Another Christmas Down

Christmas was so much fun this year. As usual, it is always so fun when everyone can take some time off to be with family and really enjoy the holidays. This year was especially nice because my whole family was together which hasn't happened for a couple of years.
David was in Salt Lake until the night of the 23rd, but came home that night and once he was home, I was finally in the Christmas-ee mood. I had everything wrapped and under the tree and so on Christmas Eve, we were able to just be together and do family stuff.

Christmas Eve always starts with an early dinner at my Grandma and Grandpa Jacksons. My Grandpa brought to our attention that every year with the exception of two years when my Grandparents were living in New York on a mission, they have had a Christmas Eve dinner. It is so much fun because it is a tradition that is consistent and similar every year. Just like the comfort food that my Grandma serves, it never gets boring. Every year I love it more. We always start off with a dinner and after everyone is full, we go into the living room and sing songs around the tree and someone reads Luke 2. Now that I am an adult, my favorite part about this event is when my Grandma reads a story or two. She has always read a childrens book on this night and I think that it is such a great tradition. I hope I always remember the way it sounds when she reads a story. After the stories are read, each of the grandkids get to open one present. Even though I am 24, my Grandparents still had a present for me and David to open. McKinley got a sock monkey from Grandma and Grandpa.(Which she had to battle with Shawn to play with. It was quite the popular toy.)

Because both sides of my parent's family live in Cedar, we start with the Jackson party and then rush over to the Riddle party afterwards. The Riddle party is always thrown by my Aunt Vicky at her house. It is always so fun, and the more people we can cram into the house, the better. (There were 57 people in her house on Christmas Eve!) There is always a tantalizing selection of hor d'ovres and fun Christmas beverages like Wassail and Punch. In the past, we have always read The Polar Express and passed the Bell on to the person who gets to read it the next year, but we missed that part this time around.
Some Highlights of this party this year were Shawn and Ian playing an impromtu Piano duet, and the Horse back rides on my Uncle Gale's horses outside.( McKinley is slowly turning into a cowgirl as a result. )

After the festivities at the Riddle party had wrapped up, we went back to my parents house and read "Teach the Children." This Christmas tree and story were given to my brother Johnny by my X boyfriend that I dated all through high school. (At least something good came out of that relationship. Hahaha.) We also read The Gift of the Magi, which is another tradition. Then we went home and went to bed, hoping for Mckinley's sake that the naughty gong hadn't dinged one time too many.
I had a hard time believing it but, the next morning we were amazed that Santa had found our house and that we were not going to be finding creative uses for coal. It's possible that Santa got a little busy this year and didn't actually check EVERYONE twice, but the miracle happened either way.
After opening gifts and playing with some new surprizes, we went over to my Grandma and Grandpa Riddles for Sunday morning breakfast. This has always been such a fun tradition that my Grandparents have done as long as I can remember. My Grandpa was a cook in the Navy many years ago, and he as well as my Uncle Todd are always busy at the stove on Christmas morning, cooking away. My Grandpa had a bad case of Pneumonia just recently with a difficult recovery and because of that, it was especially sweet to see him making Christmas breakfast this year.