Christmas with the Jones'/Burton's

This past Friday night {December 16} we did the annual gift exchange and gingerbread house making at the Jones' house. We started out with dinner - really yummy Teriyaki meatballs over rice with a macaroni salad I brought and a green salad Cassie brought. Then we started making the nativity scene gingerbread houses. My mom & Suzanne make them every year and have since I can remember, but this year I got to make one too! We make a gingerbread stable out of homemade gingerbread {Suzanne does that} and then make the nativity scene out of white chocolate in a mold in the freezer {mom does that!}!

Cassie & I starting to work on Gingerbread houses 

I was really nervous haha

She was in charge of carving out the nativity chocolate people.  

The uncarved chocolate pieces

I started feeling more confident as we went along...  

Until my roof came off!! 

Suzanne's gorgeous gingerbread stable

Suzanne's finished stable!

Gorgeous mom working on her icing

A window I added to my stable 

Blake & Brynne got all creative with theirs... 

Focusing!! 

Making it together!  

The Wise stable! 

My finished stable! It survived the car ride home :) 

Once we were all done with the gingerbread houses, we started to open presents! We always go youngest to oldest! 

Genevieve opening her new cute pink & green outfit

Otto opening his present with Tyson's help

Lightning McQueen!

Asher opening his gift 

Angry Birds! 

He was really excited! 

Mary's Tangled Rapunzel Barbie  

Josh modeling his Bingo set

Annie opening her friendship bracelet kit

Tyson's iTunes gift card

Popper's pillow pet - Fargarrawr

Jeannene's pillow pet

They were screaming haha

Kaitlyn opening her crackle nail polish

Brynne got a gorgeous picture of Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Brianna's long sleeve shirt & earrings she got - she was shaking {having a seizure} from excitement

Randy opening Lion King on Blu Ray - he was super excited too {by now we were all crying from laughter}

The tile I made for Cassie

Max's stocking of toys from the Burton's 

Cassie made me not 1 but 2 wreaths and got me a GORGEOUS wreath stand to put them on

And decorative silk flowers!

Blake got Kit Kats!

The magnets Blake got that Brynne is modeling

And a puzzle of Times Square!

Jake got Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Blu Ray

Eric got Inception & A Team

Suzanne got 2 LDS fiction mystery books - Trespass & something else and the Glad Tidings CD with David Archuleta and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Mom's pillow pet - we all sang Rise & Shout after she opened it, complete with clapping

Paul's shirt he got  

Rick got Captain America

 It was so fun to see everyone and I love the gifts that Jake, Max & I got! And I love our nativity scene! Yay for Christmas! Only 7 more days until Christmas!