Christmas Week!

The first thing Luke did once school was out for Christmas Break was to organize the presents to make room for Santa's gifts.  I love how much room he left! 

The first day of break, Josh had a 4-hour sledding party to go to, and so Luke and Taiden had a playdate and some sledding! 

They had fun, but it was pretty cold so it didn't last long. 

Love this boy!

Friday we went skiing.  Bridger got a ton (maybe 9" to 12") of fresh snow, so it was super fun. It was hard for me, I'm not as good of a skier as the boys are and also it was my first time this season. 

 I took a break in the lodge and the boys did the hard runs.  We met for lunch and a quick toast. :) 

Mike had a sweet snow beard going on.  He said he always wanted one of those...but they're colder than you'd think.  

Luke and I headed to the Meeting Place (the Grizzly Peak Bar) before Josh and Mike did because Luke ran into a big rock and hurt his leg.  We were happy to kill time with the foos ball table. 

After we warmed up from skiing and had some dinner, we continued our annual tradition of getting Dairy Queen blizzards and driving around looking at Christmas lights.  This was the Best of Bozeman...it was very festive!

Grampa had started this puzzle when he was here for the week, and we finished it 12/23. It was a very hard puzzle, and we think a diabolical puzzle maker was to blame.  Luke and I finished it as a team, hence the silly smile. 

Before we knew it, we were getting ready for Christmas Eve church.  Look at these dapper boys. 

So serious! 

I looked down during church and saw that Josh chose some stellar socks for his suit.  Red to match his tie. :) 

We went to church at 11 AM, so we were back before lunch!  That was fun!  We did a White Elephant gift exchange with  the 6 Jenkins members before dinner.  It was all Luke's idea, and it was very fun! 

This was my favorite gift.  

Josh ended up with the Drinking Helmet.  He rocked it! 

We had a much easier and more fun puzzle for Christmas Eve.  Serious work 

They're not too old for a family reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" like we've been doing since 2006.

We woke up at 7:00 Christmas morning to find that Santa had visited our house! Stuffed stockings for everyone! 

These boys were pretty excited!

While they waited for the adults to get to the living room, they assigned seats for us all.  

Our fireplace was broken, but the TV had a fireplace channel to tide us over.  

Opening stockings is the best part!

Josh patiently opening his zip-tied gift from Luke. 

Santa brought them a Guinness Book of World Records. 

Luke has always been a ferocious gift opener.  This was the biggest package under the tree, and was a skateboard! 

Luke's Birthday Week

Josh had a holiday choir concert Wednesday.  It was a riot!  He was told to wear "festive" clothes, so he rocked a Griswold Family Christmas tee shirt. 

They did a lot of small groups, and three big whole-class numbers.  This was one of Josh's two small group performances. 

He's got such a strong stage presence. 

These four boys did a fabulous version of Let It Go from Frozen.  They were so funny!

And then back to the usual stance. 

Friday night was our company Christmas party.  I have only two pictures from the night.  Alex (red dress) and Rebecca (middle) are my co-worker friends, and I was thrilled to see them all dolled up!  

This is the other picture, the beautiful ice sculpture honoring the Transmission Department (the one Mike is on).  

Saturday morning was time for Santa brunch, and Luke's birthday! He tied his own tie!

He kept saying it was his Birthday Suit. :) 

There were 109 kids getting gifts this year--look at that crowd!  

Luke didn't love sitting on Santa's lap, but he knows it's the way to the present, so he did it. 

He got a tiny drone from Santa, and he loves it!  He has been doing flips with it in the living room all weekend.  

Saturday afternoon we opened family gifts.  He was a maniac opening gifts again, so intense! 

He loved the remote control boat.  He also got a hammock, a Seahwaks cup and gift card to Cold Stone, a gift card to Dairy Queen, and a gift card to the Escape Room. 

This is the "big gift" -- ski gear for back country conditions. He was pretty thrilled. 

Luke's birthday was at The Ridge again.  He loves it there. 

11 boys.  They were all good kids and they all followed the rules of the Zorb balls well. 

Connor, Ty, Josh, and Kyler. 

School friends -- left to right -- Walker, Abraham, Ryder, Sam, Rogen, and Luke. 

Luke got to stay in the ball the whole time.  He loved it. 

Josh and Kyler colliding. 

The kids were pretty mellow, but they all loved it. 

Luke was a hot, sweaty mess by the time we were done with the Zorb Balls. 

We went to the Birthday Room for pizza, cake, ice cream, and cookies. 

The cake he designed...it was lime green with red frosting. 

Singing Happy Birthday!

He said he wished for "nothing" which is kind of mysterious. 

Next was the gift opening.  He loved the presents from everyone! 

New Seahawks hat! 

He threw the tissue paper over his shoulder in a flurry. 

The party ended in the Play Zone. Josh just loves babies.  He and Landon (who's 2) buried each other in the ball pit. 

Isn't he patient? 

Sunday morning started off with Josh making breakfast for us, thanks to a lot of help from Gramma Harley. This is breakfast sausage made from the deer he shot this year.  What an all-around guy, right? 

French toast with nice, thick bread.  It was delicious!

Josh is going to have a good time opening this gift from Luke. Ha ha ha!

Sunday afternoon we went to Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  What a fun day!