Aw, Christmas. We had an extra lovely one that was so low-key. I spent a lot of the 24th cooking and preparing food. In the evening, we walked to the neighborhood park to sing Christmas carols with our friends. Then we returned home for French Onion Soup and salad. The kids opened up matching pajamas. They didn't really need pajamas but I'm in a point of crises where I'm not sure how much longer everyone will mind matching. I should've bought loose pajama pants for the teens though because they haven't worn them since. We got everyone to bed at a semi-reasonable time including Conor and I. Sweet, sweet memories.

Well, going with the goal of being present over Christmas, I took next to no photos on Christmas Day! Just a few snaps in the morning and one of Christmas dinner in the evening. It was a busy and full day. Lots more food and games. We hosted Christmas Dinner with grandparents and good friends. At the end of the day, I was exhausted! The children had a great day and they're really enjoying their new toys. This holiday season was 100% exhausting, but I'm not sure that I'd change anything!

Here are some photos of our Christmas Eve! This year, Christmas was all about playing games and eating food. It was a really special one, and I'll hopefully always remember it. I mean look at all those cute kids in matching pajamas!

We were so lucky to have a fun chocolate making day with Conor's mom. It's really fun to make chocolates and doesn't take nearly as long as I always think it will. Eating the chocolate is obviously the best part!

All year long, if we're driving through a forest, I always like to identify the trees that would make great Christmas trees. It's so fun to head out into the woods to hunt down a tree. And of course, because lots of trees grow on hillsides it can be a little complicated to find one. We tried out a new location this year and I was very pleased with the scenery. We found a great tree (most were far too big). It looked like a reasonable size in the forest, but when we got it home, we could really appreciate how large it is. We probably cut it down/back by half, but it looks so good and holds the ornaments up better than other trees we've had. I'm very happy with it! We sure liked being out in the snow in the gorgeous mountains with family and good friends.