Christmas Day

Christmas was the best this year! Garrett and Abby were old enough to actually understand the whole Santa Claus and gifts thing, so it was really fun. Our Church was at 9:00 and the kids were so worn out from the previous days' excitement they were still asleep at 8:30, so we got them ready for Church in their rooms and then walked out and acted totally surprised that Santa had come and there were presents. That Santa is a smart man and left one small unwrapped present for each child to grab on our way out the door. Going to Church on Christmas morning makes planning the day a bit more complicated, but it was great to be there and a perfect way to start a wonderful Christmas Day. Greg and I even said it would be nice to have Christmas on Sunday every year. It definitely helped keep the day in perspective and remember what we were really celebrating. My lucky dad even got to speak. He gave an awesome talk in Sacrament Meeting and then we came home to let the fun begin!

Greg couldn't even think about joining in the festivities until he got some Oreos and milk in him.
Garrett was so thrilled with everything he got to open and was so sweet.

Brett and Chelsea came down to watch the kids open presents and Abby noticed Chelsea putting on her chapstick (or "wips" as Abby calls it). Chelsea handed her the tube of chapstick to play with and Abby was completely disinterested in opening anything from that point on. She was more thrilled with the chapstick than anything else she got that day...sometimes I wonder why we try so hard.

Greg laid his head in Abby's lap and she loved rubbing his head. He tried to get up and she kept pulling him back down and saying, "Stay!" She is such a little stinker.

This toy crane is awesome! I'm not sure who had more fun playing with it...

Abby got this play kitchen and was more excited to use it as a stool to turn on the lights than play with it. (May I just say what a bargain shopper Santa was this year. The crane was on the clearance rack for less than half the orginal price because it didn't work...turns out all it needed was a fresh set of batteries. SCORE!!! Santa also bought the kitchen at a yard sale for 1/4 of the original price. It is in great shape and you could barely tell it's been used. Double score!!!)

Garrett was also thrilled to get a train and more track for his Geotrax.

The absolute highlight of the day was Skyping with our favorite Elder in Spain. Garrett even sang him the Chipmunk song in its entirety, so it couldn't have been any better.

The rest of my family came over and we enjoyed a nice breakfast and some "high quality family bonding time."

Chelsea made darling hats and aprons for all of the kids. They were a huge hit!

We made this picture quilt for my mom--another huge hit!

Greg's family arrived in the afternoon and we loved spending the rest of the day with them. Cathy was especially thrilled with my present to her. Now she can be "one of THOSE families that put their cereal in plastic containers." (Inside joke for the Phillips siblings...I hope I made you proud.) Abby had to change immediately into her new Cougar outfit from Grandma and Grandpa.

It was a perfect Christmas. I'm sad it's over, but now I can start planning Abby's birthday party. HOORAY! Plus, Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so I'm also pretty excited about that. Aren't holidays wondeful? There is always something to look forward to!

Christmas Eve

Oh Christmas Eve! The happiest (and saddest) day of my year. I try to just enjoy it and soak it all in, but in my heart I'm always a bit sad because I know it's almost over. Mr. Scrooge Phillips--my dearly beloved--isn't such a Christmas lover and can't wait for the whole season to be over so he can get back to his normal, boring life. (Okay, I added the "normal, boring life" part. He never really said that, but his feelings about Christmas aren't nearly as tender as mine.)

Back to the post...we started out the day in SLC with Greg's family. We were able to present Grandpa Willy with his Christmas gift. The neighbor across the street is a big Utah fan and mostly we just wanted to torture him every day of 2012. Nice, huh? (Dear Bruce, I don't know if you ever read this blog, but you know we love you. We just like to pester you.)

We got home just in time for the Maughan/Wright 81st annual Christmas Eve party. (I'm not sure if 81 is the correct number, but it sounded good at the time and the party has been a tradition since my mom was a kid, so we're in the ballpark.)

I asked Garrett if he wanted to be a Wiseman or Shepherd in the Nativity scene. He couldn't say "Wiseman" fast enough and was so thrilled to give his gifts to Baby Jesus/Ella. Chelsea decked Abby out as the most adorable angel you could possibly imagine. She reminded me a bit of Gladys Herdmann--a whole lot of spunk dressed in white and completely irresistible! (Let's just say "angelic" isn't the first word that comes to mind when describing our little spitfire's personality...)The kids are always so cute getting ready for the pageant.

Showtime! Abby was a bit of a frowny/disappearing angel, but Garrett took his role very seriously and kneeled reverently in front of the Holy Family the entire time. He doesn't exactly specialize in holding still, so it was sweet to see him so excited to be a part of something he knows is special.

Next came the program...the best one yet. Just give the kids a microphone and get yourself a Diet Coke and sugar cookie and prepare to laugh your guts out.

This was an awesome version of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas."

Sweet Gracie got held up on "Rudolph" and repeated the same section over and over. So funny! Cute little Easton!

This act was a little less hysterical and actually quite good.

Sean doing his best "Frosty the Snowman"/Jimmy Durante imitation.

Talented brothers!

A very sweet version of "Silent Night."

Then it was time for the "12 Days of Christmas" and the gift-exchange game.

These boys would have made Grandma Ila and Aunt Venice very proud!

Here's the highlight of my evening. Garrett and Abby have been slightly obsessed with the Chipmunks Christmas album this year. We have heard Garrett sing portions of the song before, but he's never put it all together like this. He told me he was going to sing "the one where David "Sebille" gets mad at Alvin" and walked up to the microphone. Enjoy!

I hope you laughed out loud, because I still do every time I think about it. The video ends early because I had to walk up to microphone and end his performance before he yelled "Alvin" again and permanently deafened somebody. (I'm not sure if "deafened" is a word, but I'm going for it.)