Christmas Morning

Regarding the night before Christmas, I thought the saying went “not a creature was stirring…”  At about 5 am I heard some rustling near by bedroom door.  I figured it must be one of the three oldest, but I had no idea what they were up to.  Knowing it must be Christmas related and not wanting to ruin whatever surprise they had in mind I stayed quiet and after they’d finished I quickly went back to sleep.  When I woke up I found this taped to the inside of my bedroom door.  Jason had made it and commissioned Carly to put it up for him. 

It reads “Thank you for all the trips we done love, Jason” there were two small white paper boxes taped to the door, each with five precious Hershey kisses he’d received the night before.  Best gift of the day.

Christmas morning didn’t get started until 7:30 or 8am here.  The girls may have woken up a bit earlier than that, but nobody had to wait around long this year for the celebration to begin.  I’m always grateful to not have to get up early so it was perfect timing.  The kids lined up on the stairs to head downstairs and then everyone dug into their stockings.

Carly wasn’t sure what this could be – it’s a handy way to hang the girls’ headbands/belts on     

Abigail got a tube of my favorite lipgloss – Santa is a smart one! 

   

Katie had specifically put a “cat coloring book” on her wish list – score! 

   

The kids were excited to see that Santa had left us a family surprise – movie tickets and treats to see The Good Dinosaur over the holiday break.

The plan was to eat breakfast between stockings and gifts under the tree, but the kids couldn’t hit pause so we plowed through.

Abigail had Drew for her secret sibling and picked out a boogie board for him to take to church

Jason gave Katie a Minion coloring book – Amazon grossly exaggerated this JUMBO coloring book

I think it’s sweet that the girls purchase each other gifts even though they didn’t draw their name – fingers crossed that these girls stay friends forever.  Abigail bought Carly a cool coloring book and Carly bought Abigail some cute boot socks and a big candy bar.

Grandma and Val sent new cars for Drew and Katie was excited to receive a replenishment of fusion beads and new templates.  The big kids scored some spending cash to pick out something special they would like. 

The kids each got something clothing related – not much exciting but following a big trip to Hawaii they didn’t expect much so it was a great morning.  I did get the family a Bluetooth speaker – we might be the last people to own one, but it’s already gotten a lot of use and is nice to have.  The aftermath – not too bad, eh?

Justin had requested Waffle Love for breakfast  - yum, yum.

We spent the rest of the morning enjoying our new goodies and time together as a family before heading off to the Fletcher’s for more Christmas fun.

Christmas Eve

Sadly, I don’t remember much about what we did on Christmas Eve during the day.  Abigail made dinner though - yummy chicken biscuits.  We made our traditional sugar cookies for Santa, which required digging out 100 cookie cutters.

Jason wanted to deliver a few plates of cookies to his friends in the neighborhood.  His buddy Matthew gave Jason a bag of Hershey kisses in return – Jason was thrilled.

There were a few pictures taken in front of the finally decorated tree…

My five siblings and I have a Christmas gift rotation set up.  This year I had Lee.  When I asked him what he wanted for Christmas he mentioned he wanted Christmas decorations with a personal touch.  After much thought, I finally settled on a metal 3D star decorated with past Christmas pictures.  Looking through old Christmas photos from my childhood was so nostalgic and fun. My parents did a great job making Christmas special.  Something that stood out to me was that they acted out the nativity even when they just had my oldest two brothers.  The nativity is a Hipwell Family tradition I always looked forward to even when we’ve visited Utah over Christmas with my own kids. For some reason though it’s never dawned on me that I don’t have to be with my extended family to carry on this tradition.  With five kiddos we have plenty of bodies to do it on our own.  I put Carly in charge of putting together costumes.  Without any direction or help she managed to find fitting attire for each cast member.

Jason was cast as Joseph – beard and all.

Carly was cast as Mary 

   

Katie was cast as a shepherd – with a bat for a crook

Drew was supposed to be our angel – but didn’t dig his halo and oversized shirt

So Abigail played double roles as a sheep and the angel

Justin was the narrator and read from the Hipwell Family Bible

Abigail even managed to take a picture of me as the wiseman offering a gift {a rubiks cube} to the new baby Jesus

Justin showed us a Christmas video on his phone

And then the kids were each able to open one special gift.

Jason was super excited that he and Drew got the same basketball pajamas.  I don’t think they’ve ever been matching before.

New jammies for all!

The boys had a very short planking contest and then it was off to bed!

And to all a good night!

Christmas Card 2015

As I mentioned we used one of the few pictures of all of us in Kauai for our Christmas card this year.  Nothing fancy about it – mismatched and in swimsuits no less, but it was a fitting picture to include as we looked back on 2015.

Justin wrote the Christmas letter on the back this year (his first):

Five kids with all their activities kept our family humming along for a memorable 2015.  JUSTIN ran the Spartan Super in October, an 8+ miler with obstacles, and lost some poundage along the way.  He was recently asked to serve as a family history center director.  HOLLY ran in her first (and likely only) half marathon in Disneyland this May and is serving in the Relief Society presidency. 

ABIGAIL (13) joined the no-braces club and plays vball, soccer, bball and the flute while maintaining her 4.0 GPA.  She is thrilled to be taller than her mom.  CARLY (11) loved her first season of lacrosse.  She started middle school in the fall where she plays the clarinet and earned a 4.0.  A & C  both continue to play the piano.  JASON (8) was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this summer.  He started piano lessons this year and enjoys Cub Scouts, soccer, and playing with friends.  KATIE (5) was a good little reader when she started kindergarten this fall.  She finished her first season of soccer and was our star boogie boarder when we visited Kauai earlier this month.  DREW (2) is the cutest kid, gets into everything, and loves to play hoops. 

Travel highlights – Hipwell Family Reunion in Silverthorne, CO - 40 hour RT drive, nightly bear visits, family fun, hiking in the Rockies, Estes Nat’l Park / H & J weekend trip to Utah - Women’s panel for the BYU School of Accountancy, SLC Temple visit, mountain hiking / Kauai – stunning landscapes, Hanalei Bay boogie boarding, Waimea Canyon, kayaking, hiking thru mud, waterfalls, “no doors” helicopter ride (adults only), shaved ice, snorkeling with turtles, Napali Coast.

Our family wishes each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.