Christmas Adam, Eve and Day! & New Year's Eve

The finished Christmas card!! Instead of going for a past decade, I decided to poke fun at current trends. I didn't know if people would really like it but I think I got more compliments than ever on this card. I was told all we needed to add was a Tesla and Travis getting testosterone. I paused when delivering a card to a family in our ward who exemplifies every single one of the things I was making fun of in this picture. 😬 Luckily, they don't seem the type to get offended. And truthfully, we are guilty of at least a few of these things. We got Stanleys and the boys are obsessed with their Ethikas! You can't escape it all!

Christmas hasn't been as happy the past few years for me as I'd like. It just feels like A LOT. I'm always battling feelings of being overwhelmed. And I know that's typical for moms but I still didn't like it and wanted to change some things. There are so many events and parties and recitals. Historically, we've been at the Evans for all of Christmas Eve, then we wake up and hurry our own Christmas morning then rush to my parent's house for brunch/lunch then go back to the Evans for the whole night. It's too much. I wanted more time for our own, little family. I have wanted to be able to be home on Christmas Eve. But ever since we got married I was told my mother in law "gives up" Thanksgiving because she wants everyone at her house for Christmas Eve. That was always fine with me until the past few years. After thinking over different options, I decided that if we needed to be at the Evans for Christmas Eve, then we would turn Christmas Adam (the day before Christmas Eve) into our own family tradition. So we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner (a splurge!) then visited Grandma Ann to do the Udall Christmas program with her, then went home and the kids exchanged their sibling gifts with each other. I loved it! It was such a nice night together. Since we were going to spend Christmas Eve with the Evans, we weren't going to go over on Christmas Day. One time at each Grandparent's house simplified things just enough that I felt like I could breathe. 

The Evans Christmas Eve program has gotten very long so we start with the talent portion on the Sunday before Christmas then act out the nativity on Christmas Eve. We have dinner and Paula gives her pajama pants to the grandkids. I made a chocolate bundt cake and M&M cookie bars. 

Posey told Olive how they leave flour out by the door to catch Santa's footprints. Looks like we've got another tradition haha.

So peaceful the night before. I can't help but feel immense gratitude that we're able to provide such a nice Christmas to our kids. Travis is a wonderful provider and so generous with everything he has. 

Christmas was on a Sunday this year!

Waking Tanner up was so cute. He was dead asleep when we woke him and with his eyes still closed he said, "Itssss CHRISTMAS!!!" as he smiled and jumped out of his bed! Collin and Weston got Jetson's, electric bikes. Olive got an electric moped and Tanner got an electric Razor! We like electricity! 

Collin got Ethikas, Airpods, a Suns shirt and glow in the dark football.

Weston got a subscription to Crunch Labs. They mail you a box every month with a science type toy to build. He also got a Suns shirt, Ethikas, putting green and glow in the dark frisbee. 

Tanner was super excited about his remote control car and batting gloves! He also got new cowboy boots, some motorcycle toys, a Darth Vader costume and magnetic tiles. 

Olive got a hair styling mannequin head, a Suns shirt, a Stanley waterbottle and Polaroid camera.

We made our own biscuit and gravy breakfast and invited the missionaries over to eat with us!

Allie and her mom came to church with us which was so nice. 

I am fully embracing the neutral color trend and went with a brown theme for our Christmas clothes. Only, we couldn't find Weston's tie!

It was so nice to have some down time after church for the kids to play with their toys.

We went to my parents house in the evening with everyone except the Goodmans, I think. We had tamales and quesadillas for dinner and had fun riding the RZR! Cracked up over Abbey's gift to my parent's... a Don't Burp Your Bottom door mat!

For New Year's Eve we were back at my parent's house with the whole crew! We ordered sushi, went hot tubbing, played The Quite Game (a few people are blindfolded with Nerf Guns and try to shoot the rest of us who are moving around as quietly as possible, trying not to get shot), watched crazy huge fireworks that the Cummards were shooting off, and DANCE DANCE DANCED!!! Grandpa had his big speakers out and we partied on the driveway for hours! Finally came inside around 12:30am or 1am to finish off the night with waffles and buttermilk syrup! The Lindbloms sure know how to ring in a New Year!!! Goodbye 2022!!