the eve

polar express in the movie room.

candle light meat and cheese fondue,

complete with all of the fancy dining garb.

chargers for the red plates to sit on.

individual candles for each plate.

silver dinnerware and cystal goblets.

my favorite meal of the year.

and have mercy,

it's not utah without a jello salad.

i declare my mother in law makes the best jello salads on earth.

her christmas eve berry one has cool whip mixed into it.

creamy,

rasberry,

jello.

i promise,

you wish you were me.

i had three helpings.

 i was FINALLY mary:)

phew.

max was the angel.

but she thought she was mary.

and carried the baby jesus around.

giving him kisses.

laying him in the hay.

brennan fought for him too.

at one point they almost ripped him in half.

it was very memorable.

sean was jospeh.

brennan the shepard.

and he kept unwrapping his cloak.

brennan.

not sean.

after we re-wrapped it twice

"the wrong way"

he sulked by the stairs until grandpa could fix it

"the right way."

then he rejoined us during "o come o ye faithful" as a happy shepard.

with his little sheep.

all of this was of course being video taped.

classic.

then i ate my rice pudding.

and brennan's.

b/c he took one bite,

stuck his tongue out,

made a sour face, 

and said quite matter a'factly,

it surely was NOT a special dessert. 

we gave him oreos instead:)

and then he went to bed.

without a binky.

for the first time in his life.

with a big proud smile on his face:)