Grandmpa G's retirement

One last post for December! After 42 years (I think) my Dad is finally retiring from the State of Utah as a Mechanic. He has been a dedicated employee to the state for many years! He was always an example to us kids of being a dedicated, hard worker. We celebrated by spending an evening with him and the adults in the family at a fun dinner at Maddox (always a favorite). I look forward to him being able to spend some time doing what he loves and not having to get up for work every Monday morning.

Christmas Day

I don't think the excitement of Christmas ever goes away, even as your kids grow up, there is still that excitement of what surprises will show up Christmas morning. Even the dog got a surprise this year :) After the morning festivities out our house we always get to enjoy a yummy breakfast with our awesome neighbors hosted by the Clarks. What a fun tradition this is! The kids love to see their friends and I must say the adults love to see each other too. Oh, and the food is always YUMMY! After breakfast we always get a fun visit from both Grandparents. The kids love to show what new stuff they have received.
After a little rest and relaxation we then get to spend the evening with the Watkins family for more Christmas fun. Our tradition for this get together is to have breakfast with crepes. YUM! This is definitely a favorite for all! We also do the fun gift exchange and "sock gift". As you can see the boys all got a entertaining gift from grandpa and grandma. These toys entertained them until they all starting breaking, but they were fun while they lasted. It's always a fun night together as a family. This year did not disappoint. We all got a little surprise this year when before the night ended, Grandma and Grandpa had a special gift for everyone. They had a card with poem for each of us that told us that they were turning their papers in to serve a couples mission for the Church. This is something Grandpa has always wanted to do and apparently finally talked Grandma into going. It was a fun but a little emotional surprise for the evening. It will be fun to see what the next few months bring as they await their call.

Christmas Eve

We don't have any real set Christmas traditions for Christmas Eve except spending the time together as a family. This year we headed down to the Gallivan Center for some ice skating. It was a little crowded but minus a few sore behinds still a great time. After the ice skating we enjoyed dinner at Texas Road House. Always fun to have a yummy Christmas Dinner that you don't have to cook or clean up.





After dinner we headed home for some dessert fondue. At the last minute we invited our good friends the Hammonds to join us on their way back home. It turned out to be such a great time that might just become a new tradition. Funny how I ended up with just pictures of the Hammond family.




After the fondue it was time to settle down and get ready for that long winters nap. The kids opened their one gift (PJ's of course), we read the Christmas story together as a family and then it was off to sleep to see what the next day brings.

Temple Square

We made the annual trip to Temple Square at Christmas time. We ended up going with 2 of Blake's brothers families. After our dinner stop at Crown Burger we bundled up and headed out to Temple Square. It is always so beautiful and fun to feel the spirit of Christmas. I'm sure we take it for granted to be so close to just a great Christmas tradition. The kids weren't too great cooperating with pictures but we did sneak a few in of the beautiful sights.

Godfrey Family Christmas Party

So, the Godfrey Christmas Party was at our house this year. I must say it's always nice to be home and not have to make a snowy drive home. Well, this year I decided to go for it and do a formal dinner with real plates and tablecloths. Yes, definitely more work but certainly worth it. I should have taken more pictures before we made a mess of it all, but I did get one of the kids table. We enjoyed the evening together exchanging gifts and letting the kids do a little talent show for us. The highlight of the evening was Eliza and Avery getting there little doll cradle, made by Grandpa. He has made them for all the girls so far so it was fun for him to carry on the tradition. We feel so lucky to be close enough to enjoy the holidays together with our family.