The "P" Parties of Christmas

Petty Party

For matter of family record, as I am now the officially designated family get-together photographer and blogger, here come the Annual Petty Party Pictures...


I think a very wise decision was made this time around and we all met at Grandma's church instead of at their house. All told, we fit much better.


New this year--the Nativity story acted out by the Petty great-grandchildren.

Joseph and Mary


The Angels


The Wiseman


The Shepherd


Last but not least, the Sheep

Uncharacteristically, Jane avoided being the center of attention and absolutely refused to participate. Sad.


The party closed out with the tradition $5 gift exchange. Everyone joined the gender-appropriate circle,


Grandma Karrie read the "Right Left Story",


and we all dutifully passed our presents at the mention of each directional word.


Then we opened them. Megan didn't really get the point. I started that one corner for her and all she did was try to fold it back together.


Dalton caught on pretty quick. In fact, once he discovered that there were fun toys under the shiny wrapping paper, he promptly went home and started opening all the presents under the tree.


And this was just cute. Dad and Grandpa were leaning against the wall and Megan just had to join in.


And... I don't really know what this was about.

Pyper Party

It's nice sometimes to live in Salt Lake now, when we can actually regularly participate in extended family functions, including the annual Pyper Games, Puzzle and Pizza Christmas party. I was admittedly disappointed when we arrived at the church only to realize that I had left my camera at home. I was distraught enough that we got grandparents and aunts and uncles to watch the girls and Chris and I drove all the way back home to get it. And then I never took any pictures. Lame. Sorry all! I totally dropped the blogging ball on that one.

Phillips Party

I just realized that all three parties in this post start with the letter P. Ha.

Anyway, at our annual Christmas Eve bash, we all sat around and talked. Like we do every year.


We did have some super extra excitement in my mom's present to my dad. Any guesses?

Side note: How do you like Jane's shoes?

This rifle belonged to my grandpa's dad. It was the Army issue rifle from the Spanish American war, used only during that war and then discontinued. It was passed on to my grandpa when he was a teenager and he used it for deer hunting for many years. In 1996, he passed it down to my dad. Unfortunately, it was temporarily lost and damaged when left outside for almost three years. My mom brought it to my house during a mock inspection with day care licensors. One of her co-workers said that her husband was a retired gunsmith and would fix it for the cost of parts.


It looks amazing now. It still has the original leather strap and hand-carved cherry wood. The gunsmith's only requirement was that it forever be stored properly, inside the new case. Done and done.

After the rifle excitement, the little kids opened their presents from Great Grandpa Phillips and Grandma Georgia.


This is just a random picture of a random baby I found on my camera. I was actually really confused for just a second, until I realized it was the side of a box. Ha at me.


Party on, dudes.