{more holiday fun . . .}

Continuing on with the Holidays . . . I think the most eventful day we have is Christmas Eve. The fun starts at 9 am with the Hammer family and the pinatas! I'm not exactly sure where this tradition began, but I'm sure you can imagine how much the kids just love it! Because there are 19 grandchildren, we have one for the boys and one for the girls.

Ladies first . . .

Ayden and Brandt waited patiently for their turn.

And then it was Ayden's turn to hit . . .

And heres just a little glimps into the botherly love that exists amongst the Hammer clan.

After the pinata fun is over we clean up and head back to Brammy and Bapa's house for the Nativity. Brammy has the best costumes and the kids have a blast getting all dressed up!

{Sophie makes a beautiful angel}

{Ayden and Brandt were sheep}

And of course, Logan had to take the opportunity to mock his Mother's earring.

(After this many years, the holes he pierced in high school are still open.)

The kids get really excited after the Nativity because they know it's time for Santa to come! We sit around singing Christmas Carols and await his arrival.

I'm pretty sure most of the kids know that Santa is Bapa, but it is still magical.

Once the Hammer fun comes to an end, we load up and head down to Orem where the fun is just beginning! When we got there, Laura had an activity all ready for the kids!

Here they are making gingerbread houses.

Here's a picture of the girls, minus Jenny. She and Trevor were with his family this year and we missed them.

After a delicious dinner, we have a Christmas program where everyone is given the opportunity to perform. The kids did a great job singing jingle bells together.

We also showed the video of our kid's dance concert. It was fun for them to get to show off the dances they've been working on since everyone wasn't able to attend the concert. Then the kids have another opportunity to act out the Nativity, this time in a smaller group. My awesome sister Laura sewed me costumes as part of my Christmas present this year.

Both Ayden and Connor wanted to be wise guys, and Andrew had his heart set on being a shepherd, so Abby volunteered to be Joseph. Sophie was Mary and McKinley was the angel.

Once the program was over, Gramps and Gram gave us all our traditional box of cereal. Then, after a long and very eventful day, we headed back up to Layton. Last year was the first year that we did Christmas morning at our own house. We usually stay in Orem. But we had an idea of what Santa may be bringing the next morning and as his helpers we needed to be there to deliver the gift.

It was another successful Christmas eve, and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful family to spend it with.