Christmas in July

...because...why not? haha 

I want to play a little catch up. But I'll just do some of the big stuff that has been goin on in our lives. And for heaven's sake you can't skip Christmas! 

I was so excited to decorate our house this year! Mostly because Christmas decorations are the only good decorations we have... AND we got a new and improved Christmas tree! We couldn't part with our tiny one, so we just had two trees and completely loved it.
I got some Winter/Christmasy things to put in our wedding rocks, found places for our nativity sets, but couldn't help but put my Jerusalem nativity up front and center.
I'm obsessed with how this part of the house worked out!

My cute mom helped me make our burlap stockings!

Still need to add tags, buttons, etc.

But they turned out great!

I got to go to the MoTab Christmas Concert with my parents. We enjoyed goin downtown for a bit before the concert to check out the lights and candy windows. 

 I secretly like third wheeling with these two :) 

 I'll admit, I wasn't sure how it would be with the Sesame Street muppets as the special guests this year- but my word it was darling! I couldn't get enough of seeing all the kiddos just soaking everything in! I was lucky to sit near my nephew Duncan who will never disappoint when you are looking for a good reaction! He was smiling so big and laughing so hard! Priceless.

We had our Nelson Family Christmas party and traditional Nativity. Cutest ever. Grace and Seth were Mary and Joseph this year- I remember being so excited when I was finally Mary when I was little. It was fun to see how excited Grace was this year. 

I almost have no words for this pic :)

We were so lucky to have the Owens surprise us and make the drive down!

Being together with all of us Irions is just the greatest. We are so lucky. 

How cute are these two?! Sheesh. 

 We had our own Nativity too. 

It was darling how everyone was just adoring baby Gideon who played baby Jesus oh so well. 

Of course, mom pulled out the chimes. She was in heaven and totally in her element!

And can you even stand how stinkin cute Lily and Kody are?! Mercy...

Kody blew us all out of the water with his napkin folding. 

This guys is a dream boat- i'm telling you what. 

 The girlies put together a fantastic circus for us up in the playroom. Seriously, they get so into it.  Their imagination is the greatest. 

 Showing off their Anna and Elsa capes mom made them. 

 We all got a lego set of the Salt Lake Temple. Never too old for legos. 

We had a little brunch date with my girls and their husbands while Christie and Michael were in town. Ohhh it does my soul some good to be with these best friends again. So much laughing.
I lucked out in the best friend department. 

We didn't really have any real set plans for New Years Eve, so I did my scheming and joined forces with the Marshes for a little bowling and going home to play games and hot tubbing. 

Basically I just surrounded myself with most of my favorite people all. break. long.

I never wanted the break to end!