Christmas

We set up a trap to keep the kids from going downstairs too early. It worked!!!

Lucas put salmon and meatballs on his Christmas list.

Elsie sure liked the chocolate milk she found in her stocking.

She really really liked it.

The princess nightgowns from Grandma and Grandpa were a huge hit.

Mike opens his gift from Ariel that she is proud to give.

Isaac, always the great brother, helps Elsie with her present.

The boys were thrilled with the Heelys if you can tell from Lucas' face.

My lefty Elsie could color all day and everywhere. She had no interest in opening gifts after she got her hands on these twistable crayons.

The Gutierrez family gifts were awesome. The girls lit up with their purses and hats.

Christmas is an opportunity for us to indulge on these we don't tend to get a lot of like sugared cereal and specialty drinks.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we fondued cheese with bread and broccoli, beef broth with steak. It was a hit with the kids and rather delicious.We read in the scriptures of Jesus' birth and watched a great little film about it. Then following tradition, opened pajamas and a gift from a sibling.

Lucas got an electronic Rubik's cube and bath salts. He spends lots of time reading while bathing.

Lucas is very curious about the details in Santa. We spent some time tracking him on Norad.

Ariel some type of toy called Squinkies or something of the sort. Elsie got bear slippers and Isaac got a Rubik's cube and dice game.

The gifts added so much excitement it made it difficult to go to bed.

This year I made our Christmas jammies

My hoodlums

Some kid got a hold of the camera

Mike makes a rare appearance

Ariel's new play-doh dog she got for her birthday.

This nativity scene gets hours of play everyday. Glad somebody documented it.

Christmas dresses

Grandma Hawkes sent the girls these darling Christmas dresses.

I tried to take a photo or two a couple of weeks ago after church but both girls seemed not to be feeling too well.

Elsie is in a lip gloss stage. She is always on the lookout for something to stick on her lips. She usually applies until the tube is empty or Mom is skilled enough to get it out of her death grip.

Grandpa Hawkes stops through town to make sure we are measuring up!