Celebrating 6 at Pump It Up!

Everyone loves Ryan! And we could not think of a better place to celebrate him turning 6 than Pump It Up! We invited all his best buddies and brave girl from school and church to jump and celebrate with us. Having your birthday after Christmas could maybe be a bit of a let down, but not today! He felt like a million bucks and had the best time. 

Ryan at 6...

Loves basketball, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, legos, making videos(Ryan's closet diaries), milk and spending time with family and cousins.

Christmas Day...

The kids were really excited for Christmas morning this year. Santa worked into the wee hours putting together the basketball hoop, bike and ping pong table! I think Santa needs a break from any assembling next year.  Safe to say the kids were on the nice list this year. 

We have been hosting Christmas dinner for the last several years. I have to admit it is a little stressful but the memories we create each year are well worth it. Gay brought her red pepper jelly, mom brought the prime rib, Heather brought her potatoes, Rachael brought dessert, and I made rolls...it really is nice that everyone contributes their part to put on a really yummy dinner. Justin does the entertaining. His trivia is becoming quite the tradition and we always end the night with our gift card exchange, while the kids exchange their gifts.

Even though we have a lot of fun on Christmas with the gift giving and way over fill our bellies with an abundance of food, we remember why we celebrate this special day. I am so thankful for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the reason we celebrate. His example of love and service is everything I strive to be like. 

Christmas Eve...

 We spent Christmas Eve over at Andy and Mari's this year. This is becoming quite the tradition along with our rendition of the Nativity...same story different roles. Preston had so much fun dressing up, but our favorite was his discovery of Heath's old dinosaur Halloween costume. Halle was home from her first semester at University of Utah. Being with family and those we love most always bring joy at this time of year.

New Celebrations to this Season...

Justin and I were invited to an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. Thank goodness I stole all of grandma Laraine's old Christmas sweaters so they could be used year after year to spread more cheer beyond their years. Ashley and Jo Martin hosted a really fun party, we had a great time!

This year we decided to check out the Grotto over on the east side of town. Every night they have a different set of performers who share a musical talent of some sort in the church. But before you get to the actual church they have some amazing Christmas lights and displays to see along the way. When we made it to the church we heard a quartet of singers along with a harpist. The rain put a little bit of a damper on the whole outing, but what did we expect, after all we do live in Oregon!