It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

And truly, it is the most wonderful time of the year. The end of 2011 did not disappoint, I must say. Mostly, that's because most of the past month and a half, I've been having a wonderful time enjoying my family. At the very end of November, Shelley and I ventured back East to see Lindsay and her family in Virginia. It was such a fantastic getaway. Lindsay's adorable children were so much fun, and I honestly did not want to put baby Julia down the entire trip. I would have held that child the entire 5 days if I could have. Jeff has also been living out there, so it was really fun to have 4 of the 5 Ricks siblings goofing off in the DC.

We really didn't do much sight-seeing since we have all been there before and really just wanted to hang out with Lin and the kids, but we did venture out to see the National Christmas Tree. Um, what a disappointment that tree was. Funny story: as we were leaving the site, we heard a lady exclaim in her prominent Eastern accent, "National Christmas Tree? More like the national shrub." She was so right.

This baby stole my heart BIG TIME!

The cutest nieces on the planet.

So that's the National Christmas Tree behind us. It was even more pathetic in person. At one point, Paul said, "Hey Lin. Which is more impressive? The National Christmas Tree, or the tree at the Orem City Center?" Orem City Center wins in a landslide.

So glad we got to hang with Jeff a lot too!!

Anyway, we got home from our trip, and I began the preparations for Christmas. This year, I did probably 95% of my shopping online, and I have to say, that is definitely the way to go! No more venturing out to crowded stores for this chick. You can find even better deals online, and who can stand the crowds?

I took Ella to see the Utah Regional Ballet's Nutcracker this year, and that is definitely a first-class production. It's not Ballet West, but it's really quite impressive. Ella and I had a blast on our girl's night out, and she loved the dancing and costumes and even the live orchestra. It was fun to watch her face light up when the Sugar Plum fairy made her debut. I love that she's old enough to do these girly things with me now.

Right before leaving to see The Nutcracker

So we spent Christmas Eve this year with Brian's family in Farmington. It was a nice, relaxed evening, and the kids enjoyed hanging with the Smith cousins. They don't get to see them as much, so it was fun to spend that time with them. Brian's Mom always puts on an impressive spread of delicious food for the holiday, and we all surely appreciate the amount of work she puts in. She's amazing!!

Brian and I haven't had our picture taken together in ages, so I had one of the kids snap a quick photo of us on Christmas Eve. I just love this guy!

Adorable, excited kids posing for the camera on Xmas Eve.

So, Christmas finally came, and the kids' reactions were well worth the wait. I just love having these kids on Christmas and being able to experience the holiday through their eyes. They make the holiday so much fun!! I can't imagine a Christmas without kids; it just wouldn't be Christmas to me. Anyway, the amount of presents was quite incredible, and of course Santa brought most everything the kids wanted (except Noah's laptop. Santa couldn't afford that one, although truly the kid does deserve it.)

Sadie's favorites: A Little People Zoo, her pillow pet, the old-school popper vacuum, and her baby doll and crib.

Noah's favorites: NBA 2k12 for the Wii, a remote-controlled helicopter, walkie-talkies, and 2 Nintendo DS games.

Ava's favorites: Rapunzel doll, her paper dolls, Squinkies and Barbies.

Ella's favorites: Rollerblades. Heaven help us. Her American Girl doll, Barbies and Webkinz.

I don't know where Andrew is in these pictures. He was probably too busy with his new NCAA football video game. His faves were his NCAA video game, remote controlled helicopter, Lego Harry Potter 5-7 for the Wii and his IPOD shuffle.

Yep, these are some spoiled children. They got a few more things, but those were the highlights.

We went on to celebrate Christmas evening with dinner at my Mom's house. I can't believe I forgot my camera that night, but with all the Christmas excitement and the sugar shock, I'm bound to forget something. We had a great time hanging out with the Ricks cousins and enjoying each other's company. We adults were about done at that point, so we just kept telling the kids to go downstairs at my Mom's house, and we adults sat and chatted upstairs.

As 2012 is now upon us, I just hope to have a wonderful, stress-free year. I can't believe how quickly 2011 transpired, and I'm sure 2012 will be the same. I have a few personal resolutions, but mostly I just want to enjoy my family and am excited for a productive, happy year!