The kids have really been enjoying the croquet and badminton sets. They have played outside with them a ton! It has been a little chilly lately, but that hasn't stopped them. In this picture, it was a nice, warm afternoon.
On Christmas Eve, Andrew spent the afternoon and evening with Lauryn's family and Freddy had to work at Wendy's for a while. When Freddy got home, we played some games together. (Not sure if I said this before, but Noah Fechter, one of our good friends, moved in with us a couple weeks ago. That's why he is in all of our pics.)
Noah and Freddy had a lot of fun being ridiculous in these pictures.
After playing Quixx, we played an improv game that Laney made up. It was pretty silly and we all had some good laughs. Here are Daniel and Laney acting out their scene.
I love the pictures from late at night, after Santa comes. The house is so quiet, with everyone asleep. Everything is clean and set out all pretty.
And all the hard work came together as magic!
My Christmas tree and the stockings are my favorite Christmas decorations. So many years of memories that twinkle in the glow of the lights.
Christmas morning everyone was up and ready at 8 am. When I finished brushing my hair and teeth, I found the rest of the gang, snuggling and watching Bob Ross painting happy little trees. A great start to Christmas morning! We had family prayer and then headed down the stairs.
We prop the camera and set the timer to get our traditional picture on the stairs before going around the corner to see what Santa brought.
Lots of Takis and gum to go around!!!
Santa brought us a nice indoor/outdoor speaker with a mic. We will be having some awesome parties and lots of karaoke!!!
The best part of Christmas morning is always the kids giving each other their secret Santa gifts.
Andrew had Sara.
He got her a painting book she really wanted and some joggers.
And then Sara had Andrew.
It's fun because they don't know who anyone else has, so it's always a surprise.
She got him a cool shirt and a lavender candle...
and something else that hasn't arrived yet, but it's super awesome!
Laney had Susanna.
Laney worked really hard and made 6 scrunchies for Susanna's hair. She also got her a used Iphone 5. Susanna has been wanting a phone for years. It won't work as anything other than a wifi device and it will be locked down with parental controls, but she is thrilled! Laney also looked up a video on how to make your own phone case. She made one to protect the phone until Susanna got another. It turned out pretty cute!
Freddy had Laney.
She opened the wrapping to find a large gum box. She looked a tiny bit disappointed, but hid it pretty well. Then Freddy told her to open the box. She found an Iphone SE inside! She could not have been more excited. The phone she has been using is a super old hand me down that is having all sorts of problems. It doesn't always turn on. She is elated to have a reliable device!
We included Noah in all the fun. We got him the Reckoner's series of books by Brandon Sanderson. It's one of our favorites! We have loved having Noah here with us. He is such a sweetheart.
Josh and Leigh joined us part way through the morning. They had Daniel this year.
They got him the music to Aladdin, the Broadway musical!
Noah's little brother and sister, Brigham and Kendall, came by with his stocking.
Daniel had Josh and Leigh.
He got them a Settlers of Catan expansion pack, the Seafarers set.
It didn't take long for the girls to get on the mic and do some karaoke for us.
And there were lots of Christmas morning snuggles!
We got to Gram and Papa's about noon and met up with Sam, Vivi and Mari there.
Sam and Vivi had Freddy.
They got him some really cute shirts from H&M, his favorite store.
Susanna had Sam and Vivi. She was SOOO excited to give them their gifts.
She got them dominoes and some dice to start their family game collection. Dominoes is one of Sam's favorite games.
Sammy also got the family a fancy universal remote that controls everything including our sound system and Roku! We have the hardest time keeping track of our remotes.
We gave Grammy some flowers.
Papa needed his twinners to snuggle him. They are getting so big!
Maybe Papa should sit on their laps next time.
Mari, Leigh, Josh, Daniel, Vivi and Laney
Our sweet new daughters!
Ben and Nan's family got an air hockey table. He brought it over so we could have a tournament. I think almost everyone participated in the competition. Gram didn't because of a hurt knee. We tried to keep her off of her feet.
Me and my Daddy
I stepped outside to see these adorable men talking together on the swings. They have such a nice relationship as adults. It makes me so happy!
It took a while before I got a cute picture of them. They are as silly as the rest of the bunch!
In this round it was Vivi against Little Ben. It was pretty cute!
A mother daughter round with Jessi and Heidi.
Jessi ended up being the over all champion!
I love these beautiful cousins!!! They love each other so much.
It looked a little like a Prius dealership. In this picture, Josh had already left in his Prius. We still had 4, with ours, Jessi's, Sam's and Papa's. Vivi's mom also has a Prius. We are just a Prius family!
Around 2:30 we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit with the Alger side.
Grandma was looking so good and was full of spunk and enthusiasm for all the company, as was Grandpa. All though we were missing our Timmy, it was really wonderful to have the day with all my kiddos, and also all the extended family members.
It was wonderful to visit with Mike and Laura, and Stephen and Natalie and their families. We really are blessed with wonderful family members on both the Ely and Alger sides.
After that we hurried home for our phone call with Timmy!!!! He called just after 5 pm, which was 9 am on Dec 26th for him, since he is 16 hours ahead of us. It was amazing to hear his voice and see his smiling face. He is in heaven! He loves serving in Korea. He loves the people, the culture, the food, the language, everything. He told us that he is thinking about extending his mission another 6 weeks, so that would bring him home to us at the end of September instead of the middle of August. He promised that he does miss us and that he wants to come home, but that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to serve the Lord full time and he wants to enjoy it as long as he can.
Andrew took this one so I could be in the picture. He's a sweetie.
All my babies together on Christmas!
In order to get the picture of us all together, Andrew disconnected the camera so we could move it. When we tried to reconnect it, Timmy could see us, but he couldn't hear us anymore. It was hard to finish our call without telling him we love him and goodbye, but I'm sure he could see how much we love him and miss him as we tried to frantically get it going again. He bravely disconnected the call before we could fix it because our time was up. It is always hard to say goodbye anyhow. We have one more video call before he comes home to us!
Christmas evening, our missionaries came over, Elder Packard and Elder Hirschi. We played some games with them and had fun visiting and loving on them.
Silliness of course!
Saying goodbye to the Elders
Noah had spent some time with his girlfriend Morgan's family. He had a great time with them and they fed him really well.
We all love Morgan.
On the 26th, Gavin and Cadie came over with their kiddos. They are getting so big!
Freia and Daphne loved the salsa. Freia mostly used her chip as a spoon to eat salsa.
They are the cutest!!!
Sara gave Cadie a haircut and then she gave one to Jessi and me. She does a great job!
Gavin found that the corner of our counter top is perfect for working on knots in his back.
Such adorable expectant parents!
More badminton
Tickle time with Freia, Laney, Sara and Lauryn
Jessi and her girls were her with us too. It was such a relaxed day of visiting. I really needed the break and we all enjoyed just being together.
Gwen and Daniel
Lauryn, Freddy and Andrew
Laney, Freia and Rich
Laney and Freia bonded a lot. They had a super fun time playing together. Freia's face lit up every time Laney was around.
These kiddos are a hoot!
Fred, Peter and Daphne
They asked to make a silly picture too. Fred's face is the BEST! And Peter thought it was hilarious to show his belly. I was cracking up!
Jessi and Freia bonded too. I loved this picture!
Thursday was a work day. We put away Christmas and then cleaned and cleaned in the house. The kids worked all day without complaint. I was so grateful. We have a lot to get done in preparation for the wedding reception next week.
This was when we finished. They all plopped down to relax and play some games.
That evening we had the missionaries over again, this time for dinner. Elder Packard came with a visiting missionary, Elder Carl. Everyone lined up to hug Elder Packard.
Friday, Sammy came over in the morning to help us get some more work done for the wedding reception. He was a great help and the kids all worked hard again. I am so grateful for all their support. They also had a really great time just playing with Sammy. Josh came over in the afternoon to join in the fun. They stayed until around 9 pm. Again, it is so wonderful to have my big boys home with us. We miss them!
Sarah MaGill got to come play too! Freddy could not have been more happy. He loves her.
Sara went to the Phoenix Art Museum with a new friend, Allan Dewitt. They had a fun time.
Saturday, we relaxed and played. Sara went to breakfast with Lilly and Makaila. Makaila is leaving on Monday for her mission to Washington DC South. This was their last get together as just girls.
In the afternoon, we went to my friend Brigham's wedding reception. He talked about his fiance, Callie, all semester. It was fun to see him so happy and now, finally married!!
My school buddies: Paul, Kyle, Brigham, Jon and Lucas
Sam and Vivi drove up to Payson to get some pictures in the snow!
On their way home Sammy ate a burrito the size of his arm. Crazy!
What a week!!!
