We had an amazing Christmas- way too much food, way too many gifts, way too much generosity on our behalf, we are so blessed. Don't think for a minute we don't know that- because we absolutely DO!
Our Christmas Eve went smooth. And not to rub it in too much for all those out there who don't live in Zion- but can I just tell you about the picture perfect weather that we had??? About 80 degrees in the afternoon, soooo pleasant at night. I went outside to turn our lights on and found this sunset before me:
Which is why Jacob decided to pull some weeds while we were out there...
Okay, getting back to matter at hand...The kids opened their gifts of new Pajamas-
Can you feel the love yet? Oh, you're about to...
We ususally just let them open just the one present, but after we did our Christmas Eve activities and then sat and stared at each other for a good 30 minutes, I called in some reinforcements- I let Cindy open another present, which was the Monkey's Jumping on the bed game that I thought could cure our boredom. It was pretty entertaining! Cindy loved it anyway, and that is what really matters, I guess.
The kids had no problem going to sleep. I never quite know if Cindy believes the whole Santa thing or not. She is starting to ask the usual questions like "How does he get in our house when we don't have a fireplace?" and quandries such as these.
She did tell me as I was reading her a final book to put her to bed that "Tonight I am going to stay in my bed ALL night!!" I said to her, "Oh good!" And then she wrinkled up her faced and looked at me all quizzical like and said, "Why did you say THAT?" I played the usual "Nevermind" card and she forgot about it. Hard to explain to a kid why you don't really like them sleeping in your bed. :)
But, on Christmas morning we got to sleep till 8am- I was in a coma that morning, having had stayed up WAY too late the night before- (seriously, it has been YEARS since I stayed up as late as I have the past few nights, my body is totally confused)but Cindy came in with the Barbie Alexa doll that I left unwrapped with only ribbon and whispered very loud, "Mom!! Santa came!!" and then she left again to go tend to her treasures. Jacob and I managed to get up somehow and then we woke Luke. He has recently been very interested in unwrapping things, from gifts to Dum Dums, so Christmas was fun for him to open things up. He was totally confused by the contents, but still had fun ripping and tearing paper and not getting in trouble.
He got some cars, Mr. Potato head, an Elmo monster truck, some clothes, a giant sucker, spider man stuff and 'THE THING'. DeAnne told me about a gift they had as a child that her Uncle (?) made for her and her brothers and sisters and it was a board with different type latches and switches on it. I googled the idea and found many homemade boards and after a trip to Lowe's and a good rummage through our garage workbench, I had enough little gizmos to make a decent board. Jacob put it all together for me and here is the finished product- complete with a springy doorstop "twanger"- which is Luke's favorite part.
Anyway, it is a fun little toy for Luke. We also gladly punished our lame, broken DVD/VCR combo by ripping the guts out of the back and glueing it to the board so Luke could plug in the RCA cord over and over. We stole its electrical cord too. Cindy also got a ton of stuff - besides the doll she got some clothes, hair clippies, a Cinderella board game (that she loves) a cookie game (that she loves maybe a little bit more) and some other little goodies. She still HATES to get her picture taken, so even getting any pics was a bonus.
And I had to take my "bow on the head" picture of Luke....
He really has grown up since last year!
Once Cindy knew that we were now scheduled to go to Grandma Sweeney's house, she was ready to rock n'roll. We headed over there about 9am for swedish pancakes. A Sweeney tradition! They were delicious, as usual. DeAnne makes them the BEST! Cindy actually ate some too.We opened our presents and they were great!! Cindy got some play-doh, some Hawaii sand, a pretty fan, clothes and many other goodies. Luke got the coolest present- a box of dinosaurs!! I loved that. Oh, and Uncle Nathan gave Cindy a bumblebee toy that makes a funny noise when you squeeze it and then "buzzes" when you press its hand. Cindy and Luke both loved this one.
And Nathan gave Grandpa Sweeney the coolest sunglasses ever!! I think they are supposed to help you find your golf ball on the golf course, actually, but I am not really sure...
And guess who got Curry in their sock!?!? Yup, ME! Seriously, 8 boxes from DeAnne and I am stoked! I told you that people love to get that as a present! And you didn't believe me.... Actually, reflecting on the gifts Jacob and I got from everyone, they were perfect because they were so functional and useful! (our favorite) From the NEW RICE COOKER, to the curry, to the giant bag of frozen turkey loins, to the Sam's Club Membership to the french fry cutter- so many great things to actually use and really enjoy! As your local McDonalds would say, I'm lovin' it. :)
I definitely know that Cindy doesn't realize how kind Uncle Nathan is to her. He was the one out of all of us to put on Cindy's fake nails- with polish, AND find some double sided tape for her when they started falling off. Cindy was very happy about that!
The other highlight of the morning was talking to Sean from his mission in Pennsylvania. My favorite part of our conversation was him saying, "I had the best dinner last night. Seriously, it makes me warm everytime I think about it. Prime Rib." And then I remember laughing inside because of how much Jacob HATES prime rib (too fatty...he is a true meat snob).
Anyway, I then headed home with Luke for a nap- no, not me, just him- and then at about 3pm we headed to my Mom's because that was the designated time to call Brian on his mission in Spain. After a nervous half hour of not getting through to him, Mom's prayers were answered and we got to talk to Brian. Hooray for Who-ville!
Then there was more eating (oh, the eating!!) and then presents (oh the presents!!) and then the SILLY STRING FIGHT returned! It was most excellent :) Here are some pics....
The totally awesome Nacho shirt I got for Chris. I am not sure about the Captain Hook pose, but it is creative, I will give you that! (also, you can see the cardboard box in the background that served as the wrapping paper basketball goal. My first throw was a left handed sky hook and I totally hit Joseph in the manger. Dad told me that just between him and my mom that morning "The Holy Family took a beating today. Joseph and Mary both took one for the team a few times." Good times.
Luke got some sweet trucks for the sandbox....
On to the silly string!!
I was SO happy we did this again!! It felt good to be outside in the mid-70 degree weather. I thought Luke would enjoy the shenanigans as much as the rest of us but he was not feeling it. He actually stood up by the front walkway and just screamed and cried. I felt bad about it. For a minute...
This is where I am missing the group picture that is on my Mom's camera... It will be appearing soon....
After the fight, we talked, we ate, and the girls got some good quality cousin time.
Sometimes I think I tend to make Christmas a little complicated. I do worry about the gifts being just right and being places and seeing things, but really it is all about family and simplicity. As illustrated by the fact that many days now after Christmas has passed, the favorite toy out of all the toys and everything the kids got is:.......the giant ballon.
I am going to remember this next Christmas...
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