2nd Christmas

Every year our family does our own thing for Christmas eve and Christmas morning, and then on Christmas day in the afternoon when we've had our naps and cleaned up we head to my parent's house for "2nd Christmas". We act just like it is Christmas eve, and do all of our normal traditions and wake up and open presents on 2nd Christmas morning. It is a great way to extend the holiday!We played spoons, which got a little violent. My little finger is black and blue and was swollen, and I still wasn't the reigning champ!

Ella, Caden, Ashley, Emma, Levi and Kiara. Naomi went to bed early so she is missing in this photo.
Me, Derek, and Trent listening to dad's recitation of "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. Unfortunately, Trent is the only one who followed what was happening. I liked to listen to the rhyming though! :)
Dad reading out loud from the Edgar Allen Poe book he got from Trent (the literary expert in the family) for Christmas.
Caden was beyond exhausted, two days in a row of Christmas fun and late night partying, but he perked up when he saw the cereal.

Sunday Best and Christmas Fun

Ward Christmas party. Emma was so excited for this party b/c she could sing "Hosanna!" (which she did probably 87 times over the course of the week). Then I came home from Kiara's soccer game to see Emma dressed in blue and red and high heels with a matching snowman headband on all dressed up and ready for the big party. What could I do? She sang her Hosanna's with great gusto and held up her skirt very daintily.
Playing around some more with my camera and indoor shots (garage).

Proving that girls are more expensive than boys, I got the girls Christmas dresses and hair bows and the boys matching ties. D

I love Christmas!

Yes, we get big ol' tall trees. It is tradition. If it isn't nearly touching the ceiling, it just isn't tall enough. It is the one time of year I appreciate vaulted ceilings!

My favorite ornament. I love Christmas ornaments.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Oh Christmas Tree!

We set an Adams' family record of finding the perfect tree in less than 15 minutes! Last year, it took hours and two trips to the farm, and LOTS of grumpy tree hunters (I really like a perfect tree, it is an important part of the tradition). This year, in 25 minutes we had pictures, had it cut down and on top of the burb! Yay! Notice the smiling faces? Last year, there was NONE of that!


We have this tendency to get super large trees...this year was no exception. It took four men to get the tree on top of the burb, and then we had to drive about 5 miles an hour to get home. The girls would gasp every time they'd see too many tree branches out their side of the car and put Spencer and I into a heart stopping panic. Easy tree finding, scary drive home. We made it, and will decorate it tomorrow. If I can figure out how to take good indoor tree photos, I will post the final product. My house smells SOO Christmasy, I love it!

Thankful for Thanksgiving!

You probably can't tell, but it is like 27 degrees outside. The things we do for a picture! This is me with my "little" brothers and my parents, all home for the holiday.
Nanna, Boppa and all the cousins on my side of the family. Had to do a little head swapping in Photoshop Elements to get a picture where all the kids were at least looking my direction!
My little bro and his shadow. Emma can't get enough of him. Wherever he would go, she would go. Literally.

What a fun weekend! I love Thanksgiving. Not just b/c Game On! was over so I could eat again (though I would be lying if I didn't admit that was a huge part of my excitement), but b/c we get to just hang out as a family. It isn't stressful, it is just fun! We had lots of great food, good laughs, and fun family time.

black and white

I am still totally novice at this, and just when I think I figure something out (how to take color out of pictures...), I go to Skate World and Kiara's indoor soccer game and all my pictures are awful! Clearly time to sign up for another class! This is a frustrating, and potentially expensive hobby (I hear my indoor pictures would improve with a different lense....hmm....and of course another class on indoor photography would be so helpful :)), but despite that, I am totally enjoying it!

Photography Class Fun

So after taking a photography class for several weeks, I went ahead and took the plunge and bought a real camera. I have had SO much fun taking a million pictures of my kiddos. Wish I had gotten it in the spring or summer when the weather was more predictable, but freezing or not, we are outside practicing photos! I still obviously have TONS to learn (haven't even begun the art of photo editing for instance...that is my next class!), and I never realized how much was involved in photography, it is a little overwhelming. Here's to the future of better pictures in my blog posts...hopefully!!! :)