Merry Christmas 2013

Andrew & Jackson woke up at 6:15 am and were ready to start Christmas morning.  We got up all the adults & lined up for pictures on the stairs.  This is such a cute pic of the grandkids w/ Papa & Mimi.

This was the best pic we could get of everyone.  The kids were super patient in waiting for us to let them go downstairs to see what Santa brought.  I remember as a kid having to wait for Dad to get the tree lights on and get the camera ready.  It always seemed to take FOR-EV-ER!!!

   Here is what the living room looked like.  Jackson’s pile of presents are on the left, Autumn’s are in the middle & Andrew’s are on the right.

Santa brought all of them some Stompeez.  They had fun stomping around and making the alligator mouths open & the ears on the dog flop up and down.

Autumn didn’t know she was going to get to play w/ the Red Power Ranger & Batman this morning.  They had fun running around & pretending to fight.  I’m so glad she gets to be close to some of her cousins!  Mom has a quote at her house that says, “A grandparent’s house is where cousins become best friends.”

Looks like Rosy Posy & Alfie are ready to head back to the North Pole tonight after all the fun Christmas festivities are over.  Usually they go back Christmas Eve night, but they decided to stay for an extra day & I’m so glad they did.

After the kids looked at what Santa brought, we went over by the tree to open presents.  I’m so glad I get to spend Christmas w/ my little love bug.  She’s my greatest gift!

Here’s the scene before the present unwrapping really got underway.  It was fast & furious & I didn’t get to see what everyone else got, but we had fun!

Dad got these frog change purses for Lexie & I when he & Mom were on their cruise.  Yes, that’s a real dead frog on the change purse.  Mom said he got the biggest kick out of them when he saw them that he was almost giddy.  Lexie & I agreed that it was the most unique present of the day!

There was a note from Santa that there was one more present outside.  The kids were so excited to see a trampoline out in the backyard.  They were going to jump on it, but it was covered in wet dew, so they had to wait until the afternoon.  Instead, they went upstairs and saw what Papa & Mimi had gotten them.  I have a feeling that Andrew & Jackson are going to get a lot of good use out of this.

The 3 Mamas

The 3 Guys

Mom & I got busy frying up the scrapple for breakfast.

Sitting around the table together eating our traditional Christmas breakfast was totally worth the drive down here so late last night.  We just wish that Nate & Riannon could be here w/ us.  But, they made scrapple & had their own traditional Christmas breakfast in Spain.

The big hit of the day was Papa & the Rainbow Looms.  He did those almost the whole morning.  It was funny to see the kids gathered at his feet so he could teach them how to do it.  I got frustrated & lost interest after about 5 minutes.  But Dad was all over it & made all sorts of bracelets & even tried some hard designs.  Go, Papa!  Who knew he was a master loomer?  LOL!

We had to get a pic to send to Uncle Nate & Aunt Riannon of the kids in their Air Force t-shirts.  GO AIR FORCE!!!  I tried watching the 2 hour Downton Abbey Season 4 Finale, but the internet was really spotty.  I only got to see about 20 minutes total of the 2 hours, and in 30 second chunks.  Then it would buffer for 3 minutes and play for another 30 seconds.  It was SO FRUSTRAING!!!  I’ll just try to watch it tomorrow.

We packed up at 5:30 & hit the road so we could get home at a decent hour.  Mom stayed there in case Lexie has the baby.  Dad, Autumn, Nick & I stopped at the thriving metropolis of Carl’s Corner to take a potty break & get a drink.  LOL!

We got to Mom & Dad’s, unloaded the truck, loaded my car, & came home.  I got Autumn right to bed since it was 9:00 pm.  Then I flopped onto the couch to watch some TV.  I posted this on Facebook, “I am sorry to say that I didn't focus much on my Savior today with all the festivities and traveling. I'm watching "The Bible" right now, which is helping me refocus on the reason for the season!!! Words can't express how thankful I am for my testimony of Him, that He lives, and all He has done for me. What a perfect way to end my CHRISTmas Day!”