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!