Hustle And Bustle Fun

We've been busy having a lot of fun over the Christmas break. And you know, it's a lot of work to have this much fun. This year has proved to be one of the best holiday seasons ever for the Andersons. The snowfall hasn't disappointed us, either. We had a white Christmas and many reasons to go out and play in the white stuff. We've also had time to stay inside and enjoy the fire, play the Wii and eat treats brought to us from neighborhood families and friends. We've documented many of our activities in photo form. Below is a sampling of the merrymaking of the season.

Here are Abbie and Adam showing off their new scooters on Christmas morning.

Ah, the Christmas morning mayhem of ripped wrapping paper and buzzing electronic toys. 

Sorting through stockings early on Christmas morning.

"A toothbrush in my Christmas stocking?" 

"What kind of twisted character is this St. Nick guy?" 

Abbie received a lot of clothing for her American Girl doll.

Adam and Conner checking out their Christmas stocking loot.

After the Christmas snowstorm, Conner, Adam and I built this snow cave from the snow that we shoveled off the driveway.

Here's Conner just chillin' inside his snow cave.

Grandma Harris made all the grandchildren matching pajamas. It has become an annual tradition to receive pajamas from grandma on Christmas Eve.

Grandma even made matching pajamas for Abbie's American Girl doll.

The grandkids perform a Christmas nativity pageant every Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Harris' house.

We spent a few days in Salina just before Christmas and while we were there, we loaded up the 4-wheelers and had some fun in the mountains just above Salina.

This is the no-sweat way to go sledding.

My dad pulled a Clark Griswold this year. While trying to fix a few Christmas lights at the high-point of the garage, he found himself falling rapidly toward the ground while still clinging, white-knuckled to the plummeting ladder. It was a big fall and he's really lucky that he came out of it with only a broken wrist, some sore ribs and a few scratches and bruises. He's finding that with his right wrist out-of-commission it's difficult to do simple things, like tying his shoes and buttoning his shirts. We're glad he's OK and hope he heals quickly. Here's a photo of his wrist splint and post-accident appearance.

This was the first year that Christian really started to understand the excitement of the Christmas holiday. It was a lot of fun watching him open his gifts this year.

Christmas Eve treats.

We went sledding at Cheese Park during the Christmas break.

Adam was fearless. He took the steepest inclines and loftiest jumps with complete indifference.

The kids wanted to catch some air off this jump. Abbie, Conner and Adam were all able to get some pretty descent hang time off this baby.

This was Alex's first sledding excursion.

We also went on the hayride in Layton. It takes you through all the Christmas lights at the Park.

Here's Emery taking his first hayride.

These are a few of the lights along the hayride. After seeing this photo, I've come to the conclusion that Christmas lights are much more spectacular in-person.