Kate dictated this note and Nate wrote it down. She wrote her name at the bottom.
This is part of the gift I gave my in-laws for Christmas. I saw the idea on my talented friend Lisa's blog. Her's obviously turned out cuter, but I'm still pretty proud of what I was able to cobble together with all my spare time.
I tried to get Gray to look at me while I took a picture. He just kept on doing what he was doing and said, "Go away, Mom. I'm busy."
The Saturday before Christmas, the 21st, Granny and Papa took all the Silveys on Frontrunner up to Temple Square to see the lights. And when I say all the Silveys, I mean all the Silveys except for me and Nate and Gray and Jude. Nate was sick. Gray was still getting over a cold, and I didn't want to haul my sweet li'l guy out in the cold for seven hours and risk him getting sick. (Plus, where would I feed him?!) So Colin and Kate went with the group without their parents, and they had a marvelous time. All pictures are courtesy of my MIL Tia. She sent them to me throughout the night and made me sad that I wasn't there with them. I vacillated between trying to go to sleep and trying to wait up for the kids, and I ended up just staying awake. The kids got home at 10:30. It was a late night.
Kate and Cousin Sara.
Colin and Kate in front of the SLC Temple.
Waiting for a high class meal at the City Creek food court.
Granny, Papa, and all the kids.
Riding the train!
The next night, Sunday, I drove the children back up to SLC to stay in a hotel. My fake brother Kenny was getting married Monday morning in SLC, and there was no way we would all make it up there on time and presentable if we left home in the morning. Nate stayed home because he still wasn't feeling well, and a crappy night's sleep in a hotel was the last thing he wanted. But I refused to stay home because I love my fake brother and because my children were the ring bearer, flower girl, and bestest mensch in the wedding party. So here we are at the hotel. Colin didn't actually sleep in the bed. He was just watching the Sound of Music on TV with the kids while I got everything situated.
This is where Colin slept. He ended up almost completely under that table by morning.
Kate and Gray in the morning.
He scooted back out a bit.
These are the only pictures I have from the big day. I know other people took hundreds of pictures, so if I ever get any of them then I'll post them here.
How fine are those two hunks looking, eh? They had vests on too.
I guess I don't have a single picture of Kate and Jude in their finery, but trust me, they looked awesome too. I'll try to track down some of those pictures. The kids were troopers at the temple, despite the fact that we had to wait a really, really long time for the sealing. I think we started an hour late. And then during the pictures outside it was pretty cold and drippy. But we got a hamburger on the way home so everyone was happy. Nate drove up in the morning with my brother Seth, so he got to go to the sealing with me. I was up at 4:30 am with Jude, and I just barely managed to get all 5 of us showered, fed, dressed, and to the temple on time. Blerg.
The reception that night was in Provo at the former Los Hermanos location on Center Street. It was lovely, and the children had a great time dancing, drinking hot cocoa, playing in the fountain, and taking pictures. It was yet another late night. (The third in a row, in fact.)
Kate holding her bouquet the next day.
We opened sibling/cousin presents on Christmas Eve with my family, because that's when my brother Grant's family could be with us.
We spent the bulk of Christmas Eve over at Granny and Papa's house. We had a great dinner, a wonderful Christmas FHE, and then we played Minute to Win It games. We all had a lot of fun. I don't have any pictures, since I was running the show, but I'll try to track some down on Facebook and put them over here. It was another late night for the kids.
Some pictures of everything put out on Christmas Eve night.
All the kids had their own giant floor pillow to sit on. I made these back in June with my SIL DeAnna, but I never finished them. I still haven't finished them, but I was tired of stepping over them in my closet, so I just gave them to the kids unfinished, and someday I'll get around to figuring out a way to close them up.
This was the haul from opening presents at Granny's house. Spoiled rotten kids. :)
These pictures are out of order, but the kids got some finger lights in their stockings. ($0.70 for a 4 pack on Amazon! Score!) They had an impromptu dance party in the bathroom with their lights.
Nate got clothes he bought for himself and some treats for Christmas, because he told me not to buy him anything. I didn't listen though, and got this awesome Star Wars Mad Libs book anyway. It was the only surprise gift he got. I felt good about it.
That is, I felt good about it until he pulled this sucker out of the closet. What the what?! I had no idea. It was a wonderful surprise. I have wanted one of these forever, but I didn't think I would ever get one, because I didn't think we would ever spend that kind of money on a blender. But I loves it. I do.
Okay, here are the Christmas morning pictures. The kids actually slept in because of all the late nights/no naps. We got started around 8:00, 8:30, I think. The stuff in the stockings was so awesome they had a hard time moving on to actual presents.
I love Heather's face in this picture. And I bought her those pjs for Christmas last year.
Colin photobombed this picture. Nate opened his present from my brother (who wasn't with us on Christmas Eve, but was on Christmas morning). It's bacon! A lot of it!
Gray loves his Spiderman bathrobe.
And Colin loves his football bathrobe.
And Gray loves Uncle Seth's new leather gloves.
I walked into the room to find Gray like this. He's chillin' in his new elephant chair from Granny and Papa, reading a new book from Mom and Dad. (Where the Wild Things Are was Nate's favorite book as a kid.)
Fake brother Kenny gave Gray some stick-on mustaches. I think Gray was channeling his inner Tom Selleck in this picture.
Another one of Gray, because he was just so dang cute.
Big fat baby! He's getting so big! Three months old here.
We went back to Granny's house on Christmas to play with cousins again in the afternoon. We all had fun, and the kids had another late night. (Is anyone surprised by that at this point? I'm not.)
Playing on Christmas with Aunt Hannah.
The kids and Hannah played this act like an animal game. I have it on video, but I don't know if Hannah would appreciate me posting it here...
And we haven't even gotten through New Year's Eve yet. I hope no one expects anything more from me, celebration-wise. Because I imagine I'll be asleep by 9:00 pm.
1 comment:
So glad you put these pictures out there! It was a fun holiday with so many cousins but I was glad to have routine again after new years day. Kudos to you for all the fun games. It really was a hoot! Love it all. I would like prints of some of these as well.
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