(The best) Christmas (ever)

Remember how I said a few weeks ago that we were trying to make this the best Christmas ever?  Well, mission accomplished!  We had so much fun with both of our families and made a lot of memories that will last a very long time.

The holiday celebrations started out with a Christmas party with my Dad's side of the family.  We had a delicious dinner and exchanged a few white elephant gifts.  When explaining the purpose of the white elephant gift I tried to emphasis something silly or something funny.  While everyone else brought nice things like candle holders and flower vases, Josh and I brought a santa hat with a matching lacey red thong.  Guess who picked that one up?  Grandma, of course!  and as I watched my free-spirited Gram slip the little red thong on over her pants (backwards, no less) I had to wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes.  (It's little moments like that that I sense He played a role in.  Don't you think?)

Because we were heading to Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with Josh's side of the family on Christmas Eve, we celebrated with my immediate family on Christmas Eve Eve.  We all stayed at the Main Street Inn and had a delicious dinner, followed by opening presents and ending with a nerf gun war through the hotel (using last years weapons, of course.)

Josh and I try really hard to get gifts for our friends and family that will create memories, not just something that meets a need or a check off of the "want" list.  This year we decided to purchase knit animal pilot hats for all of the "kids" in the family.  We tried to pick a hat that matched the wearer in one way or another.

Just as I suspected, they were a smash hit and a fun accessory to wear the rest of the night!

This next picture makes me feel all sorts of joyful inside.  Just remembering the giggling that was going on makes me feel so thankful for my silly siblings.

Pictured from left to right:

Kyrie (Mountain Lion), Brian (Lion), Katie (Koala Bear), Lindsay (Teddy Bear), Brad (Panda), Me (Polar Bear), and Joshua (Monkey)

The most amazing girl in the whole world.  This is the truth, I tell you.

Awwww!  Nala and Simba right there, folks.

Speaking of this couple, they gave us quite a laugh when we opened our present.  See, they framed their favorite pictures from their wedding day with each person in the family and gave that person a frame with the picture inside.  Well, this is the picture that we got:

Apparently, the groomsmen were being having a little fun with the photographer and this lovely photo was captured.  While everyone else got perfectly proper poses of themselves in lovely frames, I opened our gift up to find this one!  Needless to say, I think it's hilarious and really captures a little something about the man I married- so I am absolutely keeping it in the frame :-)  Now if I could just figure out the perfect place to display it....

On Christmas Eve we made our way down to Clearfield, Pennsylvania and surprised Josh's mom at Pizza Hut.  She cried which made me cry and I had a lovely first holiday with my new family.  We opened lots of presents, ate way to much food, played games, and enjoyed each other's company immensely. I seriously, seriously lucked out in the in-law department.  

How was your Christmas?  I hope it was grand!