And to all a Good Night!

Check out my last post to be all caught up on this story- Merry Christmas to All!

It's Christmas!!!
I am really close to all my cousins and grandparents but not so much for the rest of my family. My mom's side is very confusing- I don't even understand but I'm going to attempt to explain. My great Grandpa has three daughters, Rae Deanne (my grandma), Kae and Trisha.  Rae Deanne is married to Skip and they have three kids. My family. Kae isn't married and has never been.  She has no kids and lives in San Diego. Trisha was married to a guy and the had a couple kids. One of her kids has about eight of her own and the others have 2.  Her son is married to a women with a boy about my age. My great aunt Trisha got divorced then remarried Ruthie who has no kids of her own. My grandpas side of the family is confusing as well but at least I know all their names. My grandpa and his family no longer talks to his brother but they do his ex-wife and their kids. My grandpa's other brother in about 10 years younger and his wife has a son that is my age. Together, they have four kids, two of them are identical twins who you can't tell apart. My grandpa is very close with someone whose almost like his sister- she's adopted but not... And not to mention but my great grandpa just got married. Did you get that?

Only a small part of the whole family. 

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday and having my confusing family there always makes it better! Usually we travel from house to house seeing our families and always end up with my Grammy and Gramps at dinner time. Christmas dinner is a big deal for us. The usual attendees are, my aunts, uncles, and cousins (and an occasional NFL football player). When it came time for dinner, the typical people were there along with Stephan Taylor, his friend, and all my cousins other grandparents and cousins, it was a full table.

My mom woke up on Christmas with a terrible pain in her stomach. She went to the emergency room to get it checked out. They had thought she had a kidney stone and the doctor there said she’d bet her whole paycheck that it was. They ran some test and received the new that she had a kidney stone, bad timing, don't you think?

It's never a family gathering without some weird tradition. While waiting for desert to be served, we always sing the 12 Days of Christmas song as a family. Every two people are given a paddle and expected to sing when it gets to the number on their card. Watch the video to see how we do it.

Keep in mind this is only the last part of the song.

Check out my last post to be all caught up on this story- Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas to All!

My family always spends Christmas at my grandparents but we're not the only ones. All of my other aunts, uncles, cousins and great-grandparents join us as well.

Our Christmas Routine

The couple days leading up to Christmas are always the most eventful. We usually go to the Railroad Park with my cousins and grandparents to ride the trains around the park and see the lights. Another family tradition is seeing Snowballs house (what my sister has named it). Its a regular house in a regular neighborhood but around he holidays, it draws in quite the crowd. By the time were done with all these festivities, it's Christmas Eve.

A house very similar to Snowballs.
Photos Courtesy of: Sweet Fine Day

This year was kinda an odd one. We arrived to my grandparents a couple days later than usual and the next day was my Great Grandpa's marriage celebration. Yes, my Great Grandpa. My Great Grandma, Nana, died about ten years ago and my Great Grandpa, Bubba, recently started online dating. That's where he met Di and a couple of years later, they tied the knot. On the 23rd of December, we celebrated their marriage as a whole family. As my Bubba is a 95 year old man and he couldn't handle having two huge parties in the span of three days so he bumped his Christmas to the 23rd and combined it with the marriage. My great grandpa's wedding celebration, was pretty busy. Most of my family was there (meaning great aunts, second cousins, and people I didn't even know I'm related to). The morning of the 23rd, my immediate family came over to my grandparents house, where we stay and helped get ready for the party. Everyone else arrived a coupe hours later. It was catered by one of my favorite lunch places in Arizona.  We ate then went right to the marriage. The officiant started the wedding and it was over after about ten minutes. Later that afternoon, Bubba handed out his gifts and everyone else exchanged the presents. Most of the kids in my family are pretty young and they all got, bikes, barbie cars, scoots, etc. Meanwhile, the older kids didn't have nearly as much fun opening up money.


The 24th of December was an uneventful day in the lives of me and my family. We woke up, still not in the Christmas mood but ready to get there. The majority of Christmas Eve was preparing for the next day. My sister took my brother, Jack, Ben, and Cole (my cousins) to see Annie then directly from the movies, we went to church. My family usually opens all our presents on the 24th then the Santa gifts on Christmas but this year, we didn't open anything on Christmas Eve and waited until Christmas. Every Christmas Eve, me and my sister watch the 12 Days of Christmas on ABC family's 12 Dates of Christmas and sleep in the study. Goodnight....

Stay tuned for more about the Hancock Family Christmas!

Christmas Calories Don't Count!

Every year since I was one, my Grandma comes over to our house to make gingerbread houses with us. This is a tradition that started when my mom was very little and her mom would make homemade gingerbread to decorate. When we moved away from Arizona and came to Utah, my grandma flew out to keep up the tradition, until this year. My family chose to try Christmas cookies, which we usually make but on Christmas Eve. My Grammy has a special cookie and frosting recipe we use every year (twice a year now!).

My Grammy's Recipe

2 cups flour

Photo Courtesy of Northwest Church

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

1. 
   
2. Sift together, flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. 
3. Cream butter and sugar together. 
4. Add in egg, vanilla and milk. 
5. Slowly add in flour mixture, make sure well combined. 
6. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. (can also be frozen) 
7. Roll dough out on floured surface to 1/8  or 1/4 inch thickness
8. Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes. 
9. Place on parchment lined baking sheet.
10.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 7-8 minutes, just until edges start to turn golden.
11.  Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to racks to cool completely.

Photo Courtesy of Wicked Good Kitchen

Because I didn't make gingerbread houses with my grandma this year, I thought it was only necessary that I did with someone else. My friend, Sophia, invited me to her house to make some with her and her sister. We stated out well but didn't let the icing dry before putting on the toppings and it collapsed in the making. Meanwhile, Natalie and her friend took their time and didn't add random gummies and gluten free pretzels.

Sophia, Morgan and my gingerbread house vs. Natalie and Carleigh's.

You can never have enough cookies during the holidays!

My friend Gabby and I at a holiday party.
Photo Credits: My mom

Blaire covered in cookie frosting and decorations!

Christmas parties is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. Every year my mom and I throw a mother-daughter cookie exchange and this year it was the 4th annual party with almost all the same girls. Another holiday party I attended was a cupcake decorating party for one of the clubs I'm a part of.

Recipe courtesy of Chocolate Chocolate and More with a few moderations.