Cox Family Adventures

Wow! Christmas has come and gone.  We had such a great time!  There are quite a few pictures in this post, but I had to capture the highlights.  Trust me, I did not post ALL the pictures I took! 

The 1st family Christmas party started on Dec. 23 up in Provo.  We celebrated with my Dad's side of the family...always a fun gang to be with!!  We ate dinner, the kids made some crafts, we had a children's talent show, and Santa stopped by to visit with us.  It was sure good to see everyone.

 

Alex told Santa that he "shares" with his brother and sister.  Santa was happy to hear that!

Lane decided to sit on Santa's lap.  He was quite intrigued with his white beard and all.  Santa was very nice and quite funny.  The kids enjoyed his visit, as well as the adults.

This is Lane and his buddy, Max.  Max belongs to my cousin Annie.  They could be double trouble if they spent too much time together.  But they sure are CUTE!

This is my Aunt Joanne with her children Phil, Larry, Shelly, and Jackie.  We sure missed Uncle Karl.  The party just wasn't the same without him and Joanne performing their annual Christmas lip sync.  

The next day was Christmas Eve.  We started the day out with some quality sledding out to my Dad's farm.  We pulled the kids through the fields behind the 4-wheeler.  They laughed, screamed,  and squealed.  It was super fun!
Keith pulling AJ and Madison.

Maddie, our cousin Maia, and AJ. 

Lane and Madison.

We hung out and drank hot chocolate.  It was a beautiful winter day.

After sledding, we got the kids cleaned up and headed over to the Cox Family Party.  This has been an ongoing tradition since I started dating Andy.  All the Cox family meet at the bowling Alley in Ephraim on Christmas Eve.  We eat, visit, bowl, and chat with Santa.  It really is fun to see everyone.  The family has gotten so large in size!  I snapped the photo above as the kids were waiting to see Santa.  It is kind of crazy, but yet lots of fun!

After the Cox party, we came back to our house.  Maia, Kristeen, and Keith came to sleep at our house for Christmas Eve.  

The kids all slept together up in the play room.  They were so excited for Christmas morning!

Santa made it to our house!  Maia got a snow come maker, toy dinosaurs, legos, and some stuffed animals. 

Lane got his toy horses, trailer, trucks, cowboy boots, and puzzles.

Madison got a big furry chair, stuff for her American Doll, art supplies, books, and this stuffed tiger.  

 
AJ got his electric race track, legos, a crane truck, and a sled.  It was a very enjoyable Christmas morning.  The kids were so excited about their toys.  I love the magic of Christmas!

After opening Santa toys, we headed over to Andy's mom's house to see his family.  We opened more gifts and had a traditional breakfast of fresh squeezed orange juice and pancakes.  Above is Madison and her cousin Keyera.  They are best buds and I must say they look very cute in their twiner PJ's. 

After spending time at Sandra's we came back to my Mom and Dad's to finish opening presents from each other.  The Christmas present opening lasted all day!!  We feel so lucky to live close to both families.  Even though sometimes it is hard to jump back and forth from one family to the other, we wouldn't want it any other way.  Keith and Andy are seen above in their cool new Boston Red Sox jackets.  Bet you can't guess who those came from.?

Each of the grand kids got fishing vests from Grandpa and Grandma.  They are ready to hit the waters!  

We have had so much fun just hanging out with family.  The kids have played and played.  We  have been on some great sledding adventures which I will post more pictures of later this week.  We have played games, watched  movies, and relaxed.  

Now it is time to take down the decorations, find places for new toys, and oh yea, I have a baby coming in 4 weeks!  I guess it is time to get ready for that adventure!!  

Christmas Program #1:  Piano Recital

Both kids are taking piano lessons.  They played a duet together and then each performed a song alone.  They did super!  I snapped a couple of photos before the recital began...

Christmas Program #2:  Manti Elementary School Christmas Program.  

Alex is seen below singing with the Kindergarten.  He is on the top row, middle, between 2 girls.  

Madison is seen below singing with her 4th grade.  She is in the black, gold, and pink dress. 

Grandpa was there to support the kids and the Principal!  

Christmas Program #3:  Gymnastics and Dance Review

Madison is seen below finishing up a back bend, kick over.  She loves gymnastics!

After some gymnastics tricks, the girls all changed and performed a dance review.  Madison danced to "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" in a cute, hot pink poodle skirt.  She is seen below closest to the camera in the front.  

They also danced to "Life of the Party" in a second routine. I will not consume any more of your time with pictures, but it sure was fun to watch her dance.  

After 2 hours of gymnastics and dance mania,  she was all smiles!  She had a great time!  She then got AJ involved in some stunts.... 

Madison and her BBF, Breanna...
So, that is a Christmas Program wrap-up!  A BIG "Thanks" goes out to the Grandma's (and Grandpa) who always support my kids.  Thanks for being there...it means a lot.  Since my Dad was not able to attend the dance review, I want to reassure him that I caught the whole thing on video.  I will be over tomorrow night to sit down and watch it with him.  I can give him a dance-by-dance commentary.  See you tomorrow Dad!!  

We stayed over night in Salt Lake.  The heated pool and hot-tub were definitely a hit...especially as it was snowing outside!

We then spent time at "The Gateway" and ended the day with a visit to Temple Square.  The kids were amazed at the amount of lights.  It was a perfect night...not too cold.  

By the end of the day we all felt like this....exhausted!  
To see more about our outing, visit Madison's blog (linked on the right side).  She has complete coverage of the activities!  

Saturday night was our Annual Cox Cousin Christmas Party!  It is about the only time of year that we get together with all of Andy's cousins, on his Dad's side.  It is great fun to see everyone! We had a really good turn out...around 36 people.  Andy's siblings (and their spouses) were in charge this year.  We held it at a church in order to accommodate the crowd.  Below you will see the three tables full of Cox Cousins.  Thanks everyone for coming!

The party was centered around a "Survivor" theme.  After eating we competed in different challenges to see which couple was the "Ultimate Survivor Winner."  My pictures didn't turn out that great, but at least you get an idea.  This was the "bow-a-arrow shoot."  We took aim at plastic cups to see which team could hit the most.  There were arrows flying everywhere....except at the cups!