when i was young we lived across the street from the sibbett's, and we loved them. mike and joyce are such wonderful people. they always took care of grandma cindy, uncle zac and me...you know, watched out for us and kept an eye on us to make sure everything was okay. grandma cindy is still good friends with joyce and mike, and we see them occasionally. anyhow, the sibbett's had a group of friends from college who they vacationed with, had annual parties with, went to dinner with etc, etc, and i remember, from a pretty young age, thinking how fun it would be to have friends who you had known for so long. i always hoped that as i went off to college i would find such a group of friends.
lucky for me, i met your dad while going to utah state, and he had some great friends who he lived with and did almost everything with...ben clark, dave mcconnel, dan walker and mike ferrell (gary and mary halverson and zack and amber spencer are also included in this great group of friends, but we didn't really get to know them until a few years later). naturally, as we started spending more and more time together i got to know these guys (along with their respective wives/girlfriends) and since then we have all been great friends. i feel so fortunate to know such wonderful people, who are such great examples to us and so much fun to be around. with the exception of the clark's, halverson's and spencer's (who i didn't know yet when they got married) we have been to all their wedding's. three of us had babies whose due dates were all within a week of one another (krew, max and you!). we have been on vacations with them and this past summer we had our very first friendunion with all these guys.
needless to say, it is so much fun to have friends who you have known for quite some time, and have been there to support them, as they have supported us, through the different and exciting stages in our lives. we have established some traditions with them that i know we will cherish for a lifetime, and as we have introduced little ones (like you!) into the mix, it makes everything even more special.
one of the traditions that started years ago was the annual christmas party. i must admit i have only attended one (the other years we had conflicts due to bridal showers, vacations and work). however, the one that i did attend was super fun. :) the mcconnels started this tradition, and up until this year it has been held at their house since it was a good "middle ground" while most of us were living in logan. but now that most everyone has moved southward, we decided it would be easiest at our house, as it has become the new "middle ground."
i was so excited to host the christmas party this year. as you well know, i love to host parties, and i think i am pretty good at it, if i do say so myself. ;) since this is your first christmas, as well as krew's, max's, madi's, and harper's, i wanted to do everything i could to make it extra special. we enjoyed a delicious meal (well, you guys didn't, but the adults did), thanks to all of our talented chef friends...there was a cheese/meat tray, cheese ball, funeral potatoes, a salad, ham, rolls, and two yummy desserts.
after eating dinner we just hung out and talked for a while. whenever we have parties here it seems that all the guys end up down stairs on the couch while the women hang out and talk in the kitchen. but not this time! the girls claimed the couch, leaving the men in the kitchen...it was great! well, as we were talking there was a knock on the door, then all the sudden i heard a "ho, ho, ho...merry christmas!" i walked up stairs to see what it was, and santa claus was standing in our living room!!!!! can you believe it?!?! santa claus came all the way from the north pole to our house, just to get our holiday season started off with a BANG! that just made my night complete.
santa came bearing gifts for you and all your friends. you each received a book and a cute little sock monkey from him! after taking turns sitting on santa's lap we took lots of pictures and sang some christmas songs. we then took a few more pictures before bidding santa farewell!
after the white elephant gifts were exchanged we just sat around and talked for a while longer. all the babies did pretty great for being up past their bedtimes, i was impressed. you and mr. krew had the same pajamas that night, so we couldn't resist snapping some shots of you two cuties.
love,
mom
