Merry Christmas!

Christmas was so fun this year. Last night Padilla's came over and we had a great time. We started the night off snacking on food and hangin' out. Then we all collected into the family room to sing Christmas carols and play chimes. (A Walker/Padilla tradition.)

Next we read the Nativity story from the scriptures and the kids acted it out. My favorite costume was the one Josh came up with. (For those of you who can't quite figure out his creative vision... he's the donkey.)

Then the kids opened their new pajamas and headed to bed.

After which Me, Joe, Grammy, and Grandpa watched "It's a Wonderful Life" while we set up all the Christmas goodies for the kids. Here's what it looked like before we all headed up for a not-so-long winter's nap:

All the kids were up bright and early the next morning. (Like 5:30am bright and early.) We made them wait until 6:00 before we let them head down stairs. They were so excited. I was kind of frustrated because I couldn't get them to hold still long enough to take a picture of them while they walked down the stairs. This is the best one I got:
In hindsight I think it's pretty funny. And it definitely shows how excited they were.

Santa was good to everyone this year...
Tommy got a Slide. (Grandpa is hovering close by to make sure all goes well with his first try;)

Dallin asked Santa for a new "big boy bike". One of the neighbors broke his 3 wheeler a few months ago so Dallin has had to make due sharing Emmy's old pink bike the last little while.

Emmy asked for a new bike as well.

Last year Julianne got "Julie" the American Girl doll for Christmas and she has been wanting "Julie's Bed" ever since. So that's what Santa brought for JJ.

Becky has been asking for a pair of Roller Blades for a while now and Santa was happy to help out.

After church a few of the "Maryland Padilla's" and our friends the Harper's came over and we enjoyed a delicious dinner of Prime Rib Roast, Spiral cut Ham, twice baked potatoes, green salad, steamed green beans with bacon and onions, homemade rolls, and hot fudge cake!

We have the special privilege of having Joe's parents in town to spend Christmas break with us and we are treasuring every minute.
I tried getting a picture with every one but I couldn't get one where every one is looking (or has their eyes open:) at the same time. These two are the best I could do: ( I need to learn how to cut and paste so I can combine a few pictures into one!)