Christmas 2013

Christmas 2012 was wonderful. It was our first Christmas in our new home.

We kickstarted the season after Thanksgiving by heading up to Apple Hill to cut down our tree. We stopped at Abel's Acres instead of High Hill Ranch for a treat - a few caramel apples and apple donuts. 

Next we drove up the road for our tree. We searched up and down the rows looking for the perfect one. I spotted it, and it was beautiful, but I had NO idea until we got home just how ginormous it was.

It's hard to tell...but just know our ceilings are really high, and this tree trumped the whole room. But really, it was quite nice to have most of the room consumed since we have almost no furniture there.

I didn't get a very good picture of our tree all decorated. Brandon strung the lights and I put the ornaments on. Charlie was sure to help.

We hit up the Christmas Tree Lighting on Main Street in Placerville. It is a favorite tradition of ours. It is so classic and picturesque and feels like you stepped back in time.

Lucy ran into her friend Hazen from school

My parents and Jess joined us this year :)

At my parents' house - we stayed there when we went to a One Republic concert in SF.

I made this little glitter banner...love the way it turned out.

Lucy's note to her teacher. I adore the way she sounds things out. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Williams! I can't wait for Christmas! I am so excited."

This highlight of our Christmas was having all of Brandon's family travel from Utah. Brandon was so cute and organized an itinerary for every day of their visit. We definitely made the most of our time with them. 

Cousin bath time

Every Christmas Eve, the extended Fox Family gathers for dinner. It is a LOT of people in one place, and it is so fun to see everyone. 

Brandon and his cousin Heather - he's one of her favorites.

Santa even showed up!

What is going on here? Who are you?

After dinner, our kids (minus Charlie) spent the night at Grandma's house with all of the cousins. I put the kids to bed and came home to wrap the rest of our gifts and delivered them back to Grandma's. We showed up at 7:00 sharp to make sure we didn't miss their entrance upstairs to see all of their Christmas gifts, but alas, they beat us there. I was pretty bummed we didn't get to see their reactions, but they were happy. Se la vie. 

B and Evan...hardcore

Kamille and our newest cousin, baby Winston! He is the cutest!

Santa's loot: Charlie: Dancing Cookie Monster | Clark: Hot Wheels Track | Lucy: Photo Fashion Barbie | Brady: Pellet Gun

 

Aunt Kara with her baby boys. These boys will soon be causing all soooorts of trouble.

Claire, Lu, Abby

My favorite part of the Christmas festivities was our Minute to Win It game night at our house. All of the cousins and parents were split into teams. We stacked cups, tried to get a cookie from your forehead to your mouth, scooted around the floor on a towel, and threw a toilet paper roll through a wreath. The best part: if your team didn't complete the challenge in a minute, every team member had to eat a Jelly Belly. But not just any Jelly Belly. These ones. They are similar to the Harry Potter Jelly Bellies, but here's the catch. There were two sets of identical jelly beans. One set had a good flavor, the other set was something like millipede, moldy cheese (which I was fortunate to eat, by far the worst!), booger, baby wipes. It was hilarious!

Lucy: Mission complete

David: Mission complete

Brady and Emma's faceoff

Brady finished, Emma's toppled over at the last minute

John deciphering his flavor

Evan thinking he got a millipede flavor

Another event on the agenda: Scooter Relay Race

I didn't get any pictures of our glow-in-the-dark ultimate frisbee. Brandon bought a bunch of glow necklaces and a glow frisbee. Everyone headed to Ponderosa to play on the field. It was freezing outside, and it didn't help when Brandon locked our keys in the car right when we got there. Luckily Chris and Sarah's AAA came within a few minutes so I could keep warm with Charlie.

Evan and Kamille blessed Winston in our ward. It was so special, and are they not the cutest little family? Winston is the perfect mix of the two of them.

Another tradition of ours is to go to Union Square in SF with our family. Everyone joined us this year. It was pretty crazy trying to keep track of so many little people. We stopped at Fisherman's Wharf (Grotto No. 9) and Ghirardelli Square.

He was the best baby the whole day, even scrunched in his crappy umbrella stroller. We couldn't bring our BOB because we rode Muni all around the city.