Christmas with the Mecham's

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to make gyoza with the Mecham side of the family.  This year we did it up at Jeremiah and Christy's new house in Prescott Valley.  Kosette and Matt came down from Oregon and Alison and Patrick brought their cute new baby from Utah.  The only one missing was Uncle Philip (he opted out). 

We got there early and went for a hike.  It was a little cold and it sprinkled on us, but it was beautiful.  We had lunch and then relaxed.  Finally it was time to make gyoza--this is something we look forward to all year. 

After gyoza we cleaned up then shared Christmas presents.  Earlier in December Grandma Mecham gave all the grand kids their presents--monkey's that she had crocheted (she learned how as a YW goal--Awesome!).  They were supposed to be Christmas tree ornaments, but the kids kept them down and played with them instead.  Jonathan and I got a camping "stove".  I'm not sure what it is called, but it looked cool and we look forward to using it.  We'll go camping as soon as it warms up.  The siblings did a homemade gift exchange.  We got Alison and Patrick.  I stole and idea from a friend and made a name board for them.  Lucky for me it was pretty easy and I had some help.  I think it turned out cute.

We got candle holders that Jeremiah carved on his lathe.  They look great on top of our piano.  The kids got some wands, too. 

We attempted to take an outdoor family photo, but it was too cold, so we tried again inside and were successful. 

Christmas Eve is also the night when the kids get to open their new pajamas.  This was another fun day visiting with family and letting the kids play with their cousins.