Hadley wouldn't sit on Santa's lap, but she did lean in to whisper.
Chippy finished his season with us, on his final visit he left a note that he'd be back next year!
Christmas Eve.
Hadley & Fran are awfully cute together.
Grandpa & Grandma hosted family for dinner and fun.
Our Wii Bowling tradition started a few years ago and is a highlight of our evening, complete with friendly competition. This year we let the kids join the tournament.
There are play-offs and the winner of each round advances to the championship. Finley was ecstatic to advance, he had his eyes set on the prize - a Target giftcard (seriously, his favorite thing ever).
Finley started off with three strikes to take an early lead.
Unfortunately (for him), Jewel & Jon turned up the heat, Jon becoming the 2014 Champion. There were tears. Finley wanted to win so bad. Jon felt bad and gave the giftcard to Finley. I told Finley he needed to give the giftcard back, Jon had won. You could see it on his face - he didn't want to give it back. But after a few minutes, he did the right thing, he returned the prize and said I'll get you next year! This was huge for Finley, awesome kid and proud mom.
We went home, Finley set out cookies and Hadley passed out.
Santa forgot to take a picture of his work. And the kids were up before Santa finished running on the treadmill, so only one blurry picture from Patrick's ipad from the pre-opening.
Both kids received a snow-tube and used it as their nest for gift opening.
Tis the season of all things Frozen. It's the first "thing" Hadley has really caught onto, there was lots of Elsa-stuff this year.
And Elsa is the favorite. She'd gotten the Elsa Barbie awhile ago, and I searched for the matching Anna doll. No luck anywhere. So I sucked it up and paid too much from Amazon. When she opened Anna, she threw her on the ground declaring she doesn't like Anna. She hasn't opened the box yet! (I opened it today and slipped Anna in with her other dolls, I'll see what Hadley thinks of that).
Digging for gifts.
Both kids happily received too much. It's fun to watch their excitement as they open Everything I wanted!
A quick change into their Christmas jammies...
...and we opened gifts from each other.
At some point, Hadley got the idea that no one should watch her open gifts. She'd turn away and not let anyone (especially Finley) watch her.
But he was happy to show off.
They received one large gift to share.
Finley was slightly confused, because inside was only a piece of paper. But that piece of paper said Netflix. Our family is finally getting into this thing everyone else has had for awhile. More to come on this haunting gift.
We packed up and headed to Grandpa & Grandma's for Christmas Day. The excitement was high and loud. These two ran around singing, Have a Holly Jolly Christmas at the top of their lungs.
We started with lunch.
And 2/3 of the Bullis boys wouldn't look at me.
Grandpa squishing the littlest littles as he claimed his chair to watch the craziness begin.
Present-time...and go!
Finley was SO happy to get a snowboard!
2014 nutcrackers for their collection.
The don't-watch-me attitude came back.
Happy girl with the Barbie Camper.
More fun.
A little attitude. Who knows why.
Hadley has her own iPad mini. OH so happy. We're spoiled.
The adults participated in our annual gag-gift exchange. Dad received a Just Resting My Eyes kit from Heidi.
Patrick received a spot to hang all of his important things that he always loses/forgets. He recently flew to Texas without an ID because his wallet was at home. He searches for his cellphone, keys, and wallet daily.
I gave my mom The Many Hats of Debbie. From Bargain Hunter (camo hat), to Vacation Planner (sun hat w/ seashells and sunglasses), and my favorite the Dog Saver.
I received a poster-sized picture of Patrick & WI's governor - a man who seems to have a dislike of teachers.
Ryan & Heidi received gifts too, but apparently I didn't take a picture of those :(
We spent three hours at school. I got a lot done, but at the cost of a giant mess.
The kids have been busy playing with all of their new toys.
I can't remember where Hadley was, but Finley & I found ourselves alone at Dunkin' Donuts.
Back to that haunting gift of Netflix. Post Christmas, we've purchased a Smart TV, two roku's, and a wi-fi booster. Now this is all I see.
A look to my left...
...a look to my right...
...and I'm just as bad. We're all addicts (I've happily become a reader again). Screen-time limits are being enforced.
Christmas. It was fun. It was fast. It's already over. Bring on 2015!
