Holiday Season

So its been a very busy last few weeks as I'm sure it has been for everyone. We had the wonderful Mathison Christmas party on the 21st. It was so fun because it was just so chaotic with all the people there. We will seriously need to rent out a church or something for the future parties. There are just so many people and not enough room at my mom's anymore. But it was a great party and we really enjoyed ourselves. Then on the 23rd, we had the annual Harding Christmas party. We all went to a play by the Pickleville Playhouse called Santa Claus's Party. It was really cute and I think the kids really enjoyed it. Then we went back to John and Lorie's to have dinner. We always pick names with the Hardings and this year we picked Jeff and Seneca. We got them Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? DVD game. The boys played it while the girls talked, of course. Elder BJ picked us so he sent us some pretty awesome soccer jerseys from England. He even sent one for Ethan but he'll have to wait to wear it because its an 18-24 month outfit. Perfect to wear when BJ gets home.

On Christmas Eve, we went over to Laura and Steve's house to have a turkey dinner with them and my dad. It was really fun and of course the food was delicious. Christmas morning was incredibly great, not only for the presents but also because we got to talk to BJ. It was so fun to talk to him and to hear that he's doing so good. We miss him but we're so happy that he's off doing the Lord's work. London is very lucky to have him.

We have started a new tradition on Christmas Day where all the boys and girls go see separate movies, alternating who watches the kids. This year the boys saw Valkyrie and the girls saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Brian said that Valkyrie was a pretty good movie. I didn't enjoy Benjamin Button as much. It was a two and a half hour movie that felt much longer. It was an interesting movie because it has a unique storyline but was really slow. But overall, Christmas Day was very enjoyable. I can't wait for next year when Ethan will be a little older and will be able to enjoy it more.

Then this weekend, Brian and I went down to my mom's Saturday to have dinner with Jacque and her boyfriend, Devin. This was our first time meeting him and it was a lot of fun. We approve! We stayed overnight to see Danielle Cox give her farewell talk in my old home ward. She did an amazing job and will be such a great missionary. Watch out Richmond! I know this is getting long so I will be done but I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and will have a happy New Year!

This is our first real family photo taken at my mom's Christmas party. Thanks Em!

Ethan practicing his ho ho ho's. So cute!

All the nieces and nephews dressed in the pjs grandma makes for them, except Ethan. His were too big.

Ethan's first smile caught on camera. He started to smile on purpose when he was 5 1/2 weeks.

This picture is kind of random but I had to post it. This is Ethan after a bath. You can tell he isn't a fan.