Christmas Part 1

We left here Wednesday evening, the 22nd for California. We drove 3.5 hours to Elko, NV, where Jeremy's aunt lives, and stayed the night there and then drove the remaining 6 hours on Thursday. Eli was actually quite good. He watched his first movie ever in the car, which definitely helped distract him for awhile. He also had fun saying "Bye truck!" to every semi we passed. :)

So we got to my parents' house about 1:00 on Thursday, the 23rd. Heidi was there and my brother, who lives about 1/2 hour away, was there most of the time too. We were all very happy to be out of the car and were amazed by how beautiful and green everything was. It was sunny and 60 degrees when we pulled up and it was great! That evening, my parents had a bunch of

people over. Every year, often on Christmas Eve, they have some friends over that they've been friends with for almost 30 years. It's always fun to see them and we always enjoy singing some great Christmas music (yea for the Messiah!) and enjoying treats and fun conversation. My mom also went down to Modesto to pick up my sweet Grandma so she could be there that night too. (She's 91 and amazing). She really enjoyed the music and we were so glad we were able to see her. My parents also had some friends from the ward over, so that was fun too.

Oh, and Jeremy built a lego tower to the ceiling before the guests arrived :)

My Grandma with Jenna, Florence, and Michelle (friends)

Eli having fun with Afton (another friend)
Grandpa and Eli - Eli attached to him really quickly since they were just here the weekend before for my cousin's wedding. It was cute.

Christmas Eve was another nice sunny day. We did some cooking/baking during the day, played outside (without even wearing coats!), watched/pet the dog and cat (Eli loved that), started a puzzle, tried out my dad's new toy (a pellet gun - actually his Christmas present, but he opened it early), played Christmas duets on the piano, and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening with our small group. Eli loved all the attention and it was fun to see him so excited to be with family. He loved everyone and it was cute to hear him say their names - or at least his version. Heidi was Hi-ee, Steve was Dis (?), and my dad was Baba. Grandma never got a name. Sorry mom. :)

Heidi, Steve, and Eli

Eli enjoying his yummy Christmas Eve dinner (which was really delicious, by the way)
The spread:
Pretty Christmas tree in my parents' living room

Christmas day was wonderful and relaxing. We felt very spoiled as we do every year, and we probably spoiled Eli too. He had a great time ripping into his presents one right after another. The best reaction was actually when he opened a box with a sweatshirt in it - not all that exciting for him - and he dropped his jaw and raised his eyebrows like, Wow! That's amazing! It was awesome. He also got some fun new toys, his very own pillow, and a new shirt and tie for church. He LOVES wearing a tie (so he can look like Dad) and so he was really excited about that gift. It was fun to have him much more into it this year and to see him enjoy everything.

Playing with the trains from Santa:

New tie:

And white shirt:

Steve usually works until 2 am so he wasn't used to being up this early, hence the yawn.
Classic. Every time we tell Eli to smile for a picture, he gives the wink.

We then had a delicious breakfast of my dad's awesome ham and eggs and homemade wassail. The rest of the day was spent being very lazy (isn't vacation great?) and enjoying our gifts and our family. It was raining pretty much all day, so it was a good time to just hang out inside.

We're not sure what Eli was doing with the Ranch bottle that night, but it was entertaining.

He loves Heidi - and the wink. :)

We watched a movie later that night and then went to my parents' 8:30am sacrament meeting the next morning. My mom, Heidi, and I sang which was fun, and it was nice to see people in the ward.

Eli modeling his new shirt and tie.

After Sacrament Meeting, we headed over to Jeremy's parents' ward at 10:30 (our parents live 15 minutes apart) and that will be Part 2! We had a great time with my family and we were sad to leave. Two and a half days isn't very long, but we were glad we could be there at all. Thanks family for the wonderful visit!