Christmas 2016

Hard to believe another Christmas is in the books.  The years really do fly by so quickly! We went to bed at a reasonable hour and woke up well after 7:00. I think the Christmas mornings of 6:00 are behind us. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, even though every year I think it would be fun to make some really yummy homemade breakfast... the kids just want the store bought rolls. Oh well, MAYBE next year I'll do both! We opened stockings and then ate a bit before diving into the presents. As usual, the kids loved their stockings, and this year, Scott and I bought stocking stuffers for each other- I really like doing that! Mom and Dad joined us again this year- the more the merrier!

Waiting for Dad to get his camera all ready! Zoey knew something was up too, and she was anxious to run down the stairs! 

At the top of the stairs... obligatory picture! 

Glad Santa wrapped the stocking presents this year- it makes it take longer- yeah! 

Yeah! Now maybe we will all learn to crack the code with this "Cracker Barrel" game! 

Santa knows Allison LOVES her some seaweed! 

Her big gift from Santa this year was a new Polaroid camera. Who knew THOSE would come back?? Aaron's big Santa gift was a robot making kit! 

Zoey LOVED the treats Santa brought her in her stocking. She was going NUTS over them! 

Nana and Papaw brought Aaron an awesome Husker clock! 

They bought Allison a subscription to the "Yums of the Month", a collection of treats from foreign countries. She LOVES trying new things! 

Christmas- a time to splurge on leggings you refuse to buy any other time of the year. They really do look cute on her, and she says they are super comfy! I should hope so! :)

Any books about sports.. he'll be hooked! Allison bought him a couple. He got her the game of Clue, that we almost wore out the very first day- fun game! 

I promise they were laughing, but oh my gosh, she looks evil!! 

Aaron bought Nana and Papaw a gift from a trade show at church. It was a rock that said "love". They loved it. 

Some packages are tough to get into! 

A new leotard from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sheila! SO pretty! 

They sent Aaron a stuffed Wildcat to add to his college stuffed animal collection. 

The bow lady... otherwise known as the bag lady.... otherwise known as Nana.

I made the kids Chatbooks of our trips to China to adopt them. They both enjoyed looking through them throughout the day. I don't know why it took me SO long to put these together, but I'm glad I did. Priceless! 

Upgraded electronics were a must. Okay, a need. Okay, a REALLY big want! Allison inherited my phone and I got an upgrade. Cool how that works, huh? If you know me, you know I'd be just fine with a model made YEARS ago! I'm not so great with learning new things. 

Aaron's mini was years old and wouldn't allow most new apps to be downloaded. In addition, his screen was badly cracked and his case was falling apart. He really did NEED a new one! 

The aftermath. Slowly but surely it's getting cleaned up. But I'm really not in a hurry. It was a fun Christmas, and I'm okay with it hanging around for a little bit. 

We missed getting them photographed, but the kids got us the most fun presents! Allison got me movie basket (complete with an itunes gift card and treats!), and a spa basket- I can't wait to use that! Aaron got me an adorable box that he wrapped all by himself, filled with little papers that listed out things he'd do for me, like the laundry, the dishes, clean his room, a day of games with him, etc. I can't wait to cash in on some of those! They are both VERY thoughtful gift givers!  Aaron gave Dad the game of Risk, and Allison gave him a funny Harry Potter referenced gift that included new socks, and he also got a movie package! They spoiled us! 

Aaron singing at church on Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!

I think I almost like Christmas Eve better than Christmas itself, as far as traditions go! So much hustle and bustle and music and laughter and just FUN! At this time of year, we try to fit in some old traditions and make new ones too.

It's been a couple of years since we hung out in downtown St. Charles, and we had missed it! We headed down there in the morning and enjoyed a couple of hours just walking the streets, shopping, eating lunch, and listening to carolers sing. LOVED IT ALL!!!

While I shopped in a store, the men folk chatted outside.

We love walking the cobblestone streets. We reminisced about how this was a little less fun when the kids were in strollers. :) 

Both sides of the street are SO quaint! 

We've never done a carriage in St. Charles. Maybe someday! 

I LOVED this display. Cool, right? 

Papaw took a family picture for us. 

We always play Hangman when waiting for our food. Allison totally stumped Papaw with the word "acrylic". 

Trying to get a decent picture of the kids before heading off to church.

Nana photobombs the picture! :)

This Christmas Eve was super special, because Aaron's choir performed in the afternoon church service. Aaron is in the front row in the white shirt. He and the two boys to his left sang a trio, and it was AWESOME! They sang Little Drummer Boy, and we all grinned the entire time they sang. It was pretty cool! 

Our view wasn't great due to the rocking chair, but he's on the right, mouth open and singing! :)

Nana bought the kids each a baguette (they LOVE these!)

Which of course they turned into weapons! 

Our traditional Christmas Eve gift. 

I planned ahead this year and found some DARLING matching jammies for them! 

They had fun posing for us in them.

It's always a cuter pose when Zoey joins the picture.

Catching some air!

Doing a TKD kick off the fireplace! 

We ended the evening with a mean game of Apples to Apples. Aaron and Papaw tied for the win! 

49 and sunny!

Well, the weather certainly has gone through some changes this week- from icy and 3 degrees out to sunny and 49 today- with Christmas day forecasted to be even warmer. It's the official first day of winter- crazy midwest!

Anyway, I've been hibernating a bit this week, just getting things prepared for next week. Nothing earth shattering to share- just a few pics from the week.... AND a blast from the past!

I belong to a FB page where people from Overland Park talk about memories from their childhood as well as present day happenings in the city. Every year one man posts a picture a day during the month of December of the Plaza Lights. If you've never been to KC, this is the time to go- between Thanksgiving and New Years. It won't disappoint! 

You can even take horse-drawn carriage rides through the Plaza, window shopping as you go! 

So, so pretty! 

That's right... we never did get an actual tree to take the place of the one that didn't work in the spot. No one has really noticed or had an issue with it, since we do have an actual tree in the front of the house. Next year I'm guessing we'll get a live tree, since we really did enjoy that last year. But this time we'll make sure to measure the ceilings first. :) 

I love turning the lights of the tree on every morning. It just makes for a very happy December. 

This week we'll deliver some gifts to neighbors we've met since moving in. I read an online post the other day where people talked about whether they liked to wrap or would rather throw things in a gift bag. I'd MUCH rather wrap, especially if I have all the materials readily available- that's the key! And I don't do fancy ribbons or anything- I've never been good at that. But I still love the finished look of a wrapped gift. :)

Allison... she makes me laugh. After I laughed at the heart, of course, I focused in on her eyes. How big and brown can you get? LOVE THEM!!!

This girl.. she's just the cutest smartest doggy around. When I even start to act like I might be leaving the house, she heads in the laundry room and sits like this until we leave. I don't even shut the door. We could take 5 minutes to actually get out the door and she'll just sit here, waiting for us to go. Then, as soon as the door shuts, so leaves the room and heads to the steps to hang out until we come back. :) We've caught her on tape- it's hysterical! 

My favorite face book post of the week. How true it is! 

And my blast from the past. This weekend we'll head to downtown St. Charles to take in all the Christmas charm... this was nine years ago in St. Charles, when Allison was SO excited to collect all the cards from the Dickens characters that walk the street... we stepped out of the cold to enjoy a lunch together. Her face.... so, so sweet!