A Very Brunson Christmas

We were pleased to have Jacob's parents and youngest sister and husband come to our neck of the woods for Christmas this year. It was really nice to not have to travel to see family. Jacob's middle sister Sarah and her husband Kevin also live here so it was extra nice to split the duties of hosting family between the two of us. I think the Christmas break was a success!

Sarah and Kevin have a Christmas tradition of snow shoeing and were kind enough to invite us all along. Jacob and I had a wonderful time hiking in the mountains (it had been far too long for me) but Isaac did not like it. He was being pulled in the "chariot" and had a pretty sweet ride if you ask me, but he disagreed and cried a good portion of the trip.

This picture was snapped before he realized what he was getting into he. I do think he initially liked being bundled up but then grew to hate it as he realized his movement was more restricted than he was used to.

Sarah and Kevin's son Maxwell, on the other hand, was sad at first and then enjoyed the ride later on.

Sarah and Dad Brunson on a water break. Sarah is 7 months pregnant and looks incredible. If only I could be so fortunate to only have a cute little belly. But we all saw how I gained weight everywhere...it's the Carter curse I guess.

Kevin and Jacob consulting the GPS to see how far we were from the lake. Answer...not far.

I chopped my hair a few days before Christmas so I'm pretty sure you can't tell that I'm a girl. Good thing my hat is pinkish!

My view on the way down the mountain. Kevin pulling the "chariot" and the beautiful surroundings. Really, it was a gorgeous day and the trail was lovely.

We took the kids to see Santa on Christmas Eve day. Similar to last year and typical Maxwell and Isaac fashion...Maxwell was not a fan and Isaac couldn't care less. I think he was more freaked out by Maxwell crying than being on a strange man's lap. That's my boy!

We were pleased to spend Christmas Even at Jacob's uncle Gordon's home. Gordon and Jacob's dad are twin brothers. They do Christmas Eve right at that household, complete with chimes and all. It feels a lot like being with my own family. And, bonus, they had these cool wiggle cars. SO. MUCH. FUN. I am convinced Santa will be bringing one to our house next year. Though we don't have the racing course quite like Uncle Gordon does. Awesome. Have any of you seen these cars? You move the handle back and forth to make them go.

Christmas morning we ended up doing stockings before meeting up with Jacob's sisters and families for an awesome Christmas breakfast.

Isaac loved his stocking but would get so excited about one thing he'd forget there was still a whole stocking to be discovered. He needed a little help here and there to get through all the fun things Santa had brought.

Grandma was kind enough to take a family photo of us all dressed in our Sunday best. I actually really enjoyed having Sacrament Meeting on Christmas Sunday. I didn't even mind waiting to open the tree full of gifts back at my house.

I think we all agreed that the best part of Christmas was watching these two cousins have so much fun with the new gifts and with each other. They are at such fun ages where they are just learning to communicate and interact with each other and everyone else. The ran up the stairs together and spent several minutes yelling "hi" down to the rest of us and then at each other and so on, over and over... It was so stinkin' cute. They loved opening gifts and then playing with each others toys. It was pretty funny.

Isaac really enjoyed the treats in his stocking.

We spent one day in Boulder at the Fiske Planetarium watching a laser show and doing some shopping downtown. Well, some of us watched the laser show. Isaac was having none of it so I spent my time in the lobby. Too bad. I thought he'd really dig it but I was wrong. He did, however, dig playing in the snow outside.

He only braved touching it a couple of times and left one perfect little hand print. I thought it was cute.

A few days after Christmas Isaac really enjoyed his gold fish from his stocking. He was doing so well at taking just a couple from the bag at a time that I let him walk around the living room with it. Soon he sat down and started pulling a few out and creating a pile. I went to grab the camera and by the time I returned (maybe 30 seconds) he had dumped the whole bag. He was fascinated.

And then like the well behaved child he is (well some of the time at least :)) he started to pick them up and put them back in the bag.

Turns out, even with 4 extra people to help, you can't get a lot done with two very active and busy one year old boys around. We played a few games but it was chaotic to be sure. Certainly couldn't just sit and enjoy a movie. So much of our time looked like this...

And here is the proof that we did have Chuck and Rachel around too.

I threw in a bunch of our attempts at getting photos with Grandma and Grandpa to demonstrate how funny it was to try and get a good shot with these two boys.

Isaac really likes his cousin and was constantly trying to hug him (or push him, or whatever).

And a final photo with most everyone. Sarah didn't think she looked good enough to be in the photo so Kevin and Maxwell represented her family.

Good times were had by all! Thanks for visiting Brunson family! We loved having you all and enjoyed spending some time with you.

And now we are ready to ring in the New Year! Mostly I think we are tired enough we'll just sleep it in instead of ringing. Sounds good to me.