First of Christmas PIcs

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! We did, I know it was several weeks ago, but we just got home, unpacked and have settled back to normal life which means I am finally gotten around to posting about our trip. Before we flew out to see family, Tom, Ainsley and I had our own little Christmas. We exchanged gifts the night before we left....we didn't even buy wrapping paper this year and so we handed each other the gifts in the bags from the store or covered with a blanket. But it was still fun and something we will always remember. Then the next morning, we left for a 2 1/2 week vacation to see family. It was busy but so much fun. Here are pictures from Dec. 20-24

Ainsley in one of her two Christmas dresses she had this year.

Ainsley got new headphones so she could watch "Signing Time" and "Elmo" on the airplane

Ainsley got the Little People Nativity at the beginning of Dec. so she could enjoy it all month

Ainsley's big gift was this minature armchair so she could enjoy reading books and watching tv in the living room with us. She loves it! Her friend has a chair like this and every time we went over to visit, Ainsley spent the whole time playing in the chair so we decided to get her one of her own!

Tom got a new book and dvds

I got a new GPS system for the car and dvds
Watching videos while we flew to Utah! She did really well on the plane! We took the non-stop flight for the first time and it was so much better!!!

We got to Utah on Dec. 22. It was snowing like crazy when we got there and we were so excited to see the mountains. We've missed them so much. We drove up to Midway, where my parents just bought a vacation home. We spent part of our vacation in Midway with my family, and part with Tom's family in Salt Lake. It was wonderful!

My whole family in front of the ice castles at Zermatt Resort in Midway. AJ (brother in law), Andrea (older sister), Dad, Mom, Will (nephew), Cami (younger sister) Tom, Me, Ainsley, Jon (younger brother), and Caden (nephew)

Walking around The Homestead in Midway with her cousins

Butler grandkids, Caden, Ainsley, and Will

Every year on December 23, the Reese girls go to the mall to take a picture with Santa. Then we have dinner before heading over to the Winder Family Talent Show at Grandma and Grandpa Winder's house. Last year, we weren't able to see Santa because the line at the mall was so long. So this year we went plenty early so Ainsley could see Santa. I knew Ainsley wouldn't like Santa, so I did my best to teach her who Santa was, show her pictures, talk about how great he was, etc. While we were in line, she was so excited and watched him so carefully. But just as expected, when it came her turn to sit on his lap, she flipped out. But that's expected at this age, right?

Excited to see Santa

She was a little cautious as we sat and talked to him.

But as expected, she loved sitting on Santa's lap:)

But when it was over, Ainsley was so proud of her coloring book and elf ears that she got from Santa

On Christmas Eve, we drove back up to Midway to spend the day with my family. On the 23rd, we had walked around Midway, getting to know what there was to do and see in the cute little Swiss town. We walked around the Zermatt Resort as well as the Homestead Resort which are just down the street from my parents house. We saw that the Homestead has a crater with a "Hot Pot" of warm water. It is used for scuba diving certification, swimming, and snorkeling. So my dad reserved the crater on Christmas Eve so the family could all go swimming together. It wasn't your traditional Christmas Eve activity, but it was a lot of fun. The water was really warm and it felt like we were swimming in a cave. You couldn't see the bottom of the crater but there was a large oculus that let light in.

Me, Ainsley and Tom getting ready to swim at the Hot Pot in Midway

Ainsley didn't really like swimming in the crater, but Tom and I had fun!

After we went swimming, we went back to my parent's house and had a traditional Christmas Eve party. We ate delicious food, had a wonderful spiritual message, and opened a few gifts. It is tradition in our family to get new pajamas on Christmas Eve. This year, Tom and I helped get "Butler" t-shirts for everyone from Butler University in Indianapolis. Everyone loved it!

After a spiritual program, we always open a couple of small gifts on Christmas Eve. One is always pajamas, but we also each got a book and the grandkids got slippers. We also always give each other our sibling gift that night.

My cute brother Jon

Cami

The Butler family in their Butler pajamas!

The Butler Boys
Butler Girls
Butler Babies

Since Cami and Jonathan are the only ones not married, we always joke that they are their own couple....so we made them pose in a couple picture just like everyone else.

My cute parents...high school sweethearts!

Christmas day and the rest of our trip to come...