Christmas Eve

Generally every year the Bush family goes skiing on Christmas Eve day.  The lines are always incredibly short and I have such fond memories of being up on the mountain with the family.  However, the snow was awful this year and most of the family had just rolled into town, so instead Gabe took Chelsea, Burke and I for a morning climb at the Rock Haus while the nieces and nephews played in the crusty snow in the yard.  

I was a little nervous that I wouldn't have any energy to climb the walls, but it turned out super fun even though my arms were burning by the end!  I'm very afraid of heights, so about halfway up each climb my heart would start pounding, even with the harness tightly secured around my hips.  I think we need to do this more often so I can temper my fears.  

Gabe has a membership and has turned into an incredible climber. I was way impressed with his skills and it was fun to watch him conquer some of the more difficult climbing patterns.  He even coached Burke through a tough climb, until he found himself in a semi-split and had to say, "Impossible!" :)

Later that night Burke and I cooked Salmon Newburg (a dish from my sister Cassie that I can actually cook by myself!) for our big dinner.  Following dinner we began the hustle and bustle of donning costumes for the Christmas Eve Nativity.  Our cast consisted of Karl as Joseph, Kaleo as Mary, baby Amira as baby Jesus, Gideo, Emmett and Tasha as Wise Men, Burke, Amy and Zakia as shepherds, Lydia as the Angel and myself as the star!

But the winner of costume creativity fell to Gabriel when he waltzed in wearing this little number...

Creepiest. Donkey. Ever.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the Nativity.  Dad has created a lovely program where the "actors" move in accordance to the scriptures being read by mama with hymns and carols sung in between each mini scene.  This year Lydia and Kaleo sang a special duet following the Nativity and I just loved sitting in the glow of the Christmas tree hearing their little voices testify of the birth of our Savior.

After opening matching cousin jammies, the kids were put to bed and we were able to enjoy a nice long talk as a family before last minute present wrapping and finally falling into bed ourselves.  Funny how the anticipation of Christmas morning for your own goodies fades with age, changed to excitement to see the faces of your loved ones.