All I want for Christmas

is my two front teeth.  And a hippopotamus.  And to spend it with these people.

Jackson and "the" hotwheels!

Spicer and his stash from Santa.

How is she that cute in the morning?

Ti got some great comic book gear.

After the present opening bonanza, we had breakfast and hurried to get ready for church.  I actually really liked having church on Christmas.  It helped me keep in mind the reason why we're celebrating.  Heavenly Father and Christ love us all so much, and I could feel that love so close in my heart as I sat in the chapel.  Christmas is fun, but I love that there's a huge, wonderful, meaningful reason behind all the fun.  So even though I messed up big time on my duet in front of the whole congregation and started giggling like a school girl, I'm still glad we went.

Plus we all looked dang good.

And one with Daddy.

 Then the Carrs, young and old, sat down to a feast.  Thanks Mom and Dad for all the hard work! It really payed off!

The cute place settings!

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the wonderful gifts we received.

Spicer vs. Dan in chess.

Jack and "the" hot wheels.

Bronwyn was very spoiled this Christmas.  A new bed, and lots of new toys.  She was one happy puppy.

Can't wait for next time!

Oh you better watch out...

Jack kept singing that song all week, as well as informing us whether we were on the naughty or nice list (Spicer and Dan were apparently on the naughty list).

Remember when I posted about those yummy Christmas cookies my mommy makes?  This was us Christmas Eve Day:

Ti and Hope rolling out the dough.

Even Dan got in on the fun!

The boys decided to get a little creative with their gingerbread men...Ti made a monster and Spicer's is a crime scene victim.  So cheery!

Christmas Eve is almost a bigger deal than Christmas Day in our family. It always involves a Mexican fiesta with plenty of friends to help us eat all the food.

The star of the show is always the tamales (they represent baby Jesus in his swaddling clothes!).  Normally we just get them to-go from a restaurant, but one of our guests generously provided them this year--they were probably the best tamales I've ever had.  We also had enchiladas, a chile sauce, Spanish rice, chips and dip, and a salad (with Cafe Rio dressing!)  Oh yeah, and more than enough dessert.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve as a kid was re-enacting the Nativity as my father or grandfather read from Luke 2.  It might be even more fun being able to watch it.  Are these kids cute or what??

Joseph and Mary...Mary is having a slight veil malfunction.

All gathering around the manger.

A nice group shot.

So angelic!

 Eventually all our guests hurried home so they wouldn't miss Santa's visit.  Our night continued on with a few more Christmas Eve rituals.  We can't go to bed until someone retells How the Grinch Stole Chrismtas. Which we all may or may not have memorized.

So classic.

"But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did NOT."

Bronwyn enjoyed my father's retelling as well.

Before we put our special Christmas jammies on, Jack wanted to put out some reindeer food he made at pre-school.

In case you were wondering, Santa's reindeer love to eat a mixture of oats and sparkles.

Don't worry, we didn't forget to leave milk and cookies (along with a note) for the big man himself.

We had to take a few last pictures of our gussied-up selves before our Christmas Eve sleepover in the basement.

It's hard to hide all that personality.

Merry Christmas!

Thai Thai

It's no secret my family loves Thai food.  My dad served a mission for our church in Thailand, and every time my family has moved, one of his first priorities has been to scout out the best Thai restaurant in the area.  Once my family finds a restaurant they like, they stick with it.  The owners of this place treat my family like their own.  Maybe it's because Jack is just too irresistible when he stumbles over the few Thai phrases he knows.  Or maybe it's because my family is huge and orders so much food/brings in friends all the time.  All I know is they gave us free dessert, so they are awesome in my book.  Plus the food was delicious.  I love Thai Thai!

Hope shows off her spicy Thai chile pepper!  Those little guys pack a punch!

Jack and my parents.

Ti.  One of the owners joked and said that this was his restaurant.

Spicer and Danny.

Jackson and his (free!) ice cream sundae.  Don't worry, we got a delicious (free!) dessert as well!

I like him lots.

Jack examining a Christmas treat.

Beaufort

Today we drove out to the coast and visited Beaufort.  We enjoyed a seafood lunch and then headed across the street to check out the Maritime Museum--Blackbeard's ship sunk off the coast of Beaufort!  We also made sure to stop at the fudge shop and a few gift shops. What fun!

Ready for lunch!

This picture would make you think she didn't enjoy her shrimp, but she did.

Ti liked his as well.

Jack told the waitress, "Thank you so much for giving me this, it is so good!"  He only ate his fries, so he must have been referring to them.

Dad joined us a little late.  He had a business call...while he was on vacation.

Goofin' off at the museum.

I had my pirate face on.

Pirates!

The whole crew!  (Except for Dad, our photographer.)

Old house.

One of the two restaurants we tried to eat at that were closed for the season.

We found this great brick wall and decided to take a few "fashion blogger" pictures.

27 weeks! (I'll be 28 tomorrow!)

We're all excited for Baby Snow!!