One Joyous Day

We had a joyous Christmas this year.

I especially enjoyed myself because compared to last year when I was only getting a few hours of sleep at night with a newborn babe and still adjusting to the new addition, I was so much more relaxed this year. A joyous Christmas for sure.

Here were some of the highlights:

I'm sure most of you know the story of our strings started by my great-grandpa during the great depression - since they only had one gift each, my great-grandpa would "help" Santa use string to reach their one gift, therefore extending the Christmas fun. Over the years, my grandma continued this tradition with her kids, my mom continued it with us, and we have continued with our kids. Usually the largest or most exciting gift is at the end of the string.

Here is Alicia with the epitome of joy reaction caught on camera -

And here are the girls with each of their end-of-the-string gifts:

Kimberly got a used pair of skis. In Utah, they give 5th graders a free season's pass for all of the ski resorts, so we thought it would be a good time to get her started. She is signed up for lessons in January, so I get to go up skiing every Saturday. To say I am excited is a pure understatement. I am giddy with joy. I love skiing having learned how to ski at the age of 12 with my mom. Now I am just praying the weather cooperates. Driving and skiing in yucky weather is never fun.

After the string fun, the gift fest began. Megan was more than ready -

Here are the pillowcases I made for the girls with my new (used) sewing machine. Yup, I am definitely addicted to sewing and have several projects lined up in the coming weeks.

My mom (the one who originally taught me how to sew, but I poo-pooed the idea when I was younger) sewed dresses for all my girls (Megan's dress was on the sidelines during this picture). They looked so pretty on Sunday, but of course, I forgot to pull out the camera, so I will have to take pics the next time they are all dressed up for church.

Here is me hard at work (it looks like Megan is helping too) with the gift John gave me:
In the background are the skis I got too, a very used pair of shaped skis since I've only owned the straight kind. Having rented shaped skis in the past few years, I can definitely say, shaped skis are the ONLY way to go. In fact, DI doesn't even take skis that are over 10 years old. Mine were about 20. Off to the dump they went.

John bought me a Lego set from Downtown Disney. A Seattle Space Needle to be exact. And yes, I had to put it together myself, but of course, John was right by my side if I needed any help.

It was a Success:


After we spend the morning and afternoon recouping from all the fun, we join up with the Rimington Clan for Christmas Dinner. Here are the grand kids (minus a few) in their Christmas pajamas. So cute!


A very fine day indeed.