Christmas Day

Our traditional shots without Ben...

And then our traditional forcing of Ben to be in the pictures :)

A pretty normal Christmas morning...

except that it was Josh's last with us for 24 months and...

I was excited anticipating Matt's furry surprise :)!

Abby surprised and excited about her gift  of  Twilight Zone DVD from Gpa and Gma Olsen.

I know Andy was excited about receiving cleaning supplies two years in a row from me :)

Abby's Christmas wish was the Audubon Bird's of America book...

...she was thrilled!

I'm not sure Josh was as thrilled about all his mission stuff he kept opening...but what do you do when you get set apart the day after Christmas???

Andy found special pillows for Abby and Matt...

Uncle Fatty for Abby...

...and an axolotl for Matt.

Andy kind of presented Matt's pillow as a substitution for a real axolotl (because he had jokingly suggested that for a live pet) so Matt was coming to grips with the fact that he wasn't getting a pet.

In the mean time I had Abby run upstairs and grab the bunny and act like nothing was going on.

Matt just kept talking and looking at his pillow...really looking anywhere but at Abby...and so Andy finally had to say something to get him to look over at Abby.

Here is the moment he saw what was in her arms...

Haha...he was pretty excited!

After going through a few different names for him, Matt finally landed on Thaddeus.

I had him add "Sir" and then a few weeks later, Andy added Thumpkin as a last name :)

"Sir Thaddeus Thumpkin"

Later that day we went over to Mom and Dads.

Some finished their paintings while other played games and such.

It was a fine holiday!

 

Christmas Eve

Matt wanted a pet for Christmas.

I looked into a reptile...a gecko to be specific...but then I found out you need to buy live crickets for them multiple times a week.  I didn't want to be tied to that so I talked to Andy about what else we could do.

From what he said it sounded like if we were to get another pet he would be most okay with another rabbit.  So I checked KSL and found a sweet, little lop for sale in Smithfield.

I picked him up Christmas Eve morning and we hid him under Abby's bed.

T had arranged to give us all an art lesson that afternoon.

Abby went over early to help her set up.

She gave us some basics and then turned us loose with our canvases.

We all  really enjoyed painting and had a fun time with it.

(Dad was kind as always and took care of Ben while we created)

Jo had a surprise for us that evening.

In Grandpa Kidd's history it talks about his brother going to the theater and being surprised to see Grandpa in a short film preceding the feature about the convalescing soldiers.  Mom had tried to track it down but had found little success.

Jo secretly took it upon himself to find it.  

After much time (2 years I think), effort and persistence, everything payed off and it was sent to him from across the pond.

He shared it with us that night.

Mom was so surprised and grateful.

It was a special, sweet moment.

 

Christmas Duet Recital

The annual Holiday Duet recital is always a favorite!

Matt played Joy to the World Duet Fantasy.

Abby played Sleigh Ride by Hyde and Tedesco

They both did such a great job!  I was really proud of my kids!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of all the support that came...

Jo and T and James along with Grandpa and Grandma Olsen.

Dad was kind enough to take Ben out into the halls when he became a little rambunctious.

 It was a fun, festive evening!!!