Christmas 2010

Ah, Christmas 2010 is not one I want to remember very fondly. We spent the bulk of the holiday dealing with a stupid stomach bug that would come and go. Even though we had visitors--my parents, my younger brother Adam and his wife Eve and my younger brother Austin, the sickness kind of overtook everything else. We even gave it to some of them, I'm sorry to say.

Because of all the sickness, we didn't get to do a lot of the fun things I had planned. I had wanted to take the whole family tubing once more during all the snow. I also wanted to do the usual drive-around looking at Christmas lights, which we never did (afraid someone would throw up in the car). We didn't get to enjoy all the treats people brought for us because of all the stomach sickness, and the usual Christmas Eve tradition of warm eggnog or hot chocolate was passed over this time around. In fact, the usual Christmas Eve didn't really happen--partly because of the sickness and partly because Corey ended up working Christmas Eve. I'd really rather he works New Year's Eve and have Christmas Eve off because our Christmas Eves are so steeped in traditions and we don't do a thing for the New Year's. In fact, this year, I anticipate that I will be in bed no later than 11, even if he stays up to ring in the New Year. If he does, I think he's not being wise, since he'll have to leave by 6:45 a.m./7 a.m. for work on Saturday.

Opening the stockings: Every year we open the stockings first before even going in the room with the tree and presents. In the stockings is always a small breakfast for the kids--an orange, usually a packet of hot chocolate (not this year) and a small box of cereal. This year, most of the kids had to eat their cereal without milk because of the bad stomach bug. Later on, after opening gifts, we make a big breakfast of French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, juice and hot chocolate.

Here is the tree before the opening of gifts. New church clothes for all the kids--unfortunately, my boys are bigger on top than they are from the waist down, so the pants were all huge but the tops fit fine of their new suits. Not sure what to do about the pants--try mending them or just hold off until they fit into them.

Here we are eating dry cereal for breakfast and drinking water rather than juice, milk or hot chocolate. Dumb stomach bug.

Waiting to open presents. We waited until my parents and my brother Austin came down from North Salt Lake to start opening gifts.

Eliza outside trying out her new tricycle.

Hopefully next year we can skip the sickness and enjoy Christmas a little better.