2012 Tucker Family Christmas Party

(Love this picture! These girls LOVE their aunt MoMo.)
Last weekend we had a couple Christmas parties. We started the day with a yummy breakfast party with our extended Tucker family. Just as we sat down to eat we got a surprise visit from two special guests.

The three little girls watched intently from a safe distance on their Grandpa's lap! The kids loved this visit with Santa. He did a magic trick, read them a story, and even gave them all balloon reindeer before having each of them sit on his lap to get a goodie bag. Here's a picture of my grandma Tucker enjoying Santa with her great-grandchildren.

Leah did surprisingly well with Santa (as long as Grandpa was nearby). She even talked into the microphone to answer his questions.

She smiled really big right after I took this picture (what terrible timing, huh?). I also snapped a few pictures of some of Leah's cousins talking to Santa.

 Leah was really excited to swing at the pinata!

My camera battery died at this point. So I didn't get any more pictures of the fun activities like the bean bag toss through the snowman (for which Leah had incredible aim...I didn't know she had such a good arm!), making homemade ornaments and the impromptu dance session at the end.

That evening we had a party at my parents' house with our immediate family. The party got off to a late start when my dad was called off on emergency bishopric business. When he got back, he shared with us President Thomas S. Monson's Christmas train book. He then talked about how important it is to give to others at Christmas time and the need to have faith in our lives. After my parents gave us their special annual Christmas letters, we opened our gifts for the family gift exchange. Then we had cake and ice cream for my birthday before leaving for home. It had been snowing most of the day and the drive home was not fun at all (especially with Leah complaining most of the way that she wanted to go back to Grandpa's). But the time we were able to spend with family was very special. I love this wonderful time of year!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last week we celebrated my birthday. It was a good day. Leah and I slept in even later than usual. We didn't have anything planned, but after we got up and got moving I decided we should do something fun for my birthday. So I took her over to the local mall for lunch in the food court and then let her ride some of the kiddie rides that I know she loves. I snapped this picture of us eating lunch. I love her big cheesy grin with a mouthful of food. What a cutie!

We sat and ate our lunch where we could watch the carousel. Leah could hardly sit still long enough to eat. She was so excited to go on the carousel. You can tell by the pictures that she was SO HAPPY to finally get to ride. Sheer delight!

 Then I let her ride a couple of the other kiddie rides. Here she is driving a train and a bus.

This is the cute message that my sweet husband left on the table for me. It made my day when I came downstairs and found it waiting for me!

 That evening Ross's mom came and watched Leah so Ross and I could enjoy a nice dinner out. We went to one of my favorite restaurants, The Olive Garden. There's not much better than a nice dinner full of yummy carbs! After that we went back to the house for presents and dessert. Leah was insistent on helping me open my present and cards.

And of course she helped me blow out my candles. These delicious chocolate cupcakes filled with caramel and topped with toffee bits and a caramel cream frosting were baked by my wonderful neighbor, Bonnie. Boy were they ever good!

Birthdays now seem a bit different than when I was a child. I used to get so excited for my birthday to come and to get a year older. Now the idea of getting a year older doesn't sound quite so exciting. But having so many people stop by, call, text, send cards, or leave messages on Facebook to wish me a happy birthday makes me feel special and makes getting older a little easier. Thanks to all my family and friends (especially my wonderful husband) for making 35 another great birthday!

A Book of Mormon Christmas

This year for our Leslie family Christmas party, we broke tradition a little. We decided to have our party early instead of on Christmas Eve. And instead of the traditional Nativity play, Ross's mom found a book called A Book of Mormon Christmas that we used as our script. This book had scriptures from The Book of Mormon that talked about Christ's birth along with traditional Christmas songs to sing. So we dressed up as characters from The Book of Mormon and acted out those scenes. I thought it was a fun addition to the traditional Nativity story that we have always done.

I think we all agreed that Isaac was the best looking Nephite/Lamanite. Look how awesome he looks!

William was our "Samuel the Lamanite." Everyone loved the part when the "unbelievers" got to throw rocks and arrows (i.e., feathers and pom pom balls) at him.

Leah especially loved this part. She kept throwing things at him even after the scene was over. And William, of course, was happy to let her do it. And for days afterward she loved talking about throwing rocks and arrows at William.

We passed the book around and took turns reading the scriptures from The Book of Mormon.

Here's Gavin as our "Nephi" praying for the people the day before Jesus was born. Followed by the unbelievers falling to the ground when the sign of Christ's birth appeared.  

And here's Sierra holding the star that appeared at Christ's birth. Followed by Mary (Alex), Joseph (Tyler)and Jesus in the stable.

Leah's attention span for the activity was very short! We had a hard time keeping her downstairs. She was much more interested in having a tea party with William.

The book even came with a menu suggestion. So going on those ideas we had enchilada soup, taco soup, quesadillas, chips, salsa, guacamole and for dessert some yummy tres leches cake. If you ask me, you can't go wrong with some great Mexican food!

It was kind of weird to get together so early in the Christmas season. But it is always good to spend time with family. I'm not sure what we'll do on Christmas Eve since we won't be spending it with our Leslie family this year. But I'm sure we'll find some way to make it special.