Kissin' cuzins at Christmas!

Eva, Morgan, Lizzy, Jordan and Julie were all kind enough to drive all the way here from Utah to spend Christmas with us. We were so happy to share our home with them while they were here! We had such a nice, relaxing and enjoyable time with everyone. I couldn't believe how easily and comfortably we were able to accomodate so many people. One of the blessings of having our house is we can now provide more space for people to stay when they need to. And we totally enjoy it! Ian and I decided that it would be a sacrifice on our part, but would make everyone else's stay very comfortable if we gave up our room for the week so Eva and Morgan could have our bed. We had an extra toddler mattress we pulled out for Lizzy to use in there and they used our pack n play for Jordan. Julie slept on the trundle bed mattress that I drug into my room for her. Even with the 3 extra beds in the room along with all the luggage, everyone still had enough room to walk around the room. It worked out so nice. Jordan was able to take naps when he needed to and he didn't have to get woken up by the kids playing and yelling and screaming all day long. We seriously had so much fun that week just watching the kids mingle with each other! I was so impressed with how well all the cousins got along. Lizzy was the sweetest thing ever. She's always been a super sweet little girl, but this time we saw her Ian and I were just amazed at how well behaved and sweet she was. She said "please" for EVERYTHING! and she always did what she was told! She was so obedient and so sweet! I wanted her to stay forever so she could teach my kids a few things... haha. All she did all day long was play dress up. My kids like dressing up as much as the next kid, but wow, Lizzy gave "dress up" a whole new meaning. She made it more than that, the world becomes a whole make-believe land with fairies and princesses and castles and magic. I have to say after Lizzy left, my kids were sure really into dress up every day after. With all the dressing up, screaming, running, dancing, sippy-cup stealing, pooping, peeing, throwing, playing and snacking going on, there was this moment of bliss! We thought it would be fun to show the kids the puppet show scene from The Sound of Music and it totally captivated them! It was so funny. The house was actually quiet for a few minutes... the other picture I took because there was more than one time this week where I caught Zoey and Lizzy spending time together. It was super cute... It's like they had a special little connection with each other. They were bouncing on the air mattress together one time and this time I found them just sitting contently next to each other watching tv. Like little buddies.



Well my kids absolutely love to dance, so Kira and Lizzy started dancing together for awhile. I think Lizzy thought she was Cinderella and Kira was Prince Charming. But, after lots of dancing, Kira decided that she needed a kiss goodnight, so she totally started making out with Lizzy! It was the funniest thing ever.




So, because of their funny example, Zoey and Jordan totally started making out too! We were laughing so hard at the kids my stomach was hurting.

Uncle Morgan is so much fun! He is so sweet and patient with the kids. He literally lets them do anything to him and he's okay with it. I am not tough enough to wrestle with them like he does. He literally had 4 kids crawling all over him at different points in the week. He would let them take turns as he flipped them over upside down over his head and land them on the floor, only to find the next player was crawling up his legs anxiously waiting for their turn to flip. I don't know how he could keep this physical act up as long as he did. But I was so appreciative to him for playing with the kids and making them all so happy.

Here's mom and dad who would come over often to hang out with everyone. It was so nice having everyone all together so frequently during the Christmas week.

One of the days everyone was here, I was able to get a really nice family picture of Eva and Morgan. I think it's such a great picture of their family!


While everyone was here, we got to share some of our favorite things to do with them. We took Eva's family to the aquarium while Julie went and saw Wicked with a friend. Eva and I also got to spend a little one on one time together and went to Joann Fabrics to get a few fun things. She taught me how to make an adorable shoe organizer for Kira's closet door so I don't have to keep a bin on the floor for shoes taking up floor space. One of the last places we went was Downtown Disney. They had this huge, beautiful Christmas tree up! I actually haven't been to Downtown Disney in a long time. It was so fun just to walk around and try on funny hats, look in cool stores, get snacks, see the pretty fountain, take pictures and listen to the music. The kids loved it! Kira still talks about going to Downtown Disney and says she wants to go back. This picture is us in front of Mickey and Minnie shaped bushes. (I don't know what they're called...) The landscaping at Disneyland is absolutely amazing.












Julie's friend Autumn was kind enough to take our family picture for us while she was over visiting with Julie. It's been a couple years since we took a family picture and have had 2 additions to the family since.

This Christmas was so much fun having everyone together. As always, we love Christmas morning and opening presents and making breakfast and just spending time together. I'm so thankful to my family for making the sacrifice of traveling here so we could all be together. I really hope we can go up to Utah before too long to see everyone again. I missed Lizzy and Jordan a lot after they left too. Even though it was kind of crazy having 4 kids under one roof, it was so much fun! I remember at one point standing in the kitchen with all 4 kids demanding a sippy cup with something to drink from me... I was trying to keep everyone calm and I served each kid. Eva was just laughing at me. I let out a big sigh when the last sippy cup was served. 4 kids under the age of 3. yikes!