That evening we were excited to have some of Tyson's family come to eat dinner and have a little Christmas party. Tyson nominated me to share my church talk with everyone since I had to give the Christmas talk in church a few weeks ago...if once was not enough! It really was nice to hear the Christmas story again.
Onto Christmas morning...well, first let me say that we tried to get Mackenzie to bed by 9 on Christmas Eve (HA! HA!). Normally she goes to bed by 10-ish (she's a night owl). She actually started acting tired by 9, but then decided to get up and go into the Christmas tree and plug the lights back in. She started dancing around the tree non-stop and singing all her Christmas songs and saying she was so excited. It was so adorable...HOWEVER, I never thought she would quit and Santa would ever be able to come that night! Finally at 11:30 she crashed. It was a long night.
By Christmas morning, she'd forgotten that she was going to open presents. We kept her away from the room where the tree was and were able to get ready for the day. Probably the last time that will happen. At 8:30 we went into see the tree and Mackenzie and Collin were so excited. Santa was very generous in bringing plenty of toys. They were both so excited. Santa's big mistake was that he didn't take all the toys out of their boxes and set them up...oops! It took us quite a few hours to get through opening presents that morning, with a breakfast break in between.
Mackenzie was most excited about her new stuffed animals. A great addition to her collection.
So my best Christmas present to myself was to surprise Tyson. I didn't mean to commercialize Christmas so much, but I was so excited to give Tyson his gift from me. There is nothing that I love more than surprises, both giving and receiving. There is nothing Tyson loves more than to spoil surprises (even to tell me my gifts from him). I told him I was determined for the first time ever to not have him find out what he was getting for Christmas. He guessed and snooped everyday for a solid month, but I made sure to not say a word. It was so exciting for me. So what did I get him??? I couldn't help myself than to get him what he has wanted from the day he got out of dental school (well actually long before that but it wasn't realistic then). I got him a 4-wheeler with a trailer. It was so fun to pull it off and quite nerve-racking too. He had guessed it a few times, but it wasn't a real guess. Nearly every weekend leading up to Christmas he wanted to go to the Honda shop to buy one himself, not knowing that I had already bought it. It was quite the chore evading all his questions, keeping him from looking at the bank statements, making excuses on how we couldn't make it to the Honda shop, stopping him from getting the mail, keeping Mackenzie quiet about it, etc. Christmas morning Tyson was still wondering where his big present was since the scene of packages around the tree hadn't changed from the night before. Once we got a few of the kids toys set-up, he went through his stocking and found a rattling box in the bottom. He knew exactly what it was...keys! He couldn't believe it and was so excited. I think I was more excited than he was though. We all ran outside in the 10 degree weather to look at it for about 5 seconds in our barefeet and then ran back in. It was fun!
Each Christmas, we always go sledding in the Beaver Mountains with all the cousins. Since it snowed a foot in town on Christmas, we spent the day sledding around town being pulled by the 4-wheeler. It was a lot of fun and there wasn't any big hill climbing involved which was great for me and the kiddos.
The Boy Sledding Crew
The Girl Sledding Crew
The girls in action with Collin at the wheel.
Tyson and Mackenzie having a break.
Tyler and Mackenzie showing off the snow depth.
So now after she met him, she always says No, No Santa whenever we bring up that Santa Claus is coming. Even when I wrapped a present with some Santa Claus paper on it, she got all upset and wanted the paper off!
Happy Birthday Collin! I can hardly believe our little baby is 1. This last year seems like such a blur with dental school, moving, and a new job, home, etc. Collin's been along for the ride and a pretty happy baby the whole time (except those miserable 2-3 months of colic :)). He's such a sweet and cuddly kid. He loves Mackenzie and she really adores him. They are both a blessing and joy to have around each day and we are so thankful they are part of our lives. 
Uncle Randy and Collin
Collin didn't know what to do with the cake. Tyson tried to help him a little, but he didn't really want his fingers dirty, which is very odd since he's usually always making a mess out of his food when I don't want him to. He would get frosting on his fingers and then try to wipe it off on his sweater. We helped him try the frosting to see if he would dive into the cake, but after a few minutes, and to all of our surprise, Uncle Randy picked him up and shoved his face straight down into the cake. It was quite funny. I was so worried he was going to cry, but he thought it was great, even with the frosting up his nose.
Mackenzie is such a great helper with opening the presents.
And so does Mackenzie.
So this is definitely a one-seater, but they will figure out how to make it two.
Collin loves to lay on Mackenzie and give her hugs, and she loves it too.
