Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve

* We had Nani, Grandpa, and uncle Matt over.

*We ate Cafe Rio pork salad. It was so yummy.

*We did a Nativity scene with the kids.

*We made cookies, and ate most of them leaving a couple for Santa.

*The kids got to open 1 gift which is always new Christmas pajama's.

*Grandpa read"Twas the night before Christmas."

OFF to bed they went but Austin stayed awake until 10pm. Late night for us.

Christmas Eve.

Austin after his shower waiting patiently for the night to start.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Avery liked being Mary so much that she stayed in character the rest of the night.

Right before bed wearing their new Christmas pajama's.

CHRISTMAS MORNING.

I loved seeing my kids faces when they came downstairs, priceless.

Love Austin's face, he was beyond excited!

The big surprise!!

Big Santa gift!

Austin's favorite gifts: Trampoline, roller blades, x-box game, and magic kit from his grandparents.

Avery's favorite gifts: My little Pony's, Littlest Pet Shop pets, and trampoline.

Anson's favorite gift: Golf clubs.

Amy's favorite gift: Women's electric shaver.

Later Christmas Day we went to Mom and Dad's (Gessel) house and had a wonderful turkey dinner, played games and opened more presents.

We had such a lovely Christmas. We enjoyed playing with the kids and having a relaxing day at home.

Christmas Tradtions:

* Snow Flake Lane, at Bellevue Square mall. The Drummer Boys came outside and drumed along the sidewalks playing the favorite Christmas songs. Fake snow fell. We got to interact with reindeer, snow princesses, polar bears and snow fairies. We danced, and we sang. It was a blast!

*Gift exchange. We met Barb, Brain and Mat at the mall. We drew names out of a hat and we had about 1 hour to find a gift for that person. Then we went to dinner at a restaurant and exchanged gifts.

* Santa Train, at Redmond Town Center mall. A small"Santa Train" Drove us around the outdoor mall to see all the lights and beautiful decorations. The driver this year was crazy. The kids loved it!

* Santa visit. Austin has warmed up to santa, but still does not like to sit on his lap. Avery will not go near Santa, but whispers in my ear what she wants... I relay the facts to Santa.

*Gingerbread houses. The kids house turned out cute this year, thanks to me. The boys house (Anson, Brain, Mat) fell apart, and was a complete bust.

*Nativity set up. Every year the kids help grandpa set up their nativity, and help tell the story.

*Baking. Eating. Christmas Stories. Crafts.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving in Reno

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Reno. We enjoyed seeing family and playing with cousins. Lots of eating, shopping, playing the Wii, and being sick! We are Thankful for Family.

Austin and Avery playing in the snow. We built a snowman, and a snow fort you can crawl under. We forgot the kids gloves.

Our attempted family picture. Taken with my little "point and shoot" nikon.

We are missing Austin, sad. He had to go to biological dads house for Thanksgiving.

John baked these pies from scratch. He is proud. I am too, yumm!

Turkey for Anson. Annabel in the background waiting patiently.

We love Aunt Stacy.

These girls spent their night spying and shooting the boys. What else would girls do when they get together??? They had a blast together. Austin was missed.

Avery loves Annabel. Maybe too much!

Austin's Turkey. He drew this in like 1 minute. Austin is into the quickness of art. The faster the better.

Avery's spider collage for PaPa. Notice that Avery spells "papa" PPAA. She tried really hard to make sure the spiders all had 8 legs.

Going home. Long beautiful drive.