We had such a wonderful Christmas Day at Mom's house in Vineyard, Utah.
Her house was just so festive...
she even had two beautiful Christmas trees!
Her dining room was all decked-out Christmas morning.
She's probably not had so many gifts under her tree in a very long time!
All the stockings neatly laid out in a row.
And Mom in the Christmas spirit wearing her Christmas tree earrings!
First order of business was breakfast...
Brad and I made custom omelettes with sausage gravy, with our traditional Rhodes Cinnamon rolls.
It was then time to open our stockings, Brad and I made (actually our friend Shannon in KY made them and Virginia helped us decorate them) our newly married kids, and their spouses, the traditional Manwaring stockings.
All the gifts that were under the tree were then passed out to everyone according to name.
Then one-by-one we all took turns opening our gifts starting with the youngest (we like to draw things out, plus it's always fun to see what everyone else gets too).
Mom loving her new Bosch mixer (her old one was over 30 years old) from Brad and me,
so she can continue her bread-making legacy!
Mom with all of her "very thoughtful" gifts.
Brad trying on his "bear" pullover from Merinda (who's trying to keep him warm and stylish).
Wearing his bear sweatshirt made him remember the days when he used to pretend to be a real bear and go up to the kids and sniff and growl in their little faces (just one of the many reasons their scarred!)
Sorry Breck, Iris can't save you from the big scary bear!
Brad and I with our treasures which included Fabletics for me (Merinda again keeping us comfortable and in style), and so many other wonderful gifts from everyone!
Brittney sporting her new smart watch from Sean...
and their other treasures which included a framed picture of Christ from Brad and me.
I loved Brittney and Sean's festive attire and I'm not sure if she's popping his back, giving him a hug, or saving his life with the Heimlich in this picture!
Aubrey and her gifts which included a large bag from Breck and Iris for her new career as a teacher.
Breck showing off his gifts including a cute little lighted Christmas tree ornament from Grandma celebrating his and Iris' first Christmas together!
Hugs all around (since he's my hugger).
Iris with her gifts,
and the both of them trying to keep all their new things somewhat contained.
Merinda with her new Fitbit watch from us, and fuzzy sweatshirt and socks from Grandma, because you can never have enough of those in the winter!
After gift-opening it was then time for my personal favorite...Game Time!
Sean and Brittney reading the directions,
and everyone else ready with their game faces on! Even though I pretty much lose every game every time we play, I just love it when our family gets together and we're all laughing with playful banter, just enjoying one another's company...it's one of my favorite things in the whole world! But alas, all good things must come to an end, Mom had to go to work, Brittney and Sean had to spend some time with Sean's family, and everyone else went back into their caves (but it was sure fun while it lasted!).
Sean and Brittney had their game faces on once again while playing more games at Sean's house.
Brittney's thinking "what a weirdo...
...but I sure love him!"
This picture is so cute with Sean's dad peaking through the back!
Sean and Brittney with Sean's sister, brother, and his brother's husband.
It was such a wonderful Christmas and but so sad to see it end, luckily we still had one more opportunity to meet with the whole Heelis family again at the Luminaria ...
