We spent Christmas this year with my Dad's family. The McAllisters live in Arizona, but we actually all went up to Utah and stayed in Aunt Emily and Uncle Dave's house. Here we all are! It was busy busy busy with everyone around, and REALLY fun too.
The McAllister family got 4 brand-new boys in 2008, and we're all 8 months or younger. I'm the oldest, barely. It was fun playing with my cousins Jonathan, Justin, and Benjamin-- we can't wait to go to Scout Camp together in 12 years!
We all participated in the family nativity play on Christmas Eve. Uncle Paul was Joseph, Benjamin was baby Jesus, and we actually had 3 Marys this year. (Neither Ellie, Michelle, nor Kristen would back down from the role, so we took some literary license and looked the other way.)
Now here is an interesting Christmas morning tradition. Everyone lined up on the stairs before coming down to see the Christmas tree. While we were waiting, Aunt Catherine wanted us all to kiss for a picture. My parents didn't need to be told twice! I didn't really know what to think.
The coolest Christmas present this year was for Aunt Rachel. She got a CORN HAT! (It's from my cousins Michelle and Kristen--they live in Nebraska.)
In the middle of opening up our Christmas presents, we got a highly-anticipated phone call: Uncle Mark! Everyone gathered around 3 different phones while we talked to him. Uncle Mark is a missionary in Texas these days, and he's really doing great work down there! He even picked up the accent.
While everyone was distracted talking to Uncle Mark on the phone, I made a run for the presents. My mom caught me though before I got too far.
Uncle Paul can get pretty crazy sometimes.
We saw the Christmas lights at Temple Square one night. They are gorgeous. My parents are the ones on the right-- they're actually sharing a coat if you look closely.
The Utah Jazz played the Philadelphia 76ers one night, so we all got tickets. My mom cheered for the Jazz out loud (since she was in Utah), but she secretly cheered for the Sixers in her heart. It was a great game, including an AMAZING slam dunk and an intense flagrant foul!
All of my aunts and uncles worked on this 750-piece puzzle. It was a picture of a quaint, Christmasy village. I tried to snack on a few puzzle pieces, but my parents kept redirecting me. (NOTE: The guy in the back row lying on his side is not actually human. Aunt Laura made a cardboard cutout of Uncle Mark since he couldn't be with us, and his sign says "Welcome to Utah, peeps!")
Here's an action shot my family putting together another puzzle-- this one was a picture of the Sistine Chapel. It had 1000 pieces that were cut in the same shape, and it took 6 days to finish. The neat thing about the puzzle was that it helped everyone really get to know what the Sistine Chapel looks like, since they studied the details very closely for hours and hours.
Here I am sledding with Mom. We just stuck with the bunny slopes, since it was my first time.
GERONIMO! Faster Dad, go faster!!!
Granny Jannie and Grandpa Doug wanted a picture with their 7 grandchildren. Here we all are on our very best behavior! From left to right, you've got Michelle, Benjamin, Justin, me (waving), Jonathan (also waving), Kristen, and Ellie.
This is at the Salt Lake temple, right after my cousins Jonathan and Justin got sealed to Uncle Dave and Aunt Emily. Their adoption was official in the middle of December, so they got sealed the next week. It was a really neat day-- my cousins sure picked a top-notch family to join.
We had McAllister Family Olympics one night, complete with a torch, an opening ceremony parade, relay races, and several other events. Here's a picture of Uncle Dave in the first event, trying to catch a ring on his head. (It's tougher than it looks!)
Nailed it!
One of the events involved catching balls in a basketball hoop hat. Uncle Marcus was pretty coordinated at this game.
Here's my dad flinging a monkey during the Animal Catapult event.
We all got pots and pans to bang on New Year's Eve.
Aunt Laura was REALLY EXCITED for 2009 to start!
Here's Dad and Aunt Emily blowing their party blowers right before the ball dropped.
On New Year's morning, we skipped making breakfast and instead ate at the swanky Grand American hotel. My mom kept raving to me about her Orange Julius and the delicious omelettes. (I was happy with my pureed pears.)
The whole McAllister clan went bowling to celebrate Granny Jannie's birthday. My dad smeared my mom, 130 to 97.
Just practicing my walking. I got REALLY good at this over Christmas vacation-- it was motivating to play with my older cousins, who can already walk and run without needing help. Practicing walking is my main priority these days.
We spent Christmas this year with my Dad's family. The McAllisters live in Arizona, but we actually all went up to Utah and stayed in Aunt Emily and Uncle Dave's house. Here we all are! It was busy busy busy with everyone around, and REALLY fun too. 
The McAllister family got 4 brand-new boys in 2008, and we're all 8 months or younger. I'm the oldest, barely. It was fun playing with my cousins Jonathan, Justin, and Benjamin-- we can't wait to go to Scout Camp together in 12 years! 
We all participated in the family nativity play on Christmas Eve. Uncle Paul was Joseph, Benjamin was baby Jesus, and we actually had 3 Marys this year. (Neither Ellie, Michelle, nor Kristen would back down from the role, so we took some literary license and looked the other way.) 
Now here is an interesting Christmas morning tradition. Everyone lined up on the stairs before coming down to see the Christmas tree. While we were waiting, Aunt Catherine wanted us all to kiss for a picture. My parents didn't need to be told twice! I didn't really know what to think. 
The coolest Christmas present this year was for Aunt Rachel. She got a CORN HAT! (It's from my cousins Michelle and Kristen--they live in Nebraska.) 
In the middle of opening up our Christmas presents, we got a highly-anticipated phone call: Uncle Mark! Everyone gathered around 3 different phones while we talked to him. Uncle Mark is a missionary in Texas these days, and he's really doing great work down there! He even picked up the accent. 
While everyone was distracted talking to Uncle Mark on the phone, I made a run for the presents. My mom caught me though before I got too far. 
Uncle Paul can get pretty crazy sometimes.
We saw the Christmas lights at Temple Square one night. They are gorgeous. My parents are the ones on the right-- they're actually sharing a coat if you look closely. 
The Utah Jazz played the Philadelphia 76ers one night, so we all got tickets. My mom cheered for the Jazz out loud (since she was in Utah), but she secretly cheered for the Sixers in her heart. It was a great game, including an AMAZING slam dunk and an intense flagrant foul! 
All of my aunts and uncles worked on this 750-piece puzzle. It was a picture of a quaint, Christmasy village. I tried to snack on a few puzzle pieces, but my parents kept redirecting me. (NOTE: The guy in the back row lying on his side is not actually human. Aunt Laura made a cardboard cutout of Uncle Mark since he couldn't be with us, and his sign says "Welcome to Utah, peeps!")
Here's an action shot my family putting together another puzzle-- this one was a picture of the Sistine Chapel. It had 1000 pieces that were cut in the same shape, and it took 6 days to finish. The neat thing about the puzzle was that it helped everyone really get to know what the Sistine Chapel looks like, since they studied the details very closely for hours and hours. 
Here I am sledding with Mom. We just stuck with the bunny slopes, since it was my first time. 
GERONIMO! Faster Dad, go faster!!!
Granny Jannie and Grandpa Doug wanted a picture with their 7 grandchildren. Here we all are on our very best behavior! From left to right, you've got Michelle, Benjamin, Justin, me (waving), Jonathan (also waving), Kristen, and Ellie. 
This is at the Salt Lake temple, right after my cousins Jonathan and Justin got sealed to Uncle Dave and Aunt Emily. Their adoption was official in the middle of December, so they got sealed the next week. It was a really neat day-- my cousins sure picked a top-notch family to join. 
We had McAllister Family Olympics one night, complete with a torch, an opening ceremony parade, relay races, and several other events. Here's a picture of Uncle Dave in the first event, trying to catch a ring on his head. (It's tougher than it looks!)
Nailed it!
One of the events involved catching balls in a basketball hoop hat. Uncle Marcus was pretty coordinated at this game. 
Here's my dad flinging a monkey during the Animal Catapult event. 
We all got pots and pans to bang on New Year's Eve.
Aunt Laura was REALLY EXCITED for 2009 to start!
Here's Dad and Aunt Emily blowing their party blowers right before the ball dropped. 
On New Year's morning, we skipped making breakfast and instead ate at the swanky Grand American hotel. My mom kept raving to me about her Orange Julius and the delicious omelettes. (I was happy with my pureed pears.) 
The whole McAllister clan went bowling to celebrate Granny Jannie's birthday. My dad smeared my mom, 130 to 97. 
Just practicing my walking. I got REALLY good at this over Christmas vacation-- it was motivating to play with my older cousins, who can already walk and run without needing help. Practicing walking is my main priority these days.
11 comments:
Great Post. Looks like a FUN and busy holiday season!
I loved all the pictures~-looks like you guys had a blast! I loved the matching grandkid outfits, the three Marys, the corn hat, and the beautiful pic of your sister-in-law and her husband and boys at the temple. What a wonderful experience.
Where is Mark serving in TExas? All 4 of those boys look like they are a set of quads! Looks like you had a fun time! On another note-I will NEVER cheer for the Jazz even when at the game.
K,J, n' B!,
I relived our celestial vacation together looking at your pics. Thanks for posting so fast! I may just cut and paste exactly what you did and use "our vacation through the eyes of my nephew!" - you covered everything and described it so well! I tend to put too many pics up. I loved every minute of our trip together and miss you all so much already. Can't wait for the next gathering! We're glad you made it safely and love you each so much! Big hugs and kisses to you all!
Hi, Karisa. I just saw your message on my blog. Yeah, Matt did grind his teeth for about a month or so when he started getting his last two teeth in. But he stopped after that. It was the most horrible thing ever. I guess it is common and Benson will grow out of it. Give him some time. I know, the sound is just awful, isn't it? I was worried too before but Matt's doctor said he's fine. I hope that helps!
Oh and we tried brushing his teeth with a baby toothbrush whenever he ground his teeth. My other friends told me that they put a pacifier in their baby's mouth. That didn't work for Matt because Matt hates pacifiers. He quit them when he was six months old (which is good and awful at the same time).
Nice pictures! Our holiday was busy as well. If only our little boys could meet. I think they would be good friends. Happy New Year to you guys!!
Hi Karisa, look at all those babies - I would have been in heaven. No, luckily the cell phone I lost was a piece of junk, but it still cost me $60! Tell John I might have seen part of his ear floating in Lake Wheeler...
So you're saying in a couple weeks I won't even need NAPS anymore?!? I'm not sure I believe you. ;)
looks like the McAllisters are having a blast like always! :) so who won the olympics???
I love how every post is a short story, all very funny! No wonder we couldn't meet, Karisa! I am sure you had a wonderful time, I think I want to incorporate some of the McAllister's ideas into my own family, is that ok? Um beijao!
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