We spent Christmas Eve with my family, like we always do. This year we had it at our house. It was a tight squeeze (since we have the smallest house of the group) getting all my family in the house and gifts for 11 people, but we did it! We continued our tradition of having Clam Chowder for Christmas Eve dinner. My dad makes this every year and has made it every year since as far back as I can remember. I try it every year....and don't like it every year....I'm just not a clam chowder person! :) We ate really early this year since opening gifts always seems to take a lot longer than we plan. Some traditions in my family....the kids pass out the presents until everyone has heaping piles next to their seats, we open presents ONE BY ONE BY ONE which takes a REALLY long time with 11 people and TONS of presents, but I love doing this so everyone can see what everyone else gets! We also open gifts in order from youngest to oldest. Our gift opening took a few hours this year!
Shortly after everyone arrived, there was a knock at the door. We had a special visitor.....WELCOME SANTA!!! :) Cooper and Carter were in on the whole surprise since they are old enough and we didn't want them to ruin it for the little kids....I love Ayden's face in this picture.....he was SO excited!!! Zoe just kept jumping around saying "Santa....Santa....Santa"!! It was so cute......
Santa shook everyone's hands and Ayden laughed through the whole thing.....
Crew and Zoe were in utter amazement.....
At this moment, Ayden looked a little too close and realized who this was......IT WAS GRANDPA!!! Maybe it his voice, or his nose or something.....but maybe it was because "Santa" slipped up (with each kid on his lap) and said "Tell GRANDPA what you want for Christmas" in his greatest Santa voice!! Oops....
Zoe wasn't convinced that this was anybody except for Santa!! She was amazed and told Santa she wanted a barbie!
Crew was happy.....and speechless....
All 5 kids and Santa....
Bye bye Santa.....you better hurry and get back to the North Pole to start delivering presents!!
But wait.....first Grammy Con wants some Santa loving!! Don't worry Grammy, we won't tell Grandpa!! :)
On to present time....the piles were piled high in front of each person. Zoe was the youngest and the first to open her 1st gift. Here she is.....she opened SOOOOOOOOOO SLOOOOOOOOOOW!!!! All the other kids were on pins and needles waiting for her to hurry up! And this was the first and last present that Zoe opened willingly! After this one, she didn't want to open ANY of her presents.....not 1!!! Pretty much the only reason that any got opened later that day was because the cousins were pushing presents in front of her and begging her to open it. She said she just wanted us to open all the presents....that she was too busy....and that there was nothing in them anyway!! What a little stinker....I think she was just overwhelmed with all the commotion!!
Crew had no problem busting into all of his presents and helping Cooper out with his as well.....
Not sure what Joe was all excited about....must've been a good gift.....
Ayden got a Tag Reader and was excited about all the books. He says he can read now!! :)
And he also got lots of Transformers stuff.....
Once again, Zoe needing help opening one of her gifts....
Jer sporting his new bike riding glasses....pretty much birthdays and Christmas gifts for Jeremiah consist of anything and everything to do with biking.....BORING!!! :)
Now a more exciting gift would be what I got from Jeremiah.....it was a priceless one....something that he knows I needed so badly.....the gift of TIME!!!! :) He made this little tokens for me that say "1 hour" in the middle and all around the circle, it says "This token is redeemable for 1 hour of kid free time"!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this gift and I told him that he can pretty much give me this as a gift for the rest of our lives! :) He knows how badly I am behind on my scrapbook and how I just need some time to sit down and do it....and that is exactly what these tokens will come in handy for!! I haven't had to use any yet, but I am sure I will soon!! BEST GIFT EVER!!! :)
Grammy Con got the kids new Christmas jammies again this year. Everyone is still excited about it except for Cooper. I guess when you are 10 years old, you are too cool for things like that! When we try to get group pics of the cousins together, we usually get about 372 of these.....
and one of these.....
We had a great Christmas Eve....everyone was happy with all they got!! After the cookies and milk were left for Santa and when the kids went to bed and the cousins went home, Grammy Con and Grandpa Roger stayed the night with us. Right before going to sleep, Ayden said a prayer to bless Santa that he would be able to come to his house safely....and bless the reindeer that they would not run over any Grandma's!! :)
While the kids were nestled all snug in their beds, Santa's helpers were busy getting everything ready for Christmas morning!!
The boys worked for 2 hours to put together Zoe's new dollhouse (that my parents gave to her on Christmas Eve but it was still in the box) together, the girls worked on getting everything else ready! Santa got these cute matching recliner chairs for Ayden and Zoe....
Ayden was the first one up in the morning. He came into our room and said that Santa had been here. He said that Santa ate just one bite of all the cookies that we left him (there were a total of 9 different cookies) and he also thought it was so weird that Santa took his stockings off their hooks and he put them on some new chairs! HA!! I love this age.....he was so excited!! :) We made Ayden go downstairs and watch some TV to wait for Zoe and Grammy to wake up!
And when Zoe came downstairs, she made a beeline to her new dollhouse! She was in HEAVEN!!! I have to admit....the thing is pretty adorable and since I didn't have e dollhouse like this growing up, I just might enjoy playing with her and her dollhouse! :)
We finally were able to pry Zoe away for about 5 seconds from her dollhouse. She enjoyed seeing what Santa left her in her stocking.....but once again, it took her FOREVER to unwrap the gifts, so she was done....
I love that they are at the age where they can check out the presents under the tree and see which ones have their names on them!
And this was Zoe's face after a few minutes.....she just DID NOT want to open any presents! In fact, she DIDN'T open any presents that day.....this is the first kid I have EVER heard of that leaves 10 presents from Santa under the Christmas tree all day on Christmas day....oh well, we didn't want to force her, so we just left them....
These new chairs are coming in handy already. It took them a little while to warm up to them....they didn't love them at first, but I think they are growing on them now!
Here is Ayden opening one of Zoe's presents....with his teeth.....he was so frustrated with her and why she didn't want to open any presents. We actually let him open a couple of hers before we decided we would just leave them all until she was ready!! :)
After opening all the Santa gifts, we headed over to Christmas at the Smith's house.....
Ayden found his stocking right away.....and was ready for "spoil me rotten Round 2"!!
Once again, Zoe could care less about the presents under the tree or the stockings hung on the mantle......I found her sitting here at the big dining room table all by herself waiting for brunch to be served....
Ayden finally coerced her over to the stockings and showed her that hers was filled to the top with stuff....
Ready to open.....
Ayden became IRON MAN.....
And Zoe just sat by anyone she could.....all she cared about was avoiding opening presents. She was the same way here too....and didn't open her presents until everyone had finished and cleared the room and Grandma Brenda sat down with her and pretty much opened every one for her. What a silly girl....I just don't get it!?!?!
Jer sporting his new biking jersey....see everything is bike related for him.....
Zoe got this cute purse from Aunt Stephanie & Uncle Kirt that has 2 little puppies in it. She has loved this and carries it around EVERYWHERE! She often takes the puppies out to give them a treat or take them for a walk....
Ayden got lots of new Trios to add to his collection and talked Aunt Kristen into helping him build something....
Zoe got a new Tag Reader also.....so now they each have one and won't have to fight over it....
The Smith side of the family (minus Branden, Laurel & Natalia)....I'm bummed we didn't get one of these with my side of the family the night before!! :(
We tried playing a game that night, but Ayden just wanted to run his Transformers all over everything....
Ayden and Zoe got another pair of new Christmas jammies from Grandma Brenda....
So silly.....
And the "let's take a picture in our new Christmas jammies" turned into a wrestling match....
Shortly after everyone arrived, there was a knock at the door. We had a special visitor.....WELCOME SANTA!!! :) Cooper and Carter were in on the whole surprise since they are old enough and we didn't want them to ruin it for the little kids....I love Ayden's face in this picture.....he was SO excited!!! Zoe just kept jumping around saying "Santa....Santa....Santa"!! It was so cute......
Santa shook everyone's hands and Ayden laughed through the whole thing.....
Crew and Zoe were in utter amazement.....
At this moment, Ayden looked a little too close and realized who this was......IT WAS GRANDPA!!! Maybe it his voice, or his nose or something.....but maybe it was because "Santa" slipped up (with each kid on his lap) and said "Tell GRANDPA what you want for Christmas" in his greatest Santa voice!! Oops....
Zoe wasn't convinced that this was anybody except for Santa!! She was amazed and told Santa she wanted a barbie!
Crew was happy.....and speechless....
All 5 kids and Santa....
Bye bye Santa.....you better hurry and get back to the North Pole to start delivering presents!!
But wait.....first Grammy Con wants some Santa loving!! Don't worry Grammy, we won't tell Grandpa!! :)
On to present time....the piles were piled high in front of each person. Zoe was the youngest and the first to open her 1st gift. Here she is.....she opened SOOOOOOOOOO SLOOOOOOOOOOW!!!! All the other kids were on pins and needles waiting for her to hurry up! And this was the first and last present that Zoe opened willingly! After this one, she didn't want to open ANY of her presents.....not 1!!! Pretty much the only reason that any got opened later that day was because the cousins were pushing presents in front of her and begging her to open it. She said she just wanted us to open all the presents....that she was too busy....and that there was nothing in them anyway!! What a little stinker....I think she was just overwhelmed with all the commotion!!
Crew had no problem busting into all of his presents and helping Cooper out with his as well.....
Not sure what Joe was all excited about....must've been a good gift.....
Ayden got a Tag Reader and was excited about all the books. He says he can read now!! :)
And he also got lots of Transformers stuff.....
Once again, Zoe needing help opening one of her gifts....
Jer sporting his new bike riding glasses....pretty much birthdays and Christmas gifts for Jeremiah consist of anything and everything to do with biking.....BORING!!! :)
Now a more exciting gift would be what I got from Jeremiah.....it was a priceless one....something that he knows I needed so badly.....the gift of TIME!!!! :) He made this little tokens for me that say "1 hour" in the middle and all around the circle, it says "This token is redeemable for 1 hour of kid free time"!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this gift and I told him that he can pretty much give me this as a gift for the rest of our lives! :) He knows how badly I am behind on my scrapbook and how I just need some time to sit down and do it....and that is exactly what these tokens will come in handy for!! I haven't had to use any yet, but I am sure I will soon!! BEST GIFT EVER!!! :)
Grammy Con got the kids new Christmas jammies again this year. Everyone is still excited about it except for Cooper. I guess when you are 10 years old, you are too cool for things like that! When we try to get group pics of the cousins together, we usually get about 372 of these.....
and one of these.....
We had a great Christmas Eve....everyone was happy with all they got!! After the cookies and milk were left for Santa and when the kids went to bed and the cousins went home, Grammy Con and Grandpa Roger stayed the night with us. Right before going to sleep, Ayden said a prayer to bless Santa that he would be able to come to his house safely....and bless the reindeer that they would not run over any Grandma's!! :)
While the kids were nestled all snug in their beds, Santa's helpers were busy getting everything ready for Christmas morning!!
The boys worked for 2 hours to put together Zoe's new dollhouse (that my parents gave to her on Christmas Eve but it was still in the box) together, the girls worked on getting everything else ready! Santa got these cute matching recliner chairs for Ayden and Zoe....
Ayden was the first one up in the morning. He came into our room and said that Santa had been here. He said that Santa ate just one bite of all the cookies that we left him (there were a total of 9 different cookies) and he also thought it was so weird that Santa took his stockings off their hooks and he put them on some new chairs! HA!! I love this age.....he was so excited!! :) We made Ayden go downstairs and watch some TV to wait for Zoe and Grammy to wake up!
And when Zoe came downstairs, she made a beeline to her new dollhouse! She was in HEAVEN!!! I have to admit....the thing is pretty adorable and since I didn't have e dollhouse like this growing up, I just might enjoy playing with her and her dollhouse! :)
We finally were able to pry Zoe away for about 5 seconds from her dollhouse. She enjoyed seeing what Santa left her in her stocking.....but once again, it took her FOREVER to unwrap the gifts, so she was done....
I love that they are at the age where they can check out the presents under the tree and see which ones have their names on them!
And this was Zoe's face after a few minutes.....she just DID NOT want to open any presents! In fact, she DIDN'T open any presents that day.....this is the first kid I have EVER heard of that leaves 10 presents from Santa under the Christmas tree all day on Christmas day....oh well, we didn't want to force her, so we just left them....
These new chairs are coming in handy already. It took them a little while to warm up to them....they didn't love them at first, but I think they are growing on them now!
Here is Ayden opening one of Zoe's presents....with his teeth.....he was so frustrated with her and why she didn't want to open any presents. We actually let him open a couple of hers before we decided we would just leave them all until she was ready!! :)
After opening all the Santa gifts, we headed over to Christmas at the Smith's house.....
Ayden found his stocking right away.....and was ready for "spoil me rotten Round 2"!!
Once again, Zoe could care less about the presents under the tree or the stockings hung on the mantle......I found her sitting here at the big dining room table all by herself waiting for brunch to be served....
Ayden finally coerced her over to the stockings and showed her that hers was filled to the top with stuff....
Ready to open.....
Ayden became IRON MAN.....
And Zoe just sat by anyone she could.....all she cared about was avoiding opening presents. She was the same way here too....and didn't open her presents until everyone had finished and cleared the room and Grandma Brenda sat down with her and pretty much opened every one for her. What a silly girl....I just don't get it!?!?!
Jer sporting his new biking jersey....see everything is bike related for him.....
Zoe got this cute purse from Aunt Stephanie & Uncle Kirt that has 2 little puppies in it. She has loved this and carries it around EVERYWHERE! She often takes the puppies out to give them a treat or take them for a walk....
Ayden got lots of new Trios to add to his collection and talked Aunt Kristen into helping him build something....
Zoe got a new Tag Reader also.....so now they each have one and won't have to fight over it....
The Smith side of the family (minus Branden, Laurel & Natalia)....I'm bummed we didn't get one of these with my side of the family the night before!! :(
We tried playing a game that night, but Ayden just wanted to run his Transformers all over everything....
Ayden and Zoe got another pair of new Christmas jammies from Grandma Brenda....
So silly.....
And the "let's take a picture in our new Christmas jammies" turned into a wrestling match....
Happy Zoe.....
Zoe wanted our camera to take a picture. We have never given it to her or let her try, but we did and she got a cute one of me and Jer!!
And trying to get a family one at the VERY END of the day after I realized we hadn't gotten a family picture of all 4 of us on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.....
The kids insisted on having Puppi in the picture with us....they miss having her around at our house!!
It was a wild and crazy holiday! I always hate the day after Christmas!! It is so depressing! And even this year with my decorations going up in early November, I STILL wasn't ready to take them down, but did the day after Christmas just to get my house back in order! I love the hustle and bustle of the holidays.....and the Christmas spirit....and Christmas music.....and all the family togetherness!! But there is something magical about getting back to a routine of every day regular life....and getting the budget back on track as well!! :)
We've had a nice week with Jeremiah off work. We've been to the movies and shopping and eating out lots and spending time with Jeremiah's family.....now looking forward to go to La Quinta tomorrow to bring in the New Year with my family!!
But most of all, we have been relaxing and taking it easy....
.JPG)
