Metheny Family Christmas Week

It was seriously a blast to get to spend a week with my whole family at Christmas.  My parents moved into a new home in early fall, and they had worked endlessly to make everything ready and perfect in time for our arrival.  Their new home is set up with lots of bedrooms to accommodate everyone, so each family had at least one bedroom, which was awesome.  There was a spacious basement where we could all gather comfortably.  Not once did we feel cramped or in need of more space.

It was a very wet week, with tons of rain, but at least it wasn't tons of snow that impeded people's flights in and out.

Besides for one group going to see Star Wars, everyone going to church on Sunday, and making a million runs to the grocery store, we stayed at the house and hung out--talking, eating, playing games, men playing pool, and some adults sneaking in naps.  :)

Kate (18 months)

Ryan reading a book to the kids before bed.

I love having time with all of my family, but I especially LOVE the cousins getting to spend time together.  We just live so far from them that those chances come only once a year!  They all did great together, and we really such good friends.  Eli especially bonded with cousin, Tori, who's 7 months older than him (but about a foot taller).  They were such cute little buddies, and he was so sad when she had to leave.  Clara was loved on by her cousins Gwen (11), Annie (8), and Tori, who all took her under their wing and played the Mommy Hen.  Gwen especially spent a lot of time with Clara, reading to her, playing with her, and helping her.  That's another nice thing about cousins.  When they have each other to play with they need/want less of YOU!

On Christmas Eve we all acted out the Nativity with a script my mom put together.  Ryan and Jeri were Mary and Joseph, using a doll as Jesus, which Clara kept trying to take out of the manger.  :)  David was the videographer during performance.

Eli and Tori, little shepherds

Three Wise (Wo)men

Sweet moment caught with Eli, Clara, and Ben (3)

I was really hoping for a Christmas photo shoot of the kids and also our family, but both boys weren't interested.  At least we can always count on Clara being up for pictures!

We also opened the one present and watched our traditional "Twas the Night Before Christmas" movie from the '40s, and set out milk and cookies for Santa.  After the kids were in bed, Ryan showed us a video he put together for his Gospel Doctrine class.

All the kids lined up on the stairs on Christmas morning to go find their presents, and all were very pleased with the results!

Clara thanking Grandpa for presents and getting a kiss in return.  :) 

The day after Christmas we had a photographer come to my parent's house to take family photos.  Unfortunately Eli and Clara were beginning to get sick and wanted NOTHING to do with getting their picture taken.  Clara would not let go of her paci, and Eli would not even sit for the picture.  :/

Later that day my dad's brother's family came for a visit.  It was fun to see them all and catch up for a bit.

Both Eli and my cousin's boy, Owen, spent that afternoon with their shirts off, as Zach (9) spent much of that week.  :)

My sister Emily spent the couple months before our get-together collecting lots of photos from everyone to make into a slide show that we all watched together.  She did such great work and it was really fun to see what everyone had been up to prior to our reunion, what a "day-in-the-life" of each person looked like.

My mom turned a small unfinished room in their basement into a "Kids' Club."  She put a bright orange fuzzy rug, lime green curtains, and stored all the toys and fun kid stuff in there (along with bunk beds for some kids to sleep in there).  The walls were just concrete, so she had a couple painting sessions where the kids could each paint a section of a wall.  There was some great art work done by some!  Eli was funny and did a wild splashing of just bright red on his section.  It looks more like a blood spill than art, silly kid!  We'll have to have him go back and add to it some day.  :)

On the last evening with everyone together we held a family talent show.  Gwen and Annie played piano, I accompanied Ryan, Beth, Rebecca, and Adam as they sang a couple Christmas hymns, Emily and Pooch told jokes, and Ben and Holly (5) performed a dance.  My parents finished it off with a funny and well-done performance of "Who's on 1st," with costuming to boot.  Eli and Clara, as well as Noah, were all feeling pretty sick and crummy by that point, so they didn't want to participate.

Ryan's family left first, on Monday (Gwen stayed for a few extra days). That day the remaining littles had a tea party with Grammie, which is just about their favorite thing (at least it is for my kids).

They use tiny little mugs to drink pink lemonade, and get served all kinds of treats such as hershey kisses, tiny cookies, blueberries, and bite-sized brownies.  What could be better?

There was hope that we could make a reunion work this summer, but with two of us having new babies it just wasn't the right time.  Summer 2017, it is!  Oh, what a long way away!  So grateful for my parents for hosting such a wonderful week, and for my siblings for making the sacrifice to travel over the holidays.  Sure love my family!