our merry little christmas

our babies on christmas eve.

christmas morning excitement

cutest.

jude was so excited for christmas this year. he didn't really know what he wanted and it changed from day to day. however, christmas morning brought no disappointment and he kept asking us "how did santa know?".

jude and his jabba the hut set.... did you know we have been looking for this for over a year? santa is so resourceful.

the kids went through their stockings first and it may have not been the best idea, at least for greta. she got this sucker open and would not let us take it away, even to open presents. but have no worries because the sucker did not deter her from enjoying her gifts of plenty.

greta is an excellent multi-tasker.

jude lining up all of his transformers "chubby guys" along the piano

it was a wonderful christmas this year and all of us got spoiled. the favorite gifts this year for trevan were a watch, clothing, and a biking hat. i loved myself some new clothing, my favorite perfume, and a new watch. jude's favorites included his leapster 2, jabba the hut, and many other action figures. greta loves her dollhouse and loads of accessories, princess phone, and any food/candy that was within reaching distance. i hope we can spoil our kids every year but our new tradition of 3 gifts from santa (remember jesus got 3 gifts?) will insure that santa will always be able to come through, even in the lean years.


AFTER our own little christmas morning we headed to yaya's for brunch. we were too busy exchanging gifts, eating yummies, and snuggling on the couch to take decent pictures.

go jazz and a sick bubby.

rog picked jude's present out this year. army guys.... where the hell i am going to put this? at least jude LUVS it.

landy and greta playing PS3
(and for the record greta looked totally amazing in her christmas sweatsuit but she is kind of disgusting when she eats so this is what we have to deal with)


AND AFTER yaya's we came home for a long winters nap and then drove down to nannie's for christmas dinner. yet again, no real pictures were taken to document the day. it was (as always) muy beuno and (as always) really crazy with kids. the problem lies in the 6 kids under 4, and the majority of them being under the age 2. i think paige was rethinking her pregnancy or at least rethinking ever coming home to add her own baby into the mix. the kids love each other but sometimes it gets out of hand. between the adults yelling so grandma billie can hear us and the kids yelling just to be heard.... its a lot. that being said, it was wonderful. my mom's house is always home to me and i sort of always feel bad that i still don't live at home so i can keep her christmas's the same but i guess we all have to grow up and start our own families.

these 3? amazing. they are bound to be best friends. in a short 7 months they all became cousins and they will shortly be wreaking havoc of their own. oh, and nannie's tub is everyones favorite spot.


hope your christmas was merry and bright....

(p.s. christmas eve with scary santa and his bride will be posted later... my camera was dead)

a jaunt to temple sqaure

this years temple square visit was short and sweet. it may or may not have had to do with the longest dining experience ever at big apple pizzeria. (which by the way... was not even close to being worth the wait.) rog, cam, and landon joined us and it was a snowy wonderful evening.

no bren, mo, or yaya.
sniff sniff.

chances are you will not meet a 4 year old that likes to ride in a stroller more than jude does.

i look old.... i guess i am aging.

jude is very into the story of baby jesus this year and all he wanted to see at temple square was the nativity. its kind of adorable.

no one loves greta. bless her heart.

we came, we saw, and we froze.

happy christmas eve!

happy christmas to all

(we saved the best for last...)

a gingerbread house @ yaya's

sunday night dinner was followed up by decorating the gingerbread house we bought at costco a few weeks back. its good to be a gregory......

morgan is the best.aunt.ever. she loves my kids and they love her in return. however, grets does not like momo without her signature curly locks. it does take some getting use to.

miss prets helped in her own way.... she was disqualified from participating in decorating the gingerbread house after she tried to dismantle and eat it.
(p.s. she and jude looked beautiful in their christmas sunday duds... too bad i didn't get a picture)

after about 20 minutes of decorating most of our crew left us for home alone 2 (i can't blame them).

so terni and i finished it together, we are sort of best friends.

the finished product.
genius.

yaya was responsible for this little fella. she says its a belt buckle.... sure i believe you.

oh and the best part of the whole night? tubbies in the sink.

i love being a gregory.

williams family party 09

this party is never, ever a disappointment. here are the reasons why:

a. the live nativity
b. the queens story teller
c. my dad's family

below are my 2 grandmothers. they share 6 grandchildren and 13+ great-grandchildren. billie and johnnie belle have been in laws for 36 years and have a lot in common, they both raised their combined 12 children in windy cheyenne, they outlived their spouses, they are very passionate... jb loves the gospel and billie loves playing golf (so much so she lives in phoenix away from all of her children, just so she can golf year round), and they are both incredibly strong women. i am lucky to have these women still in my life, they are me.
grandma billie (she and trevan are bff's.)

grandma johnnie belle

miss prets is working very hard on walking

trevan brought up a good point about these two. does tiffani sit on marks lap even at their own home? no one knows.... but after 2 years of marriage they are still lovebirds.

the queens storyteller (i.e. lee)
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

this year he brought us a story about the elves and santa's magic boots. he has a very captive audience, as always. after the performance jude kept telling lee "that was a great story!". lee's costumes alone will keep the little ones entertained through out the story.

my aunties.... holley and terri

jude has been looking forward to the nativity scene for weeks. because brooke, my mom, and i are in charge of the production we have first dibs on roles. jude decided early on he would be joseph and his bestie minie would be his bride mary. he was SO excited and told people for days that he was going to be in joseph in the baby jesus concert. hilarious... baby jesus concert, i am still laughing about it.

joseph and his pregnant (2 year old) bride mary.

greta was an angel but her costume was thrown together last minute because her giant head would not fit in the lamb costume. i know, i know, somehow she managed to make even this outfit look gorge.

cutest thing ever.

until next year.....

this is mine.

i get to be this wife, this mom, and i get have this life.
(i also get to have this for a sister)

jude at his best.

and i would do it all exactly the same if given the chance.

sunday mornings

i love sunday mornings..... i have groaned and complained all year about 1 o'clock church but really i am sad that we wont have our sunday mornings come january. its fantastic, trev and i take turns sleeping in on saturday and sunday, we have almost always have a big (albeit late) breakfast and there is plenty of time spent lounging around on the couch.

today was especially perfect because snow started falling and trevan started a us a crackling fire. greta sat in her chair eating breakfast for hours on end as she does everyday (that girl loves herself some food) and i could hear jude's mumbled star wars talk as he played with his "guys". the kids seem perfectly content to just be at home with us, their parents, as they should. it was special and i thought it needed documentation.

and off to church we go.