I decided to start this post with a quote that I really like and that means something to me at the present time. For those of you out there that are full-time homemakers or parents, this quote may mean something similar to you as it does to me. Being a parent is truly a learning experience. I think that being able to find humor in even the most trying situations and moments is a saving factor. It helps me to enjoy every day and most of it comes from my sweet little Evan.
We enjoyed spending the holiday season with our families. We laughed, played, ate, and even puked together... Ah, memories.
Well, we started off the holidays by taking Evan on his very first plane ride to Omaha, NB. He did really well... only crying a little bit during the process of landing. During the flight he kept us entertained by his enthusiastic interest with the window shade.
The Tucker clan met there at Joel and Kaira's house to celebrate Christmas. We had fun playing games together...Duane and I decided to buy the "Mexican Train' game 
because we had so much fun playing it with Mama Tucker, Janeen, and Joseph. Evan also enjoyed the game "Mexican Train"...well at least he enjoyed chewing on and playing with the dominoes!! It was fun to watch all the kids play together. Sometimes it was a survival of the biggest though...especially when they all wanted to play with the same toy at once. Here's a video of Evan and Bella enjoyed taking turns playing with a doorstop... it's so cute.
Hey, at least they were taking turns!
Here are some other photos from the Tucker family in Omaha...
We took turns preparing meals. Yummy food from all!!
Evan and Bella helped unload (or at least played with) the groceries.
Evan loved hanging out with Grand-daddy Tucker! (Grandma Tucker too...but unfortunately we somehow didn't get any pictures of Evan with her)
Evan was frequently found on either Aunt Janeen's or Aunt Eleesha's laps! Eleesha often would pile a couple of the kids on her lap at once! It's pretty obvious that she LOVES being an aunt!
On Sunday, we took family photos...lots of them! This is one of the best ones of Duane, Evan, and me.
Having married into the Tucker family, it was fun for me to see how Duane and his brothers and sisters interact. Yep...they're definitely brothers and sisters!! I am very blessed to be a part of this family! Here's a picture of the Tucker siblings. From left to right are... Caleb, Janeen, Joel, Eleesha, and Duane.
We acted out the Nativity as a family. Since he was the only baby boy, Evan got to play baby Jesus while Janeen and Joseph played Mary and Joseph. Caleb was a Sheppard. He was surrounded by the cutest little angels: Addie, Charlie, and Bella! Eleesha, Nici, and I played the three Wise-(wo)men. Kaira played the most biggest part of all...she was an awesome star of Bethlehem!!
We opened family Christmas presents after the nativity. Poor Evan had come down with his first-ever fever that afternoon and so his enthusiasm was a bit limited. ( I was very glad to have Kaira, Nici, and mom there because they knew what to do. I probably would have panicked more otherwise) Just so you know... thank you to grandma and grand-daddy for the ball popper. Evan loves it and plays with it all the time!
We got to fly back to Utah with Caleb, Nici, and Bella sitting right behind us on the plane! That was nice! Being on the same delayed flight meant that we got to all hangout and play "Farkel" together in the airport. Our luggage formed a pretty good playe area for Evan and Bella.The next part of our holidays was spent with the Miner family in Welsville, UT. The Happy Holidays - Part 2 will be coming soon!!
