The Jolly Holidays

While December is one of my all-time favorite parts of the year, it's still refreshing and relieving to move past all the craziness into the new year.
We're a bit spoiled when it comes to splitting Christmas between families. Our parents and younger siblings live three and a half minutes away from each other so we get a lot of time with everyone. Leading up to Christmas, my mom's extended family had a few get-togethers, and it was so fun to see cousins after being away for so long.

One of my favorite, new-to-me, Denton Christmas traditions, though, is going to the zoo on Christmas Eve. And it's even better with a toddler. The weather is gorgeous, the zoo is nearly empty, and the animals are all out enjoying the sunshine and cooler temperatures. Annie ran and ran and played and laughed and pointed. She was having the time of her little life following her aunt and uncles from one exhibit to the next. And instead of a train ride at the end, Gran sponsored a carousel ride. Annie wasn't so sure about it once it got going, but she was happy to have her strong daddy close by.
That evening, we headed over to the Layton Compound for a bonfire, hotdogs, s'mores, and chestnuts, before returning to the Dentons' for the annual sleepover and Elf-viewing, along with last-minute present wrapping, of course.

It was my family's turn for Christmas morning this year, so we got up and headed out early to make sure we didn't make my siblings wait any longer than necessary. Santa was good to us this year, and sibling gifts from both families were so thoughtful and fun. Once the present shenanigans wound down, we headed back to the Dentons to open our sibling gifts there. One of the most thoughtful gifts we got was a beautiful carved statue from Ben in Peru. It's similar to the Willow Tree figurines and depicts a father and mother holding their baby. I have it sitting on our dresser as a beautiful reminder of the important things in this life.
Another favorite gift for me this year was a brand new camera from my MIL. I LOVE it, and I'm so excited to start learning. Art is something that has always been a natural thing for me so I feel really out of my element with all the buttons and settings. I feel so clueless! But I'm also excited to have the ability to learn to take really great candid shots of my family and have them be good enough quality to print them out and hang them up if I want to.
We spent a few hours over at Granny and Opa's house playing with cousins, eating brunch, and showing off presents, and then we spent the afternoon back at the Dentons' to Skype with Ben! It was so much fun to see him and hear how he's doing. Only a little more than 9 months til he's home! It will be fun to have the whole family back for Christmas next year. 
Everyone was feeling a little down after we had to hang up with Ben so we spur-of-the-moment decided it was the perfect evening for a trip up to the cabin! It was freezing once we got up there, even for us Utah folk, but we quickly gathered the blankets and built a cozy fire in the fireplace and got the space heaters going. I was pleasantly surprised with how easily Annie went to sleep, and we spent the rest of the evening laughing and talking and playing games. The next morning, we woke up to gritty, icy snow - the kind that's NOT fun to play in. Yuck!

Tucker and I packed up our stuff and headed back to Mesa early to get the house ready for our little party that night. With everyone in town for the holidays, we thought it would be fun to get our high school group together for a little reunion. I wish I would have taken pictures! So many people came, and it was so fun to see everyone! People introduced spouses and passed around babies and even announced pregnancies! New hair styles, new life plans, new cars, new houses, new adventures - I feel so blessed to know that even though so many things change, we all still love each other and treasure our friendships.
The next few days are a blur - aren't they for everyone? I know somewhere in there, we had a fun mini-hike at Papago Park, Uncle Luke's birthday, and lots of playing outside in the gorgeous Arizona weather. And lots and lots and lots of evening games of Catan once the kids were in bed.

For New Year's Eve, we spent the evening at Granny and Opa's grilling steaks and eating a delicious feast of Brussels sprouts, buttery acorn squash (um...YUM), sweet potatoes, fancy salad, and other yummy things. Back at the Dentons', we prepared for the teenager party that was scheduled to take over and started another game of Catan to pass the time. Mom D got a yucky bug and spent the evening in bed, but at 11:30, we rounded up the troops for fireworks and then herded the teenagers back to the kitchen for their midnight crepe breakfast.

I couldn't believe how exhausted I was, and as I fell asleep that night, I was so thankful that 2015 is over and for all that 2016 promises.
Funny post-script, though.
Apparently, I zonked out the minute my head hit the pillow at 12:20 AM. Tucker stayed up to finish his chapter and reached over to turn my lamp off 15 minutes later. I, however, in my sleep-induced stupor, thought it was 2:30 in the morning and muttered, "I hate teenagers...." as I rolled over and fell back to sleep. haha! I thought I'd been asleep for ages and that the party upstairs was still going loud and strong at 2:30 in the morning! Sorry, guys. I don't really hate you. :)