Christmas!

James and I were so excited for Christmas that we put up our Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. Is that allowed? We figured since it was our first time to enjoy our very own Christmas tree in our very own house, it was okay. The best kind of trees are fake ones that don't make you sneeze, don't make a mess, and that come free from your in-laws when they get a new one. Also, between the ornaments James's mom has been saving for him and the ones from my mom, we had a pretty full tree! The only problem is we don't want to take it down.
This Christmas, we were lucky enough to spend some time with both sides of the family. My parents made it up for a quick weekend and we filled it with food, a temple trip, Cowboys football, Yogurtville-twice, a choir performance-thanks, Mom, for saving us, The Princess and the Frog, and caroling with family.

My parents left on Sunday, and we flew out to California with James's family the next morning. His oldest sister and two older brothers met us there to spend 4 days at Disneyland and California Adventure. It was James's first time to Disney, so that made it even more fun for me. I tried to explain how Disney goes overboard on everything, but he had to see it to know what I was talking about. It certainly was magical! The only non-magical things were the lines on Christmas. We were glad we had 3 days before that so we could go on all the rides we wanted. We also became very proficient at using the fast passes and stroller passes thanks to the little kids in the family. Some of the highlights were Soaring Over California (smelling the oranges..yum), the Tower of Terror, California Screamin' rollercoaster, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Mountain. The shows were fantastic as well. We had fun, fun, fun!

We filled up a shuttle easily with 24 people.

A wet ride on a cool day.

The C's- Cohlee, Christina, Christie, and Cade

James and Weston on Space Mountain

Most of the nieces and nephews waiting for Space Mountain



It's Tough To Be a Bug show


The Tower of Terror

Mr. & Mrs. Incredible

Pluto!

Family dinner on Christmas Eve

Also on Christmas Eve I got to meet up with my friend from college, Heather! How crazy is it that we were at Disneyland at the same time? We never knew when we'd get to see each other again, so it was a pleasant surprise! Maybe we'll meet up next at the Grand Canyon and camp out for a few days. =)

We didn't get a picture that day, but we've taken plenty in the past, so here's an oldie but goodie of her at Courtney's wedding. Aw, if Courtney could've been there too...

On Christmas morning, we presented the Nativity with little stuffed characters and Christmas songs, and we got to open a few gifts from the parents.

Palmer Family on Christmas Day

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving

At the last minute, I decided to go down to Beaumont with my brother and family on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Even though I didn't want to leave James, I realized I would probably be pretty bored all day waiting for him to come home and only get to see him for 3 hours before it was time to go to bed. The schools up here had that whole week off, so there was no possibility of subbing. It's always so nice to go home and spend time with my family. It's so fun and relaxing. This Thanksgiving, here are some of the things we did...

We bounced.

We traveled all the way to the Beaumont mall parking lot and went on some rides with the kids.

We made a ridiculous amount of ridicuously good food with my new BFF Greg (all the food is not pictured). As his sous chef, I learned a lot of great tips.... one of which was that as long as you're feeling good inside, you'll cook great food... and a little butter doesn't hurt.

At dinner, we took turns sharing what Thanksgiving means to us, and it was great to hear what everyone had to share. There was a lot of love at that table. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by how blessed I am. What a wonderful holiday.

The kids made crafts and played.

We watched football.

The boys played basketball and football.

The girls cheered and chatted.

We had hammock and swing time... this never got old.

We dropped Mom off at the convent.
(She was the accompianist for Nuncrackers the musical.)

We went to a fun place near Beaumont that had bumper cars, mini golf, and paddle boats.

We held and hugged all our perfect nieces and nephews. All the little ladies love Uncle James. I don't blame them.

And we went to church and gave thanks for our bounteous blessings.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!