Christmas Adam and Eve in Eden

We're still sleepy and on a high from our holiday festivities. We had a marvelous time in Eden, Utah with the Dittos. It was a packed house! There were 49 of us and 5 people were missing. (Nathan and George who are serving full-time missions and Alex, Alexa, and Quinn.) We spent 4 nights there and enjoyed them to the fullest. I don't think I touched my book which says a lot. Games occupied most of our time. There were always people to play with which was great. I stayed up hours past my bedtime. The plan was to go skiing/snowboarding but due to lack of snow, most people decided not to bother. One afternoon, the crew went to a retro arcade to celebrate Brent's birthday. (I stayed back with Penny and Izzy.) 

We were never hungry and man does being in charge of a meal for that many people require creativity. For dessert on Christmas day, I quintupled my rice Krispie treat recipe. My mom trained me well. There were leftovers. For the lunch we were in charge of, we had 2 extra loaves of bread. Our car was packed to the brim full of food (I made over 60 cookies), gifts, and packages for Grannie with all of the gifts she sent to our house for her dozens of grandkids.

It was chilly

We decided to bless Penelope while we were with so much family. It filled my heart to be surrounded by many loved ones. It was hard not to have my parents there in person, but zoom helped lessen the blow. My sister and grandma also watched virtually.  Andrew gave Penny a solid and wonderful blessing. We are smitten with sweet Penny. In James' words, "we should have wrapped Penelope up and put her under the tree. She is our gift from heaven." Wise boy. Christmas Eve was even more special than normal with Penelope Elise's blessing. She has changed me.

My friend Valerie offered to make Penelope's blessing dress which was extremely thoughtful and touching. Wow, is Valerie talented. The dress was exquisite and she even made a bonnet too. How will I ever repay her? I definitely won't be offering to sew anything for her that's for sure.

The Ditto Christmas traditions are excellent. For the talent show on Christmas Eve, Isabelle performed a dance. For the nativity, our kids were the stars-- Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. We had a smorgasbord of all sorts of food on Christmas Eve. I contributed pizza (obviously) and salted peanut butter cup cookies. Like always, we did our favorite things exchange. Ryan had the same favorite thing as me-- Reese's animal crackers from Costco. Clearly I know what's good. Andrew gave Chick Fil A sauce as his favorite. We also did a white elephant exchange. I ended up with teeth dentures. Thanks a lot Logan (the dentist). Good thing I'm saving those for the next Ditto white elephant exchange, so watch out. Andrew got a hairy belly fanny pack. Glamorous. If only I had picked my own gift... Kelly also made the all brothers hike movie. It's always a surprise to see footage of the dangerous adventures they attempt like biking when it's pitch black outside.

We nearly forgot our kids existed while we were in Eden. They got loads of attention and there were toys galore. The house has an epic playroom, they went hot tubing a time or two, and even got on their snow gear to go sledding. Penny was very popular which was expected. Even our niece who doesn't like babies (not pictured) just had to have a turn holding our delightful babe. Our kids have slept in significantly every day since we have been home. They are worn out from all the excitement.

I'm not sure if the Dittos will stay in Eden again which is a bummer. There are too many of us now! I'm so grateful for the time we spent with family. I cherish it more than ever now that many of my family has moved away. Since our return home, the kids have been occupied with their new Legos. Andrew got me an air fryer for Christmas and let me just say that it's going to be dangerous to have that crispy french-fry making machine so close to my fingertips. The air fryer had 2 uses within 24 hrs of opening it.

Christmas time is magical and this Christmas was no different. Having a baby made December even more meaningful. Much to Isabelle's dismay, we forgot to set up a Santa trap and catch Saint Nick. Maybe next Christmas when we're in Brazil we will catch the big guy.