Pre-Christmas in Arizona

We took a very extended trip to Arizona for Christmas this year! It was great to be with my family again (except Lisa and TJ, who were stuck in Ohio for Christmas, due to the fact that Lisa was 8 months pregnant on Christmas!). I braved the skies with the kids by myself! I was very nervous, but they really did great! Amy did puzzles, snacked, played with dolls, and pretty much amused herself. Matthew ate, slept, and watched Amy. It also helped that we had a layover. I was worried about hauling two kids and carry-ons through a strange airport in a limited amount of time, but it was nice to get off the plane, stretch our legs, and get a change of scenery (especially for Amy!).

We arrived in Arizona on the 15th and just hung out with my mom, dad, and Jessie for a couple days until everyone else arrived. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Amy was so happy to be able to go outside without snow clothes on! We also went to their ward party, which was Christmas in Zarahemla. Basically they had Cafe Rio and made rain makers and headdresses. They also had a nativity, which was nice.

Mike flew in late Thursday night. By the time I picked him up and we got home and ready for bed, Calli's family came in. They took the train to AZ this year and Brendan's dad drove them down from Flagstaff. Summer finally got in Friday late-afternoon, and we were officially all there. It was definitely a packed house, with 5 kids ages 5 and under (1 - 5 year old, 1 - 3 year old, 1 -2 year old, and 2 - 7 month olds). Matthew didn't sleep real well - he woke up at least twice a night. He did the same thing when we were in Utah for Thanksgiving, but it was definitely hard for this long of a time. I had chosen to ween him a couple weeks before we came, so it was nice to be able to give him a bottle and have Mike get up with him at night too.

We spent most of our time just hanging out and such, but there were a few highlights:

First of all, we went out to Goodyear on Friday afternoon/evening to catch up with some old friends. Mike went to play Frisbee golf with Richard Owen, while I caught up with Mandi Allen and let the kids play. Then we met up at the Owen's new house with the Beckers and had dinner and games (the Allen's even caught up with us later in the evening). It was so familiar to be back on that side of town with such good friends! It definitely made me a little homesick for Arizona.

Me, Lindsey, and Nikki! Miss you girls!Amy and her future hubby, Keaton

Amy and Lilee were playing "go to sleep"

Saturday was my dad's birthday (51!), so we all went out to dinner to Ruby Tuesday's. Amy and Grandpa doing Angry EyesSummer's special...

We had sent him his gift early (tickets to Tim & Willy's Breakfast Show at Night! I would have loved to go with him!). We played the candy bar game when we got home (consisted of rolling dice, stealing candy bars from each other, and everyone winning something... except Summer!).

With the family getting bigger and busier, Grandma Knight decided to have the traditional Christmas morning sausage gravy and biscuits on the Sunday before Christmas for dinner. Unfortunately, she went into diabetic shock that morning, and while we all still got together and it was fun to see all the aunts and uncles and cousins, we definitely missed her! It was fun to watch Amy and Kinsley (my cousin Kim's daughter) become better friends too!
The Kids

The Grandkids

The Great-Grandkids

Kinsley & Amy

Brendan & Brody, Jason & Kamri, Mike & Matthew

We had the house to ourselves on Monday night because Mom and Dad went out to a dinner theater (Mom got Dad tickets for his birthday), and everyone else had friends to go see. We stayed in and watched the Polar Express in 3D. It surprised me that Amy watched it, because she refused to wear the glasses, and it's not clear without them. Oh well.

We had to make one trip to In-N-Out for our favorite burgers! Amy and Matthew were big fans of the fries! Yum!

On the 23rd we went to Gammage Auditorium at ASU and saw The Forgotten Carols! I love it so much! It was a nice way to just relax and actually feel the Christmas Spirit! We were able to get a sitter for all 5 of the kids and enjoy a night out with the adults.