Christmas in our home

We love celebrating Christmas in our home.

There's just something that feels good to us about our little family's traditions, and we look forward to it each year.  We appreciate the Lowe-side of our family understanding how important this time is to us and not being mad at us for not traveling out to other destinations during the holidays.  The Big Guy Lowe and I used to travel to other family's homes when we were newly married and even when G was very young, but as more kids have come and traditions have been established we have chosen to enjoy this time of year from our own home.  Maybe that will change as the kids grow up, but for now we really enjoy being home.

After our Christmas Eve celebration with Cousins, Aunts and Uncles, Grammies and Grandpa and friends, we were looking forward to heading home to start our own tradition.

The boys get to open one individual present (always pjs)

 

And a family present (a book).

We then set out the cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and the reindeers and head upstairs for our usual bedtime routine.

Christmas Eve in the Lowe Home 

We were wondering if the boys were going to be getting up early this year as G is old enough to really know what Christmas morning will bring.  It didn't happen--not that we're complaining!  (I stayed up a bit late that night making the cinnamon roll dough that can rise overnight if you choose.  Truly the BEST recipe I've ever found for Cinnamon rolls.  Click here if interested in the recipe.  You've got to have YUMMY cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning!

When the boys did wake up, they all waited at the bottom of the stairs so I could go in and check to see if Santa had come.

 

Then they were allowed to go in and investigate their stockings!!

Big D anticipating what he would find in his stocking.  Opps, Santa left one of his cookies and some carrot remnants on the table!  Maybe we gave him too much this year...Hmmm. 

The Big Guy Lowe was in the middle of it all.

He was even able to provide a bit of "present-unwrapping instruction" to our youngest unwrapper.  :)

After stockings, we have breakfast.  Grammie Lowe was able to come over and shared our cinnamon rolls and breakfast casserole.  So good!  Then she stayed for the rest of the fun!

There were Legos.

And superheros.

Motorcycles, cars, trucks and books.

Starwars action figures...

 

and bigger items like the AT AT Walker.

Grammy and Grandpa HB came over and more toys were unwrapped...one of our favorites being a balance board for J (and the family).  The balance board is a great PT "toy".

Even The Big Guy Lowe got in on the action!

Daddy received a new set of scriptures too.

and mommy received a beautiful book from daddy with a beautiful letter he had written out mounted neatly inside.

And the rest of the day was spent building and playing...

It was a very nice Christmas and we were happy to share it with so much family.

That afternoon we had a Christmas dinner at our home with all the Lowes.

We have much to be grateful for with all the bounty of the day, but the most important gift we have been given is the opportunity to celebrate our Savior's birth.  Our greatest gifts during this life are because of Him; His teachings, His example, His gospel on the earth.

We thank our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve with both sides of the family!

This year we were excited for The Big Guy Lowe's Mom, brother (with his wife and 5 kids), and sister to join my extended family's celebration on Christmas Eve!

We had fun sharing our family traditions with so many others, and it made me feel happy that my mother-in-law would want to share that evening with my family too.  Because The Big Guy Lowe and I have chosen not to travel during the holidays during this time in our family's life, we have made sure to invite Ilene to join us when she isn't celebrating with her other children.  It was fun!

We had the candles!

And of course we had our portrayal of the Nativity as found in Luke 2.

It was pretty fun as many of the cousins on the "Lowe" side of the family were participating.

Everyone getting ready with Grammy HB leading the way.

Time to begin with Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem.  (I remember as a little girl having my dad be the donkey.  We always thought that was so funny!)

Gunnison was a very tender-hearted Joseph.  Look!  There's The Big Guy Lowe and I cuddling on the couch!!  So cute!

Here's a shot of Brett and Cannon with J and us in the background. 

It's important to remember how bright the star was and Ethan did a great job holding it up high! 

G was a solemn shepard.  (Gotta love the Burberry plaid outfit) 

 

Group shot. 

It was a fun evening that we all seemed to enjoy.  Thanks Mom and Dad for opening your doors to extended family and friends.  We always look forward to this evening! 

(PS. Thanks to Laura for taking the pictures!  I didn't bring my camera and was grateful to use some shots that she took throughout the evening!!)

Great Wolf Lodge and family

Great Wolf Lodge.  Have ya heard of it?

Emily and Jacob were going to be heading up to our neck of the woods and we all thought it would be fun to have all the families get together and play in the water...even if it was October!

We got there a bit early, but we were able to still use the water park even before our rooms were ready.  We were a bit surprised to see so many people bringing in substantial groceries.  I hadn't realized that the rooms came with a not-so-small fridge and microwave, and then some of the suites come with full kitchens.  More on that later though.  :)

The waterpark was so impressive!  And all indoors!!  These are a few shots that I got online as I didn't bring my camera with us by the water--to busy playing!!

The wave pool was great and we spent quite a bit of time there.  J was pretty slow to get comfortable, but towards the end of our stay he was loving it with the rest of us!

This was one of The Big Guy Lowe's and my favorite rides--pretty impressive!

You start out very high because you have just climbed MANY stairs--well worth the climb though.  After riding through a tube you drop into this HUGE funnel!  We had so much fun that evening when the two little boys stayed in the room with a few of the other younger cousins and Grammy HB watching a movie, while G, The Big Guy Lowe, Grandpa, and other aunts, uncles, and cousins were able to go play!  YAHOO!!

Earlier in the evening we all got together to have dinner.

(another shot of the place)

We had fun at dinner...note the wolf ears

again, note the wolf ears!

That evening we were able to play throughout the resort before going back to the waterslides.  While it was fun, we were amazed at how expensive everything was...especially the food.  We don't mind paying a decent amount of money on food if it is good, but when it's mediocre or bad, it's pretty frustrating.  That was when we realized why we saw so many people bringing so much food with them when checking in.  We'll learn for next time!

As we drove away, I tried to get a shot of the HUGE funnel.  This was what I got.  The red and yellow tube comes out of the building and then drops into the funnel on the left.  So impressive!!

Overall, it was a lot of fun and not too far from home.  Fun memories that we look forward to sharing with our Lowe cousins in December!!  Yea!!!

HB Cousins

This is the first complete HB cousins picture that has ever been taken. There is a huge story to be told there, but for now all I can say is--how awesome is family?