almost 8 am. Wahoo!!! We even had to wake Carli up! Ha! I could hardly believe they slept in so long. We got Grandpa and Grandma up, too, and all went into the game room and read the Christmas story from Luke 2. I loved waking up and centering on the Savior. Then the madness began. :)
Here are the kids waiting at the top of the stairs.
I'm going to jump right to the end, almost, with the pictures. Here are Brandon and Kate discovering the last gift hidden behind the tree. They knew what it was and could not wait to get to it.
Oh the joy!
A Wii!!!!! They love it. We played bowling as a family last night and it was really fun. I like that we can all play together.
Megan had asked for an art easel, canvas, paints, and brushes. She got right to work on a masterpiece for Grandpa and Grandma to take home.
Then she moved on to the next canvas. She's quite a budding little artist!
Brandon and Kate both got skateboards. Since it had snowed and was not quite skateboarding weather, they made good use of our long hallway. :)
Kate is trying hers out. Gotta work on the helmet. We did get it to fit better later in the day and she should be good to go.
My mom gave the girls the cutest Fancy Nancy books and dolls to go with them. Kate and her explorer doll.
Here is part of the aftermath...can you find the baby in the midst of it all?! Brooke just kept crawling around seeing everything. 
Another shot of the craziness.
I'm going to jump right to the end, almost, with the pictures. Here are Brandon and Kate discovering the last gift hidden behind the tree. They knew what it was and could not wait to get to it.Oh the joy!A Wii!!!!! They love it. We played bowling as a family last night and it was really fun. I like that we can all play together.Megan had asked for an art easel, canvas, paints, and brushes. She got right to work on a masterpiece for Grandpa and Grandma to take home.Then she moved on to the next canvas. She's quite a budding little artist!Brandon and Kate both got skateboards. Since it had snowed and was not quite skateboarding weather, they made good use of our long hallway. :)Kate is trying hers out. Gotta work on the helmet. We did get it to fit better later in the day and she should be good to go.My mom gave the girls the cutest Fancy Nancy books and dolls to go with them. Kate and her explorer doll.Here is part of the aftermath...can you find the baby in the midst of it all?! Brooke just kept crawling around seeing everything. 
Another shot of the craziness. Carli had been asking for roller skates for months and was so excited to get them! She put them right on and tried them out.
It's going to take some practice, but Grandma was a great helper!
Carli in her new fancy dress up shoes. She loves to dress herself and often is seen in Wal-Mart and other stores wearing fancy shoes such as this. She causes quite a few turning heads with her outfits. LOL! (btw, I believe this is the only shot with me in it...see those striped socks in the bottom corner?)
It's going to take some practice, but Grandma was a great helper!
Carli in her new fancy dress up shoes. She loves to dress herself and often is seen in Wal-Mart and other stores wearing fancy shoes such as this. She causes quite a few turning heads with her outfits. LOL! (btw, I believe this is the only shot with me in it...see those striped socks in the bottom corner?)
Carli also wanted a new kitchen for her room. She was pretty excited that Santa brought it to her!
An ice cream set to play with.
An ice cream set to play with.
Playing with the ice cream. Good thing it's not real! That's quite a cone she's got going there. :)
Carli and her Fancy Nancy doll. She has the butterfly one. Sooo cute!
Brooke playing with her new toy.
She loves her new cup, too!
Playing with Grandpa
This one is actually from Christmas Eve, but I had to include it because this is the typical pose--Grandpa holding Brooke in the crook of his arm and she's sucking her thumb.
I made Brooke a fleece blanket like I have all the other kids in the past. Here she is snuggling with Grandma and the blanket.
What? A banana? Where's the chocolate?
She found some...
Brandon and his skateboard.
Brooke playing with her new toy.
She loves her new cup, too!
Playing with Grandpa
This one is actually from Christmas Eve, but I had to include it because this is the typical pose--Grandpa holding Brooke in the crook of his arm and she's sucking her thumb.
I made Brooke a fleece blanket like I have all the other kids in the past. Here she is snuggling with Grandma and the blanket.
What? A banana? Where's the chocolate?She found some...
Brandon and his skateboard.
Putting together the Lego set from Grandpa and Grandma. He is a whiz at these sets. Once he puts them together he ends up taking them all apart and creating little vehicles with the different pieces. He's quite a little Lego engineer.
What a wonderful Christmas season this has been! We had such a great day together as a family and with my parents here. They gave me a new temple dress and I can't wait to go use it! We had our usual abelskiver breakfast which is a favorite for everyone and then we just hung out and played with everything. Soon enough, though we began prep for Christmas dinner. My mom ended up doing pretty much everything, though, as she and Dad watched the kids while Ben and I went out for a little date. When we got home from seeing The Blind Side dinner was practically ready. It was sooooo yummy! Thanks Mom and Dad for helping out so much while you were here! Your visit went too fast, but we were so blessed by having you come.
What a wonderful Christmas season this has been! We had such a great day together as a family and with my parents here. They gave me a new temple dress and I can't wait to go use it! We had our usual abelskiver breakfast which is a favorite for everyone and then we just hung out and played with everything. Soon enough, though we began prep for Christmas dinner. My mom ended up doing pretty much everything, though, as she and Dad watched the kids while Ben and I went out for a little date. When we got home from seeing The Blind Side dinner was practically ready. It was sooooo yummy! Thanks Mom and Dad for helping out so much while you were here! Your visit went too fast, but we were so blessed by having you come. One of the highlights of the day was getting to talk to my brother, Brett, who is serving a mission for our church in Romania. He is doing so well and it was neat to hear his voice. The kids loved talking to him and telling him all about Christmas. Then we put the phone on speaker and all sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas and then we hung up. Hopefully we'll get to talk to him again next Christmas! Then he will be home in June of 2011.
I hope all of you had a meaningful and special Christmas season and I am excited to see what 2010 has to bring to us all!
Fire to my children means roasting marshmallows. We were not excited about the fact that Megan thought it was a great idea to get a fork and mini marshmallow and attempt to roast it. Yeah...not a good idea. She just put it near the fire so it would "warm up."
After eating our traditional chicken wings and snacky foods we pulled out the Yahtzee game. It was great because everyone played!
Kate and Grandpa
Brooke enjoyed eating snacks and watching everyone play. She's such a content little one. I love that she puts her feet up under her tray. She does this every time she is sitting in her high chair.
Carli decided mid-game to go get her swimsuit on. She has been doing this a lot lately and just puts it right on over her clothes she has on. Too funny! Here are her poses for the camera.
Then she went and got her blanket and snuggled up with Grandma.
Brooke content as can be! She has such a sweet beautiful smile. :)
After a funny game of charades (which I didn't get any pictures or video of) it was time to finally open the coveted Christmas Eve gift. :) Oh, the anticipation of it all! Even Brooke was excited she could finally rip open one of those gifts sitting under the tree!
New pajamas! (Surprise...)
Brooke loves hers. She loves to hold anything fuzzy and soft. What a cutie!
Here are the girls donning their new duds. Sometimes it's still hard to believe these 4 beautiful girls are mine. :)
Of course, we can't forget including my handsome man, Brandon. Goofy as he is in these pictures, they wouldn't be complete without him! Love Megan and Carli's faces in this one. LOL!
Here's a happier one.
Megan finally gets in the spirit and poses for me. :)
Really excited now!
He was still excited about them, though! Kick line anyone?
Playing around in the new pajamas.
Love this one!
Brandon got hurt at one point during all this jumping. Here's Grandma making it all better while Kate ignores and prepares for another round!
Megan getting in on the action. I love this one, too.
Brooke was thrilled with her pjs!
Kate showing off the fort they made.