TOP TEN reasons we love spending CHRISTMAS in KENTUCKY

We flew to my home - Lexington, Kentucky - on Christmas Eve. We took the elevator from the gate level to the baggage claim. As the airport elevator doors opened we were greeted with 25 family members singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and other Christmas carols. At this point, I knew it was going to be a great vacation. :) We went straight to Matt & Corinda's home to open up Christmas Eve pajamas... which were this year, UK t-shirts! GO SANTA!

Here are top ten reasons we love spending Christmas in Kentucky.

#1 - Going through the Columbus LDS Temple with family. Laura went through the temple for the first time and we all got to be there together (minus Chucky on his mission in Fiji). What a special day!


#2 - SNOW!! We don't get much of this in Phoenix. Unfortunately, cousin Ben is seen here with the ONLY snow we got the whole week. Emma enjoyed the snow fall... until she realized it made her cold.

#3 - Visiting with old friends! Paul and Wyatt were great friends through High School. Wyatt is seen with cousin Aliya and Paul is with his wife Lorena. (Crystal, Leah and Caryn... thought you'd enjoy seeing these familiar faces. )

#4 - A trip to Corbin, Kentucky to meet up with Colonel Sanders and Lara & Greg Dahl. How convenient that Lara married someone from Tennessee? Very convenient indeed. We were able to meet halfway in Corbin, Kentucky. Home of the ORIGINAL Colonel Sanders Cafe. We followed that with a trip to Cumberland Falls. Called the "Niagara Falls" of the South. hmmmm... not sure if it deserves that title, but we enjoyed the company, nonetheless.

#5 - Seeing Uncle John get his Eagle. My brother Glen is holding the flag in this picture and the Mayor of Lexington is in between John and my Dad. We are so proud of him and his hard work!

#6 - Lots and lots and lots of wonderful time with grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles that spoil Emma rotten with LOVE and AFFECTION. Here is Emma with Aunts LJ, Amber and Corinda. This picture was take right before our annual Krebs Family New Years Eve Olympics. We literally played games from 5pm-midnight. This year it was girls v. boys. I hate to admit it, but the boys spanked us BAD. Oh well, we had fun anyway.

#7 - Uninterrupted time with Daddy. Emma is going to be SORELY disappointed when Greg leaves for work tomorrow and she realizes she is all alone with boring Mom.

#8 - Cousins, cousins, cousins!! Emma was able to play with so many cousins and loved every second. Ben loved giving Emma hugs and kisses and Tyler loved pulling her hair, which surprisingly she did not mind at all.

#9 - Christmas loot. After all, isn't Christmas about the GETTING? :) This year was a homemade Christmas at the Krebs, so most of the gifts we received were homemade. What a special touch. My parents made us a BEAUTIFUL quilt and a book of family pictures. My sister and I made a quilt for my parents and I compiled all of my recipes into one cookbook for family and friends. There were so many thoughtful gifts given. Before leaving for Kentucky, Greg and I exchanged our gifts. ONCE AGAIN, we bought each other the SAME gift!?! We did it last year with IPOD's and this year it was a Cuisinart Hand Blender. Strange, I know.

#10 - Spending time with family. We don't get to see my family much, except for Aunt Laura who lives in Arizona, all of my family is spread across the country. It is so nice to be together. I feel so blessed to have such a FANTASTIC family. We took some family pictures, which was VERY cold, but fun.