A Merry Packer Christmas

The second half of our Christmas dream vacation was spent in Alpine with the Packers.

There was a whole lot of sick going on with the Packers, which may have altered our plans, but did not alter our fun. (Talk about Hallmark moment).

The kids and I were some of the only healthy ones, so we took advantage of the snow around the house.

(the only gloves Ethan could find in his 12 second search were some women's leather ones, but he clearly was just fine with that)

Grandma was a good sport, and even a dirty fighter at times, if I'm being honest. ;)

We were able to meet up the the Hales and Worthens, some of our dearest friends from the Chicago Law School days. Back in those days, there was one kid among the three couples and our conversations ran a little more smoothly. We kept laughing at how our lives had changed and seeing each other as parents now is a pretty funny sight. Here's 8 of the now 9 kids between us:

And here's the adults, all old and wrinkly. Oh no, wait. That's just me. Everyone else looks EXACTLY the same.

We ALL had a BLAST.

Grandma is always good for some cousin camp crafting. This was just one of the many.

The girls got to sneak out one afternoon for a nice lunch and the Nutcracker.

Kate might even have enjoyed it as much as I did.

And, now, I present to you:

Packer Cousins in Christmas Jammies.

"How was the drive home?" you may ask. 

Don't ask this guy.

He wouldn't know.
(This is another one of those "you know you're a parent when..." moments, where the person who sat in the driver's seat for two long days got the better end of the deal.)

But even I have to admit, it was pretty great. The twins were fantastic. Not a tear or a fight to account for. 

Yes, there were lots of movies and iPad activities. But there was also a lot of this:

but not nearly enough of this:

Did I say that out loud? What I meant to say was, Drew was a dream. Definitely did not ask 3 million questions in a 22 hour time. It didn't help that the kid doesn't like movies. So I guess considering that, he was pretty good, too. And it was pretty sad/cute, when we woke up the morning after we got home, he asked, "Do we have to get in the car and drive more today?"
Fine, I'll keep him.

Seriously, great trip. Not saying I want to make that drive every week, but it was WELL WORTH the fun we had. We are so lucky to have such wonderful families, who were willing to work around our schedules so that we could spend time with everyone.

Secor Christmas, part 2

The Secor grandkids make a fine nativity, don't you think?

And a more serious shepherd, you never did see.

 Until after the program, when he went around "hooking" people, because he heralded himself a "hooker." Yeah, he coined that term himself.

Funny family photo story: I set the timer and ran for it, so I wasn't really able to see the details of the photos until afterwards. We took two tries, 5 photos each. And in each one, Kate's hands were held up like that. I asked her what she was doing... " showing my nails."

Of course.

In her defense, Aunt Kiki really knows what she's doing.

Christmas Morning

Drew asked Santa for a "real life car." Santa wasn't entirely sure what a real life car was to a 2-year-old, but with a month of solid questioning, his elves determined that maybe he meant a remote control car? Well, Santa, you should be happy to hear that you were right. And, he loves it.

 Is it true that I selected the above photo based on Drew's face alone? Yes, it is.

Per family tradition, a kiss on the lips is the only way to thank cousins for a great gift.

 But that doesn't mean you can't wipe it off immediately.

The afternoon was made brighter by a Skype visit from Uncle Matt, his LAST CALL of his mission. He gets home, March 19th, 75 days away, not that anyone is counting.

After the call, we packed up our car and headed to Alpine to spend Christmas with the Packers.

So much fun, Secors! Worth every potty stop on the drive. 

A very Secor Christmas- part 1

Thanks to the persuasive powers of yours truly, the Lauren and Greg Packer family were able to visit with ALL of their immediate family members (minus one cute little North Carolinian missionary) this Christmas. 

We made the 22 hour drive to Utah Friday and Saturday and the fun began almost immediately.

Although photographic proof of that fun doesn't begin until Sunday afternoon, when my brother Jimmy blessed his sweet Lyla Jay. This picture doesn't do her beauty justice. She is a doll (thankfully, got her looks from her mom) and stole all of our hearts this week.

 That evening, we braved the cold to see the lights at Temple Square. I had visions capturing the magic in my bokeh*-filled photos, but when Drew face-planted 5 minutes into the visit, we had to settle for this gem. Which is just fine. Sometimes, the camera can get in the way. And this was a great opportunity visit with my family, on one of Earth's most sacred grounds.

*If you don't know what bokeh is, look it up. Or don't. It's just a photo-nerd word.

Monday morning, the Secors, in their typical Secor style, took a trip to the North Pole, via the Polar Express. Yep, you're jealous.

 Clearly, none of my kids had a good time.

 If you've never partaken of such holiday merriment, you might want to put this on your calendar for next year. And for the right price, you just might be lucky enough to score this little lady on your adventure. She's always up for a musical snack and she did not disappoint the train car with her rendition of, "All I want for Christmas is You."

 This jolly old man hopped on the train at the North Pole and rode down with us. We made sure he felt welcome.

Christmas Eve was an event in filled with fun and games. And fantastic food (cause what's a holiday without that, am I right?)

Aunt Stian pulled together some fun games...

of which the boys cheated in ALL of them.

And for the piece de resistance...

The Lip Sync-off:

The Jimmy Secor family: Once There Was a Snowman

The Scott Price Family: (some One Direction song, I don't know the name of, cause I'm old and uncool)

The Thomas Secor family: We Will Rock You

The Don Secor family: One Day More

The Greg Packer family: Katy Perry's Roar

Not pictured, since apparently no one else in my family knows how to work a camera

Don't you fret, my friends. Secor Christmas is not over. Stay tuned for part 2.