A very merry Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas. I actually did all my wrapping ahead of time and Dave assembled things last week, so we got to bed by 10:30, which is some kind of Christmas Eve record for us. The kids enjoyed tracking Santa on NORAD throughout the day yesterday, and Spencer had a lot of fun helping us set up after the other kids were asleep. Yes, our day began way before sunrise. I think people started getting up around 5:30, and we went out around 6:00. It was so funny - the first thing Tyler and Dallin did when they went into the living room was check to see if Santa ate his cookies and milk. We had to point out the toys to them.
Now everyone has their own light saber and we don't have to fight over them. Have I mentioned how popular Star Wars is around here? Even Brennan gets into it.

Santa brought Brennan this adorable dog. It's the closest I ever want to get to owning a real pet - it barks (not too loud or annoying), pants, moves his paws and wags his tail when you pet his head. You have no idea how hard it was for Santa to find this. He knew it's what he wanted, but it was hard to find a dog that was soft/snugly and barked. It was the last item on his list for a really long time.I woke up in the middle of the night with a cold and couldn't go back to sleep, so needless to say I was super tired and went down for a nap as soon as we were done opening presents.

Brennan loves his babies! He got one from us and one from grandparents. He loves to dress them, give them their binkies and wrap them in blankets. He went to bed with both babies and his dog tonight. The kids loved getting Star Wars toys. They've been setting up battles all day.Dress-ups! Dallin enjoyed putting us in jail (i.e. laundry room). Yay! Racket ball stuff. Nathan got a membership to the local gym for Christmas, and they plan on playing some racquetball together.My sister Emily had us for Christmas this year. They gave us Kung-Fu Panda, which we really wanted, and a bunch of Chinese Food dishes and accessories. We especially loved Troy's homemade chopstick holders - how clever!! We can't wait to try them out.Here's Tyler sporting his favorite gift of the year: spy dress-ups and accessories. The glasses are cool because they have mirrors on the sides so he can see behind him.

Spencer playing with the Air Hogs Zero Gravity R/C car - it works on walls and ceilings! He really wanted it, but I was doubtful how well it would work. It actually works great!
Dallin's T-ball power hit!Spencer's doing great with his Ripstick from Santa. Dave likes it too and picked it right up. I told him the kids toys are catching up to his level, which makes him so excited to get them this stuff. I tried it and got nervous - it's harder than it looks, and I don't like to go fast.

Santa finally gave one of our boys a big wheels! Dave's been talking about the one from his childhood forever. Merry Christmas everyone!!