On the Eve of Christmas

Christmas 2010: 

Festivities began on Christmas Eve Eve...

Beck Bingo! We love playing Beck bingo, getting two prizes each, eating a yummy dinner, watching the talent show, giving Grandma Bernice a big hug in order to get a bag of peanut M & M's, and especially seeing and visiting with all the Becks...

 When I say ALL the Becks, I mean there are a whole lot of 'em! Here are the Grandkids, (with quite a few missing)...

 Here are the great grandkids! (with LOTS missing!) Kiley wrote that there are close to 150 people! (descendent's from Jared's grandparents). 

 They are such an amazing family, I look forward to Beck Bingo all year. :) 

On Christmas Eve we headed to Jared's parent's house for the evening. We started with decorating sugar cookies for Santa...notice in this picture how the kids are all excited to get a sugar cookie to frost? What is Gracie doing? Sneaking some frosting w/a spoon! She's a sneaky one...

 It was a fun, sugar-full afternoon! 

 She was very focused...

After decorating cookies we gathered up some presents we had bought, drove to our friend's house who we knew wasn't going to have much to give their kids for Christmas, and dropped off a large load of gifts from the whole Jones family, my parents, and some neighbors of ours. It was absolutely wonderful! We ended up sneaking into their house (we knew they were gone :)) and laid everything out for them to find when they got home. We had such a good time doing it and I know the family appreciated it. It definitely was a highlight of the whole holiday. 

We came home and had such a yummy dinner...

 Then acted out the Nativity! We each picked a part out of a hat, and Bonnie had brought home some costumes from her ward party so we were decked out! I think the kids look so cute in their little Bethlehem outfits...

Gracie was a sheep, so here she is saying, "Baaaa!" I was a donkey, if you were wondering.

 Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus and their trusty donkey.

 Hark! The Herald Angel, Kristi!

 We three Kings of Orient are.....Jared, Bonnie and Kate. 

We love the tradition, and especially seeing the kids get so into it! Here's our family, the wiseman, the donkey and a sheep. 

We opened gifts next, Gracie was very excited about her dress-ups! 

 All the matching princesses! They were so cute dancing around and waving their magic wands...

 Looking at their beautiful selves in the mirror: 

 Lucy got some darling, much needed outfits as well...when we opened our gift from Bonnie and Chad, it was a DVD. Then they said, "Turn it over!" and there was a picture of a trampoline! They got us a trampoline with one of those nets around it! They know Gracie too well...:) she's going to love it. They also put in a little Mickey Mouse ornament that said "2011" on it...we're going to Disney Land next year! Woo-Hoo!! 

It was a fun, memorable night with the Jones family. 

When we got home we  set the cookies we had made out next to the fireplace for Santa...

 Gracie had a cookie or two to help poor Santa out. :)

We then opened our Christmas PJ's and got all snug in our beds, ready for sugarplums to dance in our heads!