The Week After Christmas

 My kids always spend the week after Christmas at my parents' house.  The kids love it, my parents love it, and Taylor and I love the time to get the house back together and find a place for all the new toys.

 My dad used to always get me a chocolate sprinkle doughnut.  JC inherited my good taste!

 Lovin' the new I Pods!

  Visiting with Aunt Max

 Sophie got to go on a bike ride with DeeDee and Brian.

 Playtime at the park

 Dragon got new clothes!

 Banana splits at the Hamilton's house

 Friends

 More gifts!

This is how I spent my week.  The boy can make a mess!

Our big project was a job Santa left us to do - turn Sophie's closet into a craft closet for her sewing machine.  She's really enjoying her new space.

Sally even has her own sewing space.

Christmas Day 2011

 We had a very relaxing, low key Christmas Day.  It was wonderful.

 The elves were very busy this year getting ready for Christmas.

 Santa left gifts for John Curtis...

 and for Sophie.

 She got a lot of things for her new sewing machine.

 Dragon wasted no time trying out his new bed,

 and his new bathtub.

 Tearing in!

We had a wonderful morning at church during which I hoped the cleaning fairy would come pick up my living room.  My Christmas miracle was not granted.

JC's new spy gear

We spent the evening at our friends, the Galban's house, along with the Waltons.

Dinner was delicious! 

What a special day with family and friends!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we had our annual lunch with the Waltons.

This year we ordered Outback to go.  YUM!

After a relaxing afternoon it was time for the Christmas Eve service - one of my favorite services of the year.

Back at home Sophie wrote a note to Santa,

we put out cookies and milk,

fed the reindeer,

had some snacks, 

and finished our evening with our Advent candles and the Christmas story.

Twas the Week Before Christmas...

and we were exhausted

from all of the festivities December had brought us.

 So we took lots of naps

and we really slept in,
hibernated inside

like a bear in his den.

 They made Sally a dress

with Sophie's new gift,

 Sally's been really down

but this gave her a lift.

 We made gingerbread men,

the kids had fun stirring,

 and took their time decorating

no need to be in a hurry.



We watched lots of movies

and Mom read 2 books,

thanks to gift cards ordered takeout

and barely had to cook.

Let me finish my horrible poem

as I say with all my might,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

John Curtis is 5!

 Our little boy turned 5 on Monday.  He has been so excited waiting for this day for months!

 We started the day with candles in our favorite breakfast, blueberry muffins.

 Then it was present time!

Being 5 really wore him out.

We opted for a low key birthday party at McDonald's that night.

He wanted it to be Imaginext so my friend, Lindy did an amazing job making cake pops of the different Imaginext world.

 

Happy Birthday Little Man!  We love you so much!