Toys, Santa, and The Office

We've had Christmas parties that we've been attending the past couple of nights. Last night we spent the evening at Ryan and Taya's enjoying an adult only Christmas gathering. Taya set up some young women babysitters to watch the kids at another house while we were all able to have fun without them. ;) It is a great relief to spend some time without Emma, although we sure do love having her around... it's just so nice to get a reprieve and be able to talk and eat without keeping a third eye and hand on the little one. Anyway, we ate good food and chatted and had a gift exchange. I ended up with a Nerf blaster gun of sorts, which I thought Emma would really like, but it turned out to be a gift that Ben has been particularly enjoying. He would have really liked it if I would have let him bring it along on our errands this morning... he could have shot at unsuspecting Costco shoppers. Ben's gift was a movie night package, including popcorn, popcorn bowl, hot chocolate, and a Blockbuster gift card.

So, tonight we went to our Ward Christmas Party. It was hectic, but fun. The cultural center was small with a lot of people crammed in there, but there was plenty of food, which is always wonderful! The dinner consisted of salad, funeral potatoes (LOTS of funeral potatoes!), corn, green beans, rolls, and ham. Plus, plenty of desserts. After eating, there were several singing and skit performances by various groups within the ward, and ending with Santa making an appearance. We really tried to get Emma to join in the fun by sitting on Santa's lap, but in the end she wouldn't ... even after waiting in a long line. However, she did get a candy cane, so all was well for her.

On another note, Ben and I recently enjoyed the Christmas episode of The Office. We both agreed that this may have been the funniest Office of them all. Here is a great clip, in honor of Christmas and The Office. Merry Christmas!