Christmas etc.

So we lived with my parents for two weeks. And it was a lot of fun. It was so great to soak up as much time with family as we possibly could before we moved halfway around the world where we know no one. Christmas was a blast!

On Christmas Eve we had our traditional soup for dinner, got new pajamas and read the scriptures and sang carols. Possibly my favorite part of the whole Christmas celebration. There is so much anticipation and excitement on Christmas Eve and at the same time it so wonderful to concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas that night.

A little glimpse of our Christmas Eve gathering:

 We tried to get a decent picture of the kids in their new pajamas in front of the tree. Pretty much an impossible task. And yes, Declan's pajamas are quite summery for Christmas in Iowa but we were moving to Singapore folks. :) Don't worry, I put a fleece sleeper over them. :)

Christmas Day did not disappoint. Tatum got the princesses she wished for and Declan got a little laptop. It's so fun to watch their excitement and see the magic in their eyes.

Declan's obsession with Papa was firmly established by Christmas. :)

Tatum loved her Anna dress and doll. Thanks Grandma Jennifer and Grandpa Rex!

The rest of the day we spent cooking yummy food, eating it, playing games and hanging out. It was a pretty good day. Grandma of course did a lot of cooking and baking but took a break to play some Frozen Spot It with Tatum.

                                       

Grandma and Papa gave Tatum Zingo! for Christmas and it was a huge hit. We play it nearly everyday and the lucky girl had a whole slew of people willing to entertain her on Christmas day.

                                      

It was strangely beautiful weather for Iowa so Brennan got to go try out his new frisbee set with Crystal and Rich.

We were supposed to do our final December project run in our prize tshirts, Brennan snapped this funny photo at the end of the day of me and my parents matching.

The rest of the pictures are random happenings from the rest of our stay with my parents.

Tatum was spoiled and Grandma let her ride this horse at the store.

 We went to the temple the Saturday after Christmas. It is always hard to dedicate an entire Saturday to going but I'm always so glad when we do. Now that we are so far from any temple I'm extra grateful that we took this time to go while we could. I captured this sweet photo of Tatum holding Declan's hand on the way back. If you look closely you can see mom and dad passed out in the back. :)

 We went bowling! Always fun!

 One final dinner with the Lights and Rices. We miss them so much!

 Tatum had her three year old check up. She was nervous but trying so hard to be brave and not cry. It was the cutest thing! The next day we had to go get our Typhoid vaccines and I sort of assumed she would freak out about it but she didn't even cry.

 We hung out at the Church to play some games and eat some yummy food on New Year's Eve. Tatum was excited to play with her friend Genevieve.

 My mom also works hard to make sure Brennan uses his artistic abilities. These canvases were a joint effort between the two of them. I thought they turned out really well.

 A bit blurry but I had to capture Declan sandwiched between his two favorites, Papa and Dukey.

 Another bowling picture.

 Declan loving on Duke and Duke loving on Rich.

 Making chocolate covered Ritz peanut butter sandwiches, a Christmas time favorite. The amount of food we consumed is somewhat alarming. It's probably a good thing we hardly know how to feed ourselves here.

 Playing with Macy. Tatum sure misses having cousins close by.

 My little model.

 We played lots of games. Some of which involved challenges like this:

 And this:

 Caden and Tatum. (or should I say Gannon? haha, that's sort of how Tatum says his name. It is kind of weird.) He is the sweetest cousin.

 Tatum convinced Papa to play red light green light one morning. It was hilarious. Her rules can be somewhat confusing.

 This is how Declan spent the majority of the two weeks. Begging Papa to pick him up.

 Tatum's turn to be the light.

 Declan really liked to mop at Grandma's house. Kind of annoying, kind of cute.

 Brennan and Caden did a lot of this.

 And we will end with this picture of the kids with Grandma the day before we left. Does it get any cuter than this? She is the greatest grandma.