Christmastime [Was] Here

This is the obligatory [late] post where I tell you how wonderful it was to get some time away from school.  No, really, I tasted what freedom is like and it's addictive.  I just have to stave off the addiction for 8 months more...

Here's how our holiday happened (intentional alliteration).

At the beginning of December, we bought a tree.  I loved our little tree.  We got it at a lot and selected a "Noble Fir," which we were informed is known for its "white stomata," i.e. the bottom of the needles were silvery.  I was just happy that it was small enough for our apartment, smelled nice, and looked cute, even if I did have to water it a lot.

Blue's parents came by a week or so before Christmas, so we decided to celebrate a bit earlier with them since we weren't able to go to their house for the actual holiday.  We exchanged gifts and made funny faces.

Blue's mom enlisted my help making a floral arrangement to match her front room.  This was the final result, and it turned out quite nicely if I do say so myself (and I do).  Maybe one day I'll turn into one of those bloggers that's a self-taught professional florist/baker/chef/photographer/graphic artist... ha.

On Christmas Eve we went to my Grandma's house for the traditional get together.  I remember when we were little and we'd all rush to the front room first thing to find our presents under the tree.  Now we're all old and try to act casual like we don't care if we even got any presents or not.

One of our traditions is to read "The Cajun Night Before Christmas," which is basically "The Night Before Christmas" with a southern flair.  You know, Santa's sleigh is pulled by flying gators and all that.

Then we open presents.  Yes, for some reason, on my dad's side of the family, they open all their presents (except those from Santa) on Christmas Eve.  As you can see, Grandma's present was almost bigger than her.

On Christmas day, we enjoyed the Christmas program at my parents' ward.  Following that, we came back to their house and I made ebelskivers, a tradition on my mom's side of the family.  We were also able to talk to Littlest Brother, who seems to be doing well on his mission.

Since there aren't any small children on my side of the family, we waited until after 12:00 to open presents.  Blue was unaccustomed to this, and he got a tad impatient waiting.

Here's Blue opening his favorite kind of present: a sweater.  But one full of delicious flavor: a Psych sweater!

And my Mom opening a present.  We got her her favorite British TV show:

Keeping Up Appearances, starring: My Mom!  

She couldn't believe we'd put her picture on there.  But she loved it so much that she decided to keep the cover looking like this, since after all, she's just like Hyacinth Bucket (that's Bou-quet!).

My dad sporting a couple of his presents: a scarf and a tie.

And here are a couple of Blue's presents: bucky balls, and his first ever video game that he didn't program himself: Zelda (which he's playing as I type this).

I really enjoyed the break from school and the time I spent with family and friends.  With any luck, by next Christmas I'll be done with school forever! *Fingers crossed*