping, but we were still left with quite a bit of Christmas Carnage!

The next day, we went to the Crown Center where we all laced up our skates and tried to stay upright on the ice rink.  It was trickier than we thought!  Ryan takes our girls ice skating every winter, but I haven't gone since I was a teenager!  By the end, I declared myself a professional!  Brevan was the funniest - he would stand up and start quickly running on the skates until he fell.  Logan couldn't get the hang of it, so he held our hands the whole time. 

Brayden actually did really well!  They need to put that kid on a hockey team!

Trying to stand up on skates for a group picture is not an easy feat!

We also attended movies in the theater, ate at some of the best restaurants in Kansas City, let the kids play hours of Xbox, made several trips to Starbucks for hot chocolate and cake pops, and enjoyed relaxing in our pajamas for days on end.

Silly pictures Bryn had me take while at Oklahoma Joes BBQ restaurant.

After the Webbs left on the 29th, the house felt a little bit lonely.  Roy, Bonnie and I took the kids to Maze Craze the next day while Ryan got some work done.

Then it was time for all our company to head back home, and the after-holiday depression set in.  It wasn't helped by an extreme cold front that hit for a couple days, making the temperatures go as low as -15 degrees in Liberty!  I took this photo in the car at 1:00 in the AFTERNOON when it finally reached a whole ONE degree.  School was cancelled so the kids had an extra long winter break.  

Now school is back in session, and I must admit it feels great to be back on a schedule.  My school classes started up about a week ago, so I'm diving into homework.  The weather has warmed up since the extreme cold front, but we are all looking forward to our trip to Florida in March, where we can soak up some real sun!