Christmas Morning

Byron and I were asleep in the basement and heard the pitter-patter of little feet at 5:30.  It was fun to come upstairs and see how THRILLED Connor and Kylene were with their gifts from Santa!

Connor got a big surprise in a Nintendo DS!

Kylene got her hearts desire in her new doggy with a bone.

The new horse stable with horsies was a big hit too.

This picture sums up the joy of Christmas for us this year.

Christmas Continued...

We were all exhausted by the end of everyday after all the hustle and bustle!

I told my sister, Ashley, that the best present Connor and Kylene got this year was getting to play with and be around their cousin April.  Connor can get some great belly laughs from this girl!

Cousins!

Our last night all together we celebrated our two most recent BYU grads, Ben and Karin with a Cafe Rio feast put on by Mom!  My mouth waters just looking at the pictures...

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was so fun with our traditional Pizza Hut pizza feast, games, dancing, and Christmas carols sung around the piano.  We missed my Grandma and Grandpa McKen this year though. 

Mom and Dad got all the men, girls and grandchildren matching PJs!  It was so hot in the house though with all the activity that we were all sweating! :)

Christmas Break

Our Christmas Break was filled with people, places and things!  Our family stayed here in Indiana for Christmas and my sister, Ashley and her family came along with our brother Ben and his wife, Karin.  All of us fell head over heels in love with Ashley and Jon's baby, April.  What a doll baby!

Mom and Dad took us Duck Pin Bowling and the kids were thrilled!  I, Kristi, had a strong beginning but faded out in the end to lose to Ashley AND Ben.  Geez.

Connor spent a lot of time outside despite the cold plaing with the new remote controlled crane, dump truck and bulldozer he received from Nana and Grandpa for Christmas!

We woke up one morning to freshly fallen snow, perfect for making a snow man.  Here's out Colts snowman in preparation for the SuperBowl.  {Disclaimer:  We understand the Colts are not playing IN the SuperBowl, but that the SuperBowl is only being played HERE in Indianapolis.  We're still feeling Colts/football fever here.}

christmas in indy

we had such a fantastic time the week after Christmas at my mom and dad's house. my younger brother Ben, had returned home from a study abroad to China a few weeks earlier and we were so happy to see that handsome face! pretty much first on the agenda was presents, and i don't think there was anyone more excited than Connor!

future construction manager...

i was thrilled to be with my nephew, Zach, again and loved making this happy guy laugh! who couldn't love that face!

Kylene loved being a part of all the action and Zach wanted to be wherever Kylene was.

we just can't quite get enough of her.

it was so fun to be with my sister (isn't she beautiful) and her husband Jon.

we promised Connor snow at Nana and Grandpa's and they delivered! it was really fun for our family to have a white Christmas.

i don't know who's having more fun....

but i think it might be Connor.

ouch.
we got a chance to be with both sets of my Grandparents while visiting. going to my Grandma and Grandpa Myers' home for our Christmas gathering brought back so many memories from my childhood.

below is my Grandma Myers

the joy of children at Christmas is contagious.

my Dad with my Grandma and Grandpa Myers.

Kylene was a happy participant in the activities and really loved her new purse.

my Mom was successful in getting us together for a family picture before Ben left for Provo.

one of Kylene's favorite spots was the piano

our lovely Nana with Kylene. my Mom makes all holidays and gatherings so fun and works so hard to give us young parents a real vacation. at one point Ashley and I looked at each other and said, "Mom looks really tired. Well, she has been fixing all the meals, cleaning up, watching our children, cleaning the house and doing all the the laundry."

One of Connor's favorite activities was bowling. He had a great time and has been talking about going again ever since.

Kylene was convinced this 16 lb ball was the one for her.

my Dad LOVES playing with Connor. the feeling is mutual.

my Mom got the kids matching pj's which are so darling. i don't know why Kylene can't pull it together for group pictures....

we at tons of good food, watched a few movies, my Mom and sister and I went on a "girls day out", we visited our favorite burger joint, Bub's, played volleyball at the church with our cousins, played games, played lots of Wii, at some more food and just overall had a ball being together. thanks for such a fantastic time Mom and Dad, we're planning our next trip back!