Merry Christmas 2012

Well we did it.  We finally told our kids the secret about how Santa knows if they are naughty or nice.   He sends an elf to their house to watch and then every night he goes back to the North Pole to report to Santa. Every day we found him in a new spot in our home.  Bridger and Lilly named their elf Jingles.  We love that elf.  Bridger and Lilly had a lot of fun searching for him every morning.  

When it came time to leave for Utah, the kids had a hard time leaving Jingles behind.  So we allowed him to travel with us.  Jingles rode on Bridger's lap and shared his seat belt.

Christmas Eve at Johnson's

Christmas Eve at the Johnson's is a little crazy but a whole lot of fun. We changed tradition a little to accommodate going to in-laws house.  We have it in the morning.  Christmas Eve lasts all day long now and we have a lot of fun.  The last few years we have played games to get to know each other better.  We always open Christmas pajamas.

opening new pajamas

Christmas Eve at the Doman's

Christmas Eve at the Doman's is so much fun.  Lilly has taken over the role of Mary.  You would have to fight her if you wanted to a turn.  She was so sad this year that baby Sam was too big to be baby Jesus.  Bridger reluctantly played Joesph again.  I'm glad because these are the cutest pictures!

At this point we are all exhausted but we have our own family traditions we have to fight to squeeze in somewhere.  The kids love to feed the reindeer.  They spend quite awhile mixing the food so it is just right.  Then they try to equally spread it between all the bags.  The bags are left on the porch.

This year we had to say a sad goodbye to Jingles.  We can't wait to see him next year!

Christmas Morning

reading farewell letter from Jingles