What a Week it Was!!!

What a crazy, wonderful, and busy week it was! It all started on Christmas Eve. We all gathered and had a Christmas Eve meal. And then the festivities began.

What things looked like as we began to gather.

The big kids enjoying their dinner or just hamming it up for the camera.

Part of the adults and babies eating.

Waiting for the program to begin.

More waiting because Grandma wasn't ready.

Reddin, Karen, Payton, and Kayda performing.

Ruthie is going to have to represent her family--I couldn't get the pictures of the M & M's to load.

Oh look! Just downloaded my pictures and some good little photographer elf took a picture of the M & M's that I could download onto my blog.

Brendon, Carrie, Sawyer, Abby, and Matthew

Travis and Colling performs "Must be Santa".

Aubrey singing and playing--isn't she talented?

Trevor strumming and serenading!

Such cute cousins singing a song!

Liam and Abby got to be Joseph and Mary this year and lucky Adele got to be baby Jesus.
(Love Joseph and his thumb)

Here is the cast of the nativity.

Waiting to open the pajama pants--not too much of a surprise anymore.

Picture of us in the pj pants!

Christmas morning at the Evans

Aubrey in her spot with her friend.

Trevor handing out the presents. It was nice to have these two home for Christmas this year and not having to coordinate two phone calls from Mexico and Portugal with the goings on of the other children.

Trevor waiting to open his presents.

Wow! It looks like Santa came. Everyone gathered back at the Evans in the evening for more partying.

Everyone has their stacks waiting to be opened.

Can we open them now?

Not yet!

Now!

Everyone is having a good time!

WooHoo Abby in her tutu!

Adele looks darling in hers.

Aren't they cute?

The Monday after Christmas the Evans clan again gathered for a night of feasting. Instead of our annual Progressive Dinner we decided to do Progressive Appetizers. It worked out well and everything was yummy and we came away stuffed. We started at Carrie and Brendon's and worked our way to the M & M's and Karen and Reddin's and ended up at our house for dessert. It must be something about riding and eating and riding some more that unsettles Liams stomach. He again complained that his tummy hurt and sure enough for the second straight year he threw up, however he was at home and not at Karen and Reddins.

Don't they look like they are having a great time?

On December 29th for my birthday we all gathered at Freestone Park to take a family picture, now that the missionaries are home and all the babies are here and no one is pregnant. We were a bit worried because rain was in the forecast. But it turned out to be a nice sunny day.

What an ordeal to get everyone there and ready.

What a great place to have a picture session.

Thought we might loose someone in the water. . .

. . . like Abby. But everyone stayed dry.

The results of our morning.

After pictures Travis and Stephanie took me out to eat at Gecko Grill. Wayne got to come also. What a great birthday lunch. Thank you so much, I really had a great time. Then in the evening we had everyone over for Chinese food and a game of Bunko. I'm sad to not have any bunko pictures but my photographer was snoozing on the job.

He did get pictures of the fun new game that Carrie gave Travis for Christmas. Quelf, you have got to play it.

Here is Travis doing one of the crazy things that you have to do in the course of playing the game. What a fun game it was and we laughed until we couldn't laugh anymore.

Everyone was back over for New Year's Eve for more eating and game playing but the photographer was slacking that day also. We all had a great week enjoying each others company. It was great to have Travis, Stephanie, and Collin here. We so enjoyed when they would pop in to play.