Christmas Vacation 2007

Our Christmas vacation started out on December 11, when my sister and I became saints by taking our kids on a cross-country flight alone. It was like a circus coming down the aisle of the plane- two adults, two ornery preschoolers, two screaming toddlers, two diaper bags, a DVD player, two backpacks, two purses, and 6 coats- all held by my sister and I. People were staring at us, and I am 100% positive they were thinking "I hope they don't sit by me." I even apologized in advance to the person sitting in front of Jack: "I'll just say sorry now for the amount of times he kicks your chair and screams in your ear. I hope you weren't planning on sleeping or anything." She just smiled and said it was fine, and lo and behold, we made it in one piece to Seattle. I was definitely expecting a breakdown on the way there (by me, not my kids) but we made it. Whew.

I left earlier than Adam because my brother, Kory, was coming home from his mission the next day. My mother had someone make a cheesy sign for him, on bright yellow paper. I'm sure everyone thought we were so weird. Anyway, we all have him huge hugs and went out to lunch with him. He is definitely bigger than I remember, and more spiritual (he wanted to say prayers at every meal, even lunch!) and it was nice to spend some time with him before he went off to BYU to get married... I mean, get his degree :) hint hint Kory! He's way cute, so if any of you have eligible sisters, cousins, etc at BYU, I'll send Kory their way!

Kelli, Celeste and I holding the biggest sign ever made by man. I'm sure Kory saw this while he was still on the plane :)

My mom, dad, and Kory waiting for his luggage. I don't think my parents wanted to leave his side for a while, they even walked to the carousel with him just to watch his luggage come off (and help too, I guess).

Adam and I took the kiddos down to Vancouver for a few days as well. We went down for a family Christmas party and it was a lot of fun. My father-in-law Ed played Santa and Olivia got a manetic Barbie dress up book. Saying she loves it is an understatement, and honestly I find myself getting caught up making Barbie look awesome in some outfit or another. Jack got a teddy bear which I want to steal because it is so soft! We were able to spend some time at the mall as well, where Jack and Olivia sat on Santa's lap and got candy canes. I thought Jack would cry or, worse, pull Santa's (real!) beard, but he just stared at Santa like he wasn't sure which one of those he wanted to do ("Cry? or pull? What do I do?!"). We also went to this street called Peacock Lane, where every year the homeowners light up their homes and huge crowds come and drive or walk down the street. It was a lot of fun, but very cold.

My niece Emma, my father-in-law Ed, and Jack at the Christmas party. Jack wasn't feeling well and wouldn't let anyone hold him (or get near him) besides Adam and I, so this picture is one of a kind for that night.Olivia and her Barbie book. Who knew a 3 year old could be so fashionable?
The Poyfair family enjoying the lights of Peacock Lane. My nose gets way too red in the cold...

Afterwards, we came back up to Lakewood to finish Christmas shopping... but first I had something on my to-do list that I had been wanting to do before our trip, but my mother made me wait until we got to Lakewood- cut Olivia's hair! I had been wanting to cut it chin-length for a long time. Olivia cries and cries when I comb her hair, or even mention combing her hair. Plus the ends of her hair were still baby hair, since her only other hair cut was at 18 months. So we went to a kids hair salon and did it. She was very brave, sitting in her fighter jet (they didn't have any girly chairs, just a motorcycle and a jet!). She's so cute now, and looks very grown up.

Before

After

We decorated Christmas cookies for Santa, and Santa himself even showed up at our house with candy for the kids. The younger kids, Roman and Bryce, just cried when Santa showed up. Jack stared at him again ("Cry or pull the beard? What do I do?!") and Olivia, Rix, and Hayden danced and jumped around. My mother had them singing Jingle Bells around the house before Santa came too, she even rang bells too. Are you getting a picture of how chaotic my parent's house was for the three weeks we were there?

Hayden, Rix, and Olivia decorating cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve morning.
Olivia placing her cookie on the plate. Hayden cried when he had to put his cookie on the plate- he wanted to eat it instead. It was kind of funny, and my sister got a fabulous picture of it.
Olivia on Santa's lap, although I've never seen a Santa with black gloves before. Anyway, she told him she wanted Princess Luciana (from Barbie as Island Princess), which of course she hadn't mentioned until earlier that day, so "Santa" had to run from one store to another to find this doll, finally finding it at the last store, 20 minutes before they closed. I hope Olivia doesn't pull that one again next year.

Christmas was way fun this year, since Olivia understands more about Christmas this year than years past, and Jack was so excited to see all the toys he got. We were all spoiled. Adam got XM radio for his car and he surprised me with a Kitchenaid. Behold the crazy video he used to show me my present (since he definitely could not bring it from Ohio to Washington on the plane):

My brother-in-law Jeremiah is the talented thespian who played "Carissa". I'm wondering, though, how much caffeine and/or lack of sleep it took to talk him into playing that part? Anyway...


After Christmas, my sisters and I went full force into planning my mother's surprise 50th birthday party. The party was also on the same night as Adam's and my 6th anniversary (we celebrated at breakfast at Panera's that morning instead of dinner). We held it at the church cultural hall, where she thought she was having tithing settlement. We had been planning this party since summer, so it was nice to see it come to life. I'm just glad I don't have to plan another surprise party for a loooong time. It was hard to keep things from my mother, who somehow seems to know everything. The food was delicious, and my mother was able to see friends she hadn't seen in a long time.
The food table. I went in there thinking we wouldn't have enough food for everyone, but thanks to Costco and our all day baking session and my aunt's cooking, we had plenty.My mother after the "Surprise!" That's my dad in the doorway, loving every minute of this. He told my sisters and I while we were planning the party: "I don't care how much you spend, just don't go overboard and keep your receipts." So he funded it, and we planned it. Nice, huh?
Olivia wearing the tiara meant for my mom. She can't be 20 feet from a crown without wanting to wear it.Jack was so tired and overwhelmed at this point, that he just kept crying for no reason, so I made the mistake of giving him a cupcake. I don't know why I thought he'd be clean about the whole thing. He was so covered in cupcake it wasn't even funny (but funny enough to take a picture of). Notice most of it is on his shirt, not his face.


New Year's is always over rated to me. I don't really see the point in staying up until midnight to drink some sparking cider. I never feel any different afterwards, and I always wish I had just gone to sleep early instead. I am not a late night person, usually 11pm is late enough for me. But I knew we had to be up early the next day to get on the airplane, so I was way more tired than I should have been. We played some card games and watched drunk people partying on TV. We also made an awesome buffet of deviled eggs, bruschetta, tomato and mozzarella on toast, cheeseballs, and Pomegranate 7Up. At midnight, I drank a sip of sparkly something (I think it was peach, but since I was expecting apple, it tasted like crap to me), kissed Adam and went to bed. I forgot that I wouldn't see my dad, my brother, my sister and her family since we were all leaving the next day and I didn't get to properly say good bye to them. I cried the next day when I realized that, but I'm sure they remember how airheaded I am. Example: We're playing Phase 10 and I say "6,4,1- crap! I just told you all what I needed!" I honestly meant to say it in my head, but you know, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box sometimes (but sometimes I surprise myself).

It's nice to be home where we can get back to our routine, although we always miss our families who live so far away. We are also excited for next year, when we can actually buy presents for the kids and each other that we don't have to think "Can I fit this in my suitcase?" before we buy it. I am looking forward to actually putting up a tree and decorating it, making our own little family traditions, and trying to make my own Christmas dinner. We hope all your holidays were as fun and chaotic as ours was!

And now, for the best part of the post- the random pictures that I wanted to share but not necessarily blog about!
My dad was being awarded "Remodeler of the Year" for Pierce County, so he and my mother got dressed up for a dinner and awards show. It was fun for them.
Reason number one that I want Jack to learn to use a spoon and fork already! He loves his mashed potatoes, but come on! Try and not fingerpaint with them!
My kids in their Christmas Sunday clothes. Notice they are not together- it was impossible for them to sit together and both look at me at the same time. The people at JCPenney now have me in awe on how they can get my kids to take pictures together!

This is a classic Poyfair Christmas picture. One (or both) of my kids ends up having a meltdown every Christmas day. I'm sure the chaos of opening presents and all has something to do with it, but I have a picture every year so far of at least one meltdown, and this year the award goes to Jack.
Olivia playing with Princess Luciana and Hayden playing with Island Princess (both of whom sing when you press their necklaces, causing much eye-rolling on the part of my family).Rix playing with Island Princess. These Barbies caused a lot of arguments between the kids. Who knew boys liked Barbie so much? I'm sure their fathers are so proud right now :)And finally, my new nephew Cole. He is a really good baby and is so cute. I could carry him around all day!