THE Christmas post.

We had a great Christmas, and I am so happy my mom was able to spend it with us. She flew in on Thursday the 23rd and left Monday the 27th. Of course it went by too quickly, but we had lots of fun and stayed busy.

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without lots of yummy food. Christmas morning we had pancakes, eggs, and bacon. For dinner it was ham, twice baked potatoes, and broccoli salad. And plenty of junk in between! My mom made us the cute pillow with the manger scene hand stitched on it. Love it.

She also made us marshmallow guns. The family that plays together, stays together! I made mom a calendar. I also got her the book The Hunger Games, but found out she had already purchased it for herself, so I took it back and got her These is My Words.

Rowan got a firetruck and a track with battery operated cars. He's been having a lot of fun with both. He's all boy. Trucks, trains, cars- anything with wheels and he is in heaven.

Christmas Eve we headed into SLC after Jon got off work. We ate at Buca Di Beppo and then went and saw lights at temple square. It was really cold, so we didn't stay too long, but I am glad we went. It just wouldn't feel like Christmas if we missed seeing the lights.

After getting home from seeing the lights we opened our Christmas Eve pj's. Rowan actually opened all the packages. Good practice for the Christmas day! We gave Rowan pj's last year, but this year I thought it would be fun for all of us to get some. I think we'll continue to do it. Pj's is something I never buy for myself or Jon, so getting a new pair once a year sounds good to me! A side note, I think the last new pair of pj's I got before this was on Valentine's Day the first year Jon and I were married. He got me a cute flannel set with lips on them.

I am always sad when Christmas is over, but I know another year will pass in no time and Christmas will be here again, and I will find myself saying, "I can't believe it is almost Christmas!" Jon's parents will be around for Christmas 2011, so that will be nice. (They've been in China the past two) Of course I look forward to the next time my mom and I get to spend a holiday together. Hopefully another 5 years don't pass before we make it happen again! (I love you mom! Thanks so much for making it such a special Christmas!)