{Christmas-2010}

Christmas 2010....can we say I'm a bit behind on blogging? To keep this simple and thus make it more likely that I'll catch up BEFORE Christmas 2011, this is going to be a post of many pictures and few words!

Looks like Santa may have found the Dearden kids and left them just what they asked for.....despite their occasional naughty-ness!

Carlie was thrilled with her Zoobles and their play lands!
Brock was impressed that Santa listened to his repeated instructions about the speed, scale and shocks on his remote control car. (it could have helped that his Dad may or may not have fed all that important information to him, and Dad and Santa are tight!)
Lizard boy looks pretty happy too!

We decided to try something new at our house this year and simplify a bit. We told the kids ahead of time to only expect three gifts from us. We talked to them about the Wise Men bringing the Savior three gifts and that we'd like that to be our new family tradition. They all agreed, but I don't think they really thought we'd stick to it. I have to admit, it was hard not to throw in a few extra things here and there, but we stuck to it.
New shoes for everyone..... including mom, guess I didn't get a picture of myself. Is it just me or do Brock's shoes look huge..... well, my 10 year old wears the same size shoe as me now, and my feet aren't tiny!
The STAR of the day...... FURIOUS DRAGON (quite the name Kaleb came up with), Fury for short.

This picture cracks.me.up.!! Does Kaleb not look a tad bit concerned. Apparently when bearded dragons get mad/agitated, their beard not only puffs out, it can also turn a dark grey/black color. Kaleb was sure something was VERY wrong with his new pet and I think he was wondering if maybe he should have asked for something else!

Is there anything better than Christmas smiles?

After the festivities at home and letting the kids enjoy gifts for a bit, we ventured (the whole 1/2 a block) to my mom and dad's for breakfast. I look forward to Christmas breakfast all year. My dad makes omelets.... only on Christmas, and they are YUMMERS! The kids all got personalized plates and Derrick and I scored the steam cleaned that I'd been coveting. After visiting and hanging out a bit, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Dearden's where I took NOT ONE PICTURE? I never seem to remember. Ted and Sheri spoiled all of us, and Christmas dinner was fantastic!
Derrick's mom came and stayed a few weeks after Christmas and we had fun visiting and spending some time with her also! (once again NO pictures)