Fa LA LA LA LA, lights, and leaks

I just made it! I told myself that if I get my Christmas pics posted before the end of January then I wouldn't be a total loser. December started with the requisite church party which did not disappoint. The primary kids put on a great show with music from around the world. I kind of felt like I was on the Christmas version of It's a small World ride at Disneyland. Luke was the star of Feliz Navidad Tryg was not a fan. And....he didn't like Santa too much either. Dylan and Luke however did not shy away. At the top of their lists...Lego building sets and Criss Cross Crash. Next up was a Family Home Evening visit to the San Diego Temple to see the lights, sip on hot chocolate and munch on homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Did I tell you that I really like having a girl? ....just waiting for that hair to come in so I can put my french braiding techniques to use!

Cold San Diego air (not to be confused with cold Utah air) and warm coco = good times! Yummmmm....

Then...a couple of chocolate chip cookies later, I began to wonder if bringing the sugar along was the wisest choice. It was definitely hard to keep these boys in a "reverent" frame of mind.

Especially Tryg. Although keeping the kids in check was the usual chore it was still great to be on the temple grounds as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

I think we will definitely be keeping it as a family tradition. Then...it rained for about a week straight and we got a lovely surprise on December 23rd. Just as all the presents were wrapped and we were ready to head to Grandma Olson's, I heard the dreaded DRIP DRIP DRIP! NOOOOO!!! Yep, the leaking started in our office and then a few days later...the bedroom. Of course I panicked thinking we were going to need a whole new roof which would cost a fortune but I decided to kick my attitude of gratitude into gear...Grateful for a husband that knows how to deal with stuff like this, a father- in-law that is always so helpful, a roof (in general) over our heads, etc... It worked pretty well. We still have a dry wall hole in our ceiling that my handy husband will be repairing but the roof is fixed and it didn't cost nearly as much as I thought it would. Merry Christmas to us!

It was off to Grandma's we go for the Christmas Eve festivities. This year we spent the holiday at the Olson's. We've added a few grand kids and spouses over the last couple years and I think we all kind of realized that it may be the last time the Olson clan is all together on the big day which definitely made for a special time.

Mary managed to figure out sleeping arrangements for 12 adults and 10 kiddos without making anyone sleep outside. I personally thought the tent idea in the backyard for the kids was a good one :). It wasn't that cold! Mark and his Dad got a little creative with blowing up the air matresses...

We got a few songs on the guitar from Grandpa.

Presents wrapped: CHECK

Stockings hung: CHECK

cookies and milk out: CHECK

Night before Christmas story: CHECK

Santa's whereabouts checked on the Internet: CHECK (didn't have that one when I was a kid)

As you can imagine 22 people made for a bit of chaos but surprisingly there were no kids crying over toys that didn't belong to them, maybe a little screaming, and lots of smiles.

I think I got about 17 of them (at least in part) in this picture.

I had every intention of getting a Christmas Card out in 2010 complete with a family picture and believe me....getting all my kids to look in the same direction let alone smile is quite the challenge these days. Well...I wasn't able to pull it off in time so consider this our belated holiday greeting:

Hope you had a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR from our family to yours!

(Does this count for 2011 too?)