All Is Merry and Bright

I apologize for the posting hiatus. I didn't have the best access to the internet during our visit to the in-laws in rural Montana.

We had a lovely Christmas.

Christmas Eve was spent mostly on the eight hour drive from the Wasatch Front to the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. Thankfully, we had fantastic weather on the drive northward.

After arriving and settling in, we spent the evening reading Christmas stories to the boys. Then, we tucked them in, not to be disturbed until 8 am Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve stories
(How the Grinch Stole Christmas, in this case)

Since our boys and their cousin were the only children at the grandparents, they opened presents by themselves in the morning. It was delightful to watch them squeal and "oh" over their presents. And that is why we try so hard at Christmas as parents, right? To make it as magical for them as we remember it being for us as children.

The face of a happy Christmas

Blaise, enthralled by his new, noisy toy

After a wonderful Christmas breakfast (my mother-in-law is a fantastic cook!), and Keith's brothers showed up from their own Christmas mornings with their families, we finally got around to opening the rest of the presents (at around 1 pm!). (Now, I know that I'm "all grown up," but still, waiting until the afternoon for presents is not the easiest thing to do.)

Overall, it was a wonderful trip. We played games with Keith's family, which of course, always gets a little out of hand. We visited with some of Keith's friends from high school. And the cold wasn't too bad.

Oh, yes. Blaise is very silly!
Making orange faces Christmas morning

The trip back wasn't as pleasant as the trip up, due to wind and icy roads. But thankfully, Roman and Blaise are fantastic travelers (especially with their car seats separated.)

So, a belated Merry Christmas. Hope the holidays were merry and bright for all of you.