Pre-Christmas and Christmas Eve 2007

We were at my parents' house from Saturday afternoon to Christmas night. The fun began soon after we got there. Emily and her family were there from North Carolina and Beebe and her family were there from Nor Cal (they drove through the night so her husband could watch the Vegas Bowl with Bryan and my Dad). Bryan smoked ribs and turkey (which is why we look forward to football games) and my sisters did the sides.

For Christmas Eve we have a "Mexican Fiesta" and reenact a brief (toddler) version of the Nativity. The Elders from my mom's ward and from the YSA ward were over for dinner and made wonderful sheep. The 3 little boys were the Wise Men, my Dad was the narrator, Em & AJ were Mary & Joseph (H was sleeping so he missed being baby Jesus), Mom,Jill, Matt and Ryan were shepherds, Mike was a donkey (I think), Tyler was the Star, I was the angel, Bryan and Beebe were shepherd to the Wise Men (Katie was at work and missed it all). When we were done, we loaded up into cars and took off to some neighborhood near Rancho Cucuamonga that is FABULOUSLY decorated with lights. We had a bit of excitement before we reached our destination, Beebe ran out of gas but had Tyler, Jill and Ryan in with her and us right behind them. The gas station was up a little hill, so when it wouldn't roll anymore- the 3 passengers in their car jumped out and started pushing and Bryan & I jumped out (but I jumped into the driver's seat). I got C and Lil A out of our car (falling asleep) to get candy. We got to the lights with a little confusion but it was worth it. But after walking for a while, a few of us needed to use the bathroom, Tyler being the non-shy guy he is, asked someone outside of their house where the closest public restroom was. The man offered his house (which we were EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for) and gave Big A a bag of popcorn (people stand outside their houses with popcorn machines, coffee, hot chocolate, tamales for sale). We wished we had brought our wallets so we could have paid for the popcorn (and the bathroom). I don't have any photos from the lights but I know some were taken.